Aditya Birla Group is one of India's largest conglomerates which acts as a holding company for more than 72 manufacturing and service subsidiaries throughout India, Canada, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, Egypt, USA, etc. ABG, as we all know, started as a cotton and jute trading business in Pilani, Rajasthan. Despite the British occupation, and the attempt to establish monopolies by the British trading companies, Mr. Seth Shiv Narayan Birla succeeded in building the family's first fortune. The company then went on acquiring Grasim, Hindalco, etc. Today the company has in roots in 35 countries among several diversified businesses and conglomerates.
ABG's impact on my life is huge. It started when my dad bought his 1st mobile phone and started using 'idea'. From there on when we grew up, our 1st SIM cards were from 'idea'. From my 1st cycle to the recent car purchase we've done in the family every vehicle uses tires and every tire is made using carbon black manufactured by the company. From the casual shirts by Peter England that I wore to my undergrad to the premium suiting of Louis Philippe that I wore to my B-school interview they've provided me the proper dressing apparel for every occasion. Every clothing apparel that I purchase is mostly bought form Pantaloons, which is under the group's holding. These are just a few things that I know where ABG impacted my life directly. but there are many other sectors where the group contributed to the large. Be it manufacturing aluminum which we use almost every day to consume our beverages and the copper we use in our wiring they have a huge impact on everyone's life.
How I overcame my challenges to achieve my ambitions in life:
After completing my graduation, I got an opportunity to work with MANALI PETROCHEMICALS LTD, Tamilnadu. Even though I've studied for 4 years in Tamilnadu I never got an opportunity to learn the regional language (Tamil) as all of us used to communicate in English and learning Tamil was never mandatory in college. We (the students from other states) used to learn a few words which are useful while traveling across the state. So I never thought that there is a language barrier that needed to be crossed.
After joining the company the first thing I was compelled to do is to learn the language. People used to ask all the questions in Tamil and judge the trainee that never answered the questions. So according to them, I was a mediocre trainee who just got placed by "luck". But within a month I learned the language and started asking doubts and answering them in Tamil and people started taking me seriously.
After them, realizing my potential, even though the training period was about 1 year, after 6 months of formal training I was shifted to the Projects department and was appointed to work in a prestigious project along with some well-versed officials.
Conducting trial run experiments helped me in understanding deeper about the subjects and theories learned in UG. After completing the project, learning new techniques and exploring them helped me optimize the plant.
The overall experience of working in a plant in shifts help me develop as an individual and thought me discipline. Helped me to improve my communication, managerial and operational skills.