Aditya Birla Group (ABG) is omnipresent through its brands like Pantaloons, Louis Philippe, Peter England, Forever 21, and the list goes on. ABG is a US$ 44.3 billion corporation, active in 14 industry sectors. With this amount of diversification, it is hard for anyone not to be affected by ABG in their life.
ABG has achieved global and national leadership in several businesses. The global conglomerate focusses not only on earning profits but also on giving back to the society through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. A great scheme of ABG to empower women was setting up of micro-manufacturing unit scheme for women, enabling them to set up small garment manufacturing units. Its an initiative of Madura Unit of ABFRL. Through this scheme, rural areas become economic hubs, village women gain employment, and Madura achieves a reduction in manufacturing cost of shirts.
ABG has always been a part of my life. Idea cellular has always been the number one service provider in Madhya Pradesh. No other operator provides the kind of rural connectivity as Idea does. Idea has helped me stay connected to my near and dear ones. Second, the fashion sector retail chain Pantaloons has a special place in my heart. I remember myself buying a leather jacket for my sister and a dress for my mother through my first salary. That feeling of happiness and the sense of being independent is unparalleled.
PART B
Achieving something in life makes one feel proud. After my 12th board examination, I prepared to get into IIT or NIT. I studied very hard and was very confident to crack the exam. However, I fell ill and got seriously demotivated and tensed about my selection. I couldn’t crack the examination. It was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life. I was so frustrated with myself and God that I lost all hope and just wanted to join some private engineering college and get done with my degree. My parents were worried about me. I realized that I started blaming God for all the things that were not according to my plan. I realized that I was giving up easily. I promised myself to fight this situation out and not take the easy escape route. I dropped a year; I started my preparation again with greater zeal and ambition. This time too, I failed to get into IIT, but I managed to get into NIT. I handled this failure pretty well. For one, I got into NIT and second, because I started accepting the fact that things will not always go according to my plan. It was a big lesson in my life, and I am proud of myself taking that decision and not running away from it.