There is hardly a sector untouched by the presence of the Aditya Birla Group. One name that has been with me for as long as I can remember is Pantaloons. It has been my go-to store for shopping clothes - be it for a formal occasion or a family function, Pantaloon offers a one stop shop for all my fashion needs. Peter England shares a place close to my heart too.
I still clearly remember back in 2013 when I went shopping for formals with my cousin for my undergraduate course, he strongly insisted on purchasing my attire from Peter England. He told me about how he and his brothers had also started their undergraduate education with Peter England and how he wanted me to do so the same. To this day his closet is almost exclusively occupied by Peter England. I can see my relationship with Peter England blooming in a similar fashion in the coming years as I step into the corporate world where how one carries and dresses oneself is a statement in itself.
Aditya Birla Group also exemplifies giving back to society and the environment through its CSR initiatives, which aim to raise India’s human development index. Working across 5,000 villages and touching the lives of 7.5 million people, Aditya Birla Group strengthens the point that companies shouldn’t forget about India’s rural population in an attempt to increase their share in urban markets. The group has also consistently aided the government in shouldering social responsibility (which many believe should solely be carried out by the government) with flagship schemes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, MGNREGA, and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to name a few.
One of the major challenges I faced in life was switching from science to commerce during graduation. My family has had a lineage of engineers and so they were pretty sceptical when I told them that I wanted to pursue commerce instead of science. They insisted that I take science in school as I would be able to switch to commerce later. I was reluctant as atoms and molecules didn’t interest me at all. I was more interested in how money changes hands, how banks work and what had been the reasons behind the financial crisis of 2008. However, I proceeded with science and even though I was able to secure admission in some top engineering colleges, my interest in commerce and finance hadn’t jaded over the years.
As a result, we took a leap of faith and since I couldn’t directly apply to B.com, I decided to pursue BBA as that would be a middle ground in a transition from science to commerce. Consequently, I secured admission in Christ University, which had been ranked number one for BBA by India Today for 3 consecutive years. It took time to settle and get an understanding of how accounts and finance worked. However, fast forward by 2 years and I had secured an investment banking division analyst role. The learning outcome for me was to be persistent and keep working, even if there’s no instant reward or gratification.
