Aditya Birla Group has played a pioneering role in India’s industrial development. Mr. Aditya Vikram Birla’s visionary leadership laid the foundation of the group that today has a presence in 34 countries and over 120000 employees. The Group has a presence in diverse sectors such as cement, telecom, fashion, financial services, chemicals etc. The Group is known for its ethical values and strong focus on giving back to the society through its various educational institutions and other philanthropic ventures.
I studied in Sarala Birla Academy, the first international boarding school set up by the group in 2004. I studied in the school from 2004 to 2010. The school shaped my personality and it has had a profound impact on my life. The boarding school experience completely transformed me from a shy kid to a confident young boy ready to achieve greater things in life. It made me independent, helped me discover myself, kindled my interest in reading and squash and helped me open up as a person. I will always remain grateful to my alma mater and all the teachers there for their guidance, support and knowledge dissemination. The school set up by the Aditya Birla Group is special in many ways. I still vividly recall Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla’s presence at the inauguration ceremony of the school. He proudly narrated how the school was a living tribute to his grandmother Mrs. Sarala Birla. The school provided excellent infrastructure facilities and an environment which was conducive to learning and self-discovery. I will always cherish my time spent at Sarala Birla Academy and for that I will always remain grateful to the Aditya Birla Group.
I studied in an international boarding school from Class 7 to Class 12. Staying away from home at such a young age was a great learning experience for me. It taught me to be independent, punctual and to learn to do things on my own. The boarding school experience taught me the true value of time. We had a packed schedule at school and I learnt to manage my time which has helped me immensely in my time management skills. In my school, we had students from different nationalities with different cultures and diverse backgrounds. Staying with them in the same campus throughout the year exposed me to such diverse cultures. The environment at school helped me to discover my love for squash and other outdoor games. I also inculcated the habit of reading books, newspapers and magazines which has stayed with me till date.
I studied Economic Applications in Grade IX & X and took up the Commerce stream in Grade XI & XII. Thereafter I pursued a B.Com ( Hons) degree from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata with specialisation in Accounting & Finance in the third year along with CA course. After clearing the first 2 levels of the CA course, I was unable to clear the third level. Despite putting in a lot of effort, I was unable to clear the exam. I was extremely disappointed and felt completely dejected. I knew to overcome this disappointment; I should explore something different. This prompted me to explore working in a company having a global footprint and vast operations. As a result, I joined Uber India's local team in Kolkata and worked there for a year. This was a tremendous learning opportunity for me where I got the chance to work in a startup company that is truly revolutionizing the way in which people commute worldwide. After working in Kolkata for a year, I got an opportunity to work at Uber's Centre of excellence (COE) in Hyderabad, the first to be set up in South Asia. Working in Hyderabad further broadened my horizon and work experience.
I have always felt that there is a hidden entrepreneur in me. My mother, who is very creative, used to make handmade greeting cards, bookmarks, envelopes with waste materials and gift these items to relatives and friends on different occasions. She always received lot of appreciation for her items. Seeing this, an idea struck me. I incorporated a firm and listed the various products created by her on various ecommerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon. Although this was on a small scale, but this whole process ignited the entrepreneurial instinct in me. I realised that with the right marketing strategy and business knowledge that I can obtain at an MBA school, I will be able to realise my dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur. This prompted me to appear for entrance tests and ultimately, I got admission into IMI Dlehi in their PGDM program. The last one year at IMI New Delhi has been terrific and I have really enjoyed the experience so far. It has been a great learning experience so far and I look forward to making the most of all the opportunities that are going to come my way in the next 9 months.