Aditya Birla Group is the third-largest Indian Conglomerate only behind the Reliance and Tata Groups. They have made it large not only in India but the world as well. ABG has established its stronghold in a total of 35 countries. This conglomerate, established in 1857, has established a leadership position in all the fields in which they operate including metals, cement, carbon black, specialty chemicals, viscose staple fiber, viscose filament yarn, acrylic fiber, textiles, telecom, financial services, retail, branded apparel, natural resources, agri-solutions, power, and trading. Its products and services have touched every person’s life uniquely including mine.
Many activities of my day-to-day life include products by the Aditya Birla Group. Growing up, I lived in a rented house and my father had only one dream; building his own house. Over the years I have seen him struggle with finances only to save up for this dream. After I joined Accenture, I could help him financially to realize his dream. My father is a staunch believer of indigenous but the best and only the name Ultratech Cements came to his mind. After two years of construction, I can proudly say that my father is a home-owner and it was Ultratech that helped realize his dream.
With the dawn of the Digital Age, the ABG established Birla Communications Limited in 1995 which was then changed to Idea Cellular Network in 2002. When I joined B.Tech in 2012, the main concern for my parents was communication as I am an only child stepping out of the house for the first time. Then when money and finances were a big issue, and Airtel and Vodafone had 3G plans that exceeded my budget, the Idea offered me plans where speaking for long hours, especially STD calls, for a nominal charge. Also, their connectivity was considered to be the best in our institute area. Throughout my college life Idea not only provided with cheap but a good connection to be able to keep in touch with both family and friends. The network also provided me with a high-speed mobile internet which helped during projects and assignments.
B-schools are synonymous with formal clothing and shopping for most men is a tedious task. In my opinion, ABG has made this herculean task an easy experience by consolidating all major brands in one in the form of Pantaloons. Pantaloons, for me, was a lifesaver as all I had to do was go to a store and a hundred options were within reach. Aditya Birla Group caters to our demand for formal clothing for men (and women) by providing an exclusive range by Allen Solly and Van Heusen, Louis Philippe, Peter England. Even while growing up, I distinctly remember my father often going to the tailor with cloth materials from Grasim Textiles.
As a child, the most exciting time of the day was recess during school. My mother used to pack my lunch using Freshwrapp which again is an Aditya Birla Group product. Freshwrapp is a product of Hindalco which was established in 1958. It holds a special place in my mother’s kitchen. It is a go-to product whether she is putting away leftover food in the fridge or she is packing lunch for my father and me as we left the house for work and school respectively. Freshwrapp strikes a sense of nostalgia as after serving its purpose of keeping my lunch warm, my classmates and I transformed the wrap into a ball since sports equipment during recess wasn’t allowed by our school. Nostalgic.
Through CSR initiatives, ABG has made a significant impact in healthcare, education, infrastructure and helping the underprivileged. Its endeavor in making model villages is indeed making lives better. From providing scholarships to students to empowering students in rural areas with little to no facilities with solar lamps and launching HealthCube initiative to make proactive healthcare accessible to rural areas and labor migrants, ABG is working at the grass-root level to change India from a developing country to a developed country. They also provide opportunities to women entrepreneurs and the differently-abled, especially in their Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail’s Madura Unit.
Their company Birla Cellulose has launched a new brand “Livaeco”, promises to be environmentally friendly with a manufacturing process that includes raw materials from sustainable and certified forests, lowest water consumption and low greenhouse gas emissions.
Also, Hindalco has recently adopted new energy-related technologies which are a significant step since they aim at reducing specific energy consumption and emissions by 35% by the year 2030.
Novelis, an Aditya Birla Group company, has become a world leader in aluminum recycling. Novelis had joined The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the Atlanta Falcons two years ago, to launch an initiative, “Recycle for Good”. For every 3 million aluminum bottles and cans collected, Recycle for Good funds a Habitat for Humanity home in its entirety for a deserving family in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
The AB Group Sustainability Cell has developed a flagship leadership safety development program called ‘INSPIRE’ that ensures safety measures in all factories and workplaces across their establishments.