The Aditya Birla Group is a fortune 500 company that has put India on the world business map. It is one of the biggest and oldest business conglomerates in India, and its importance to the Indian economy cannot to overstated. Be it the bridges built with their cement, vehicles built with their carbon alloys and aluminium components, clothing and fashion for every age, every individual would have experienced ABG at some point of time in their lives. Needless to say, the ABG group has also had a big impact on my life as well. Right from the Louis Philippe suit I wear regularly to the casual tees and trousers that I sport, I rely heavily on Pantaloon for my fashion needs. We recently renovated our home and UltraTech was our engineer’s choice for cement. But apart from the numerous ways the ABG group touches millions of lives in India (which can be true for many other business houses as well in India), I am proud of the contribution made by ABG to build the Nation. Mrs. Rajashree Birla has dedicated herself to uplift the weaker sections of the society. ABG has done considerable work in improving the Human Development Index of the Nation. This includes providing free medical treatment for the poor, empowering women through skill training and connecting with remote villages to develop vulnerable communities. These activities make ABG truly big in my life. After all the nation is one big family and any help rendered to the weakest members benefits the Nation the most.
Challenges make life complete. I have also had my fair share of challenges. I cracked a few and got cracked by a few. But every failure had a lesson to teach me and the journey has been an exhilarating one. One of the most important challenges I faced in life was to break away from the string of complacency that bound me to the status quo. I was inspired by Einstein’s words that “You only fail when you stop trying.” I made concerted efforts to improve myself every time I lost and in due course of time, my efforts paid off. Support from friends and family was also crucial to tide across difficult times in life. According to me, life offers numerous opportunities to fulfil one’s dreams. We need not be fixated on any particular endeavour. I wanted to be a social entrepreneur and tried my level best to start a venture but was not able to succeed even after repeated attempts. I learnt that I had to equip myself better before I started my own venture. It was then that I wrote CAT and got myself enrolled in SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. The journey so far at SOM has been an amazing one. It has laid the foundation that can take me closer to my dream. Periodic self-evaluations, inputs from mentors and friends helped a lot. It is very important to stay focussed on the goal and another thing equally important is to have backup plans. Both these helped to me achieve success in life.
