Against the Odds - Abhishek Singh, NMIMS Mumbai

‘Why Aditya Birla Group is big in your life’? When we talk about conglomerates, one of the first name that comes into our minds is the Aditya Birla Group. With operations around 35 countries and more than 120,000 employees worldwide the group has kept no stones unturned to make a humongous impact around the globe. It has interests in products like metal, branded apparels, chemical fertilisers, telecom, BPO etc. ABG’s venture into the cement, textile and fashion business is something which has made the largest impact when it comes to market penetration. People have started depending directly and indirectly on these products for their daily use and there’s no denying that ABG has impacted the masses. As a consumer, I am a big-time fan of the Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. which sells inhouse brands like Louis Philip, Allen Solly, Van Heusen and the list continues. Pantaloons (which was acquired from the Future group by ABG) is another example of how good the group is performing in multi-brand apparel chains. Apart from apparels, ABG’s UltraTech cement, India’s largest cement company is easily the most popular and trusted brand in the cement industry. ABG also has its roots in the telecom industry. Idea Cellular which was started as a joint venture with AT&T and the Tata Group, completed its merger on 31^st August 2018 with Vodafone and thereby became the largest telecom group in terms of subscribers and revenues, surpassing the well-known giant Airtel. ABG has always been successful in making an impact in my life. With the diversity of businesses, it boasts to have under its sleeve, the group has made me, as a customer, dependent on it for products ranging from essential goods to the aspirational ones. 

‘How you overcame challenges to achieve your ambitions in life so far’? Challenges and ambitions are entities which go hand in hand. If a person is ambitious, he/she must be ready and well equipped with a robust mindset for the obstacles which would come along with completion of each milestone. There have been instances when I overcame challenges to achieve my pre-set goals in life. One of them was when I was preparing for my Engineering entrance examination in 2012. The final test was a just a couple of months away when I met with a bike accident. The impact of the accident was such that I had deep cuts all over my right arm and also suffered a ligament tear in my knee. I was subscribed complete bedrest by the doctors as any movement would aggravate the ligament injury. All the hard work I had been doing since the past 2 years was at stake. There was no way that I could attend the vital final minute classes of my coaching institute. However, I gathered courage and made it a point to continue my preparations from my bed. The excruciating pain and sleepiness from the painkillers were a huge deterrent, but the passion to get into a prestigious college kept me going. Finally, the D-day arrived and I cracked the exam with fairly good marks. I made it to SRM University and joined as a CSE student there. Challenges are what makes you strong and dealing with them is a part of achieving your goals in life. Dealing with them has helped me grow stronger as a person.