Impacts: Big and Small – Ratnika Singh, MDI Gurgaon

It was on a hot and humid afternoon that I found myself lost in a huge mall in Chennai, sometime in the month of July. The city was new to me, as was the experience. Before this, I had always lived in small towns and shopping in a mall was a somewhat novel but bewildering experience. I had a clear agenda for the day, to buy something nice for my parents from my very first salary. Amongst the confusing array of brightly lit shops, I finally wandered into a Pantaloons outlet. I chose some ethnic wear for my mom from the wide range of options available and for my dad, I ended up getting some formal wear from Louis Philippe. This was my first major interaction with the Aditya Birla Group, although it was only later that I realized that the brands I related with actually fell under the same umbrella of ABG. Even today, brands like Pantaloons, Van Heusen and Allen Solly are essential for my wardrobe. 

While fashion and retail from ABG have had the most visible impact on my day to day life, it is not the only sector where we use its products.  The company has become big in our lives by contributing not just to the visibly big parts but also in very small and often ignored ways. On one hand, we have giant structures like the Bandra-Worli sea link using UltraTech Cement, and on the other hand, the cover glasses that protect my mobile from my clumsiness often comes from Hindalco Industries. Novelis is the largest producer of aluminium beverage can sheet and also the world’s largest recycler of used beverage cans. So there’s a high probability that my soft drink can came from Novelis and is headed back there to be recycled. For the past few years, Vodafone helped me stay connected with my parents even when we were miles apart. As a part of ABG, these brands have become global giants and ingrained into lives all over the world. But it’s not just its brands that make ABG the powerhouse it is today. Big is what big does. In line with this mantra, ABG has focused continuously on sustainability and has a Sustainable Business Framework certified to 14 different international standards. It includes policies on the Environment, Water Stewardship, Safety, Human Rights and other important areas. In the long run, these are the efforts that make an impact on not just us, but the entire world. This is the kind of work that makes ABG big in all our lives.

In my own life, I have never consciously tried to make an impact but I was pleasantly surprised lately to find out that I had. I come from a small village in rural Bihar and with my family having mostly lived in places other than our hometown, I was exposed to opportunities that not all my family members could have had. It pains me to say, but in places like our village where education for girls is still not a necessity and working is considered to be an exceptional qualification, my sisters and cousins have never had many ambitions. As a B.Tech graduate, a working professional and finally an MBA student, I am somewhat of an exception back home. Recently in a call with my grandparents, when a cousin mentioned that she would like to pursue higher studies like me and someday earn enough to support herself, I felt that I did make an impact, however small. Maybe my other cousins would be inspired by her, and someday even other girls in my village. After all, all it takes is a small ripple to slowly build up a current that could bring down the mightiest walls!