The company pioneered various areas of businesses and is now a monumental global name in the fashion industry, telecommunication, online banking, cement, carbon black, chemical industry and the list goes on and on. It basically does it all, and creates brands which cater to people from all walks of life, from high-end fashion brands like Allen Solly, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen and Peter England to good old trendy Pantaloons. ABG consistently keeps pace with the current times by introducing new ventures like Aditya Birla Payments Bank for online banking during this age of digital India. Moreover, its telecom company Vodafone - Idea Limited is India’s largest one in terms of subscribers and revenue. Speaking of largest companies in the industry, ABG has yet another giant - Ultra Tech Cement, which became the biggest cement Industry after merging Grasim with Ultra Tech Cement. While all these feats are incredibly colossal, what’s perhaps the most impressive and awe-inspiring, is its commitment to sustainable business policies and putting ethics first, across all of its global operations. The prioritization of environment, food safety, human rights and security in business operations, along with contributions to improve the society, shows that its founding principles still live on. Their positive attitude towards responsibility is best demonstrated by quoting their Chairman Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, “Great businesses are never built on the quicksands of opportunism. I reiterate that, if living by our values means, perhaps growing at a pace slower than we would otherwise have liked, so be it. For us, leadership lies at the heart of knowing what we stand for.” It is this understanding that makes ABG a trusted, reliable global brand- and perhaps what resonates with me most in my own life.
I, myself believe that a strong foundation of values and quality of work truly takes us towards the materialization of our dreams and satisfaction in our achievements. Once during my college time, I volunteered to teach underprivileged children of class 5th. I had been helping them prepare for exams and what motivated me was their enthusiasm and hunger to learn. The amount of dedication and hard work they put in, was truly inspiring. However, my exams too were fast approaching and most of my friends had chosen to take the week off. With a lot of them backing out, there was a dearth of teachers and the idea of abandoning them during this crucial time of their exams simply didn’t sit well with me. So, I devised a plan of giving the students the basic knowledge required to tackle the questions in the first half hour of the class and gave them worksheets to do for the rest of the time which I utilized for my self-studies. Though this put me a little out of my own comfort zone, it left me feeling strangely satisfied. My happiness knew no bounds when all the students from the class I taught got over 80 % and I took them on the weekend to All Mart Supermarket and gave them a treat of cakes, cookies, and soft drinks. The joy on their faces was my biggest reward. That experience established upon me with conviction, the fact that pursuing a path of values, no matter how difficult, reaps priceless results.
ABG’s honest efforts to go above and beyond protocol to bring about a positive change in society, in a time when most companies are getting away easily by doing just the bare minimum, is what gives me hope for the future of Indian industries and inspires me to do the same. ‘People who think they can change the world, are the ones who do.’
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