'Vantara A Beacon Of Hope, Healing': Nita Ambani, Son Anant On Why Nature Needs To Be Nurtured Too

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Last Updated:March 04, 2025, 12:28 IST

PM Modi recently visited Vantara in Gujarat. Anant Ambani’s Vantara has been awarded the ‘Prani Mitra’ National Award, India’s highest honour in animal welfare by the Government of India, in the ‘Corporate’ category

(Left) PM Modi during his visit to Vantara; Anant and Nita Ambani.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Reliance Foundation’s Vantara in Gujarat’s Jamnagar and inaugurated the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. Accompanied by Anant Ambani, director on the boards of RIL and Reliance Foundation, PM Modi took a tour of the sprawling facility.

While Anant Ambani’s Vantara has been awarded the ‘Prani Mitra’ National Award, India’s highest honour in animal welfare by the Government of India, in the ‘Corporate’ category, he has often spoken about how the project means dearly to him. Nita Ambani, founder and chairperson of the Reliance Foundation and his mother, has also highlighted how Vantara was born out of Anant Ambani’s desire to give back to nature.

IN ANANT AMBANI’S WORDS

While addressing employees of Reliance during a commemorative event at Jamnagar in January, Anant Ambani shared his aspirations for the city, his deep love for animals, and his commitment to fulfilling the dreams of his father, Mukesh Ambani, and grandfather, Dhirubhai Ambani.

In his speech, Anant said, “I am convinced that in 25 years, when India commemorates its centenary of independence, we will collectively elevate Jamnagar’s prestige and honour to unprecedented levels."

“Vantara exemplifies Reliance’s commitment to animal welfare as much as it does to human welfare. It embodies our ‘We Care’ philosophy," he said.

In an interview to News18 during the launch of Vantara, Anant Ambani had said, “Something that drives my cause is animal welfare. There are a lot of people working [for human welfare] but in animal welfare, there are few people working. I think I was the chosen one and I was fortunate enough that with God’s blessings… that I could do Seva of animals. For me, in today’s life, you can’t see God but I see God within every animal. They say in our dharm that in a cow, there are 64 crore ‘devtas’. But for me, not only in a cow, but I see God in every animal. So it’s my attempt to give back to society," he said.

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He had also called his mother the inspiration behind the initiative. “My mother has always been a great inspiration to me. My mother, when I was a young boy and we were going, I was, I think, 12 years old, we were travelling from Jaipur to Ranthambore. In the middle, on the road, we saw a young elephant with a ‘mahavat’ in the peak heat, and the elephant was walking a little weirdly," he said. “So I told my mom, we should rescue it. So that was the first elephant. And we had no idea how to take care of elephants. We got the elephant, we kept it. And then we said, we’ll build slowly, slowly. Boond, boond se sagar banta hai. At that time, we did not even know what to feed the elephant. We would do what the ‘mahavat’ said. We had no scientific knowledge. We built scientific knowledge over a period of, I think, a decade and more. Today, we have a highly professional team, more than 300-400 professionals are taking care of the elephants."

IN NITA AMBANI’S WORDS

“Vantara means a star of the forest. Vantara is a beacon of hope and healing. With my youngest son Anant’s passionate leadership and our foundation’s support, Vantara is restoring balance and preserving the intricate harmony of life. In Vantara’s rescue and rehabilitation centres, over 2,000 species of animals from all over the world have found a home. Vantara is a reminder of the core Indian philosophy of empathy and respect for all living beings," said Nita Ambani at the India House at Paris for the 2024 Olympics.

“Vantara is a reminder of the core Indian philosophy of empathy and respect for all living beings"At the recently concluded India House at Paris, Mrs. Nita Ambani shared her thoughts on how Vantara’s animal rescue and rehabilitation centres are a beacon of hope with an… pic.twitter.com/ScSxOfVpIN
— Reliance Industries Limited (@RIL_Updates) August 16, 2024

“Our sacred Vedas teach us to serve not only humanity, but also all forms of life on our beautiful planet…Another programme that I am especially proud of this year is spearheaded by my youngest son, Anant. From the time he was a little boy, Anant has shown us how to be gentler and more compassionate as humans," she said at the Reliance Industries Limited AGM in 2024.

ABOUT VANTARA

Vantara is an ambitious wildlife preservation project founded by Anant Ambani and supported by Reliance Industries and Reliance Foundation. Situated within the Jamnagar Refinery Complex in Gujarat, India, Vantara spans 3,000 acres and serves as a sanctuary for abused, injured and endangered animals. Vantara is a comprehensive rehabilitation centre dedicated to providing a natural and nurturing environment for its inhabitants.

The Vantara initiative, the first of its kind in India, has been conceptualised and birthed under the leadership of Anant Ambani, Director on the boards of RIL and Reliance Foundation.

Vantara is focused on creating best-in-class animal conservation and care practices including state-of-the-art healthcare, hospitals, research and academic centres. Within its programmes, Vantara also focuses on integrating advanced research and collaboration with reputed international universities and organisations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF).

Over the past few years, the programme has rescued more than 200 elephants, and thousands of other animals, reptiles and birds from unsafe situations. It has undertaken initiatives in key species, including rhino, leopard and crocodile rehabilitation.