The ABG Advantage - SDA Bocconi Asia Center

The ABG Advantage - SDA Bocconi Asia Center    The seeds of Birla Empire were sown way back in 1850s, in the hot deserts of Pillani in Rajasthan, when a small cotton trader named Shiv Narayan Birla decided to start trading opium with China. In its journey of last 150 years, the company has transformed itself into a multinational conglomerate having operations in over 35 countries and providing livelihood to over 120,000 employees.    Since independence, the group has had a major role in shaping various industries ranging from textiles to banking in India. It owns India’s largest telecom network Vodafone, largest cement operator Ultratech, operates India’s largest fashion company Aditya Birla Fashion,the clothing retail chain Pantaloonscoupled with popular brands like LouisPhillip,Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Linen Cluband Peter England. It is also highly active in the energy and mining sector, owning Hindalcothe world’s largest aluminum rolling company, wind mill projects, iron ore mining company, fertilizer company, chemical plants and a copper smelting plant.    It also operates e-commerce websites, digital bank BHIM, the mutual funds company Birla Sun Life, Hindustan Times, ceiling fans and home appliances company Orient Electric, the rayon company Century Textileand the automobile company Hindustan Motors. The company has invested heavily in developing the social infrastructure of India by building various institutions and landmarks like universities, libraries, planetariums, temples, hospitals and schools.    The company has been a key pillar in India’s growth and will continue to shape its success story with its endeavors in the coming years.    Overcoming Challenges- Skiing Course from Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering in Kashmir. 

 

When my parents dropped me off to the camp in 2014, a sense of paranoia started gripping me. Not only was I terrified of indulging in this extreme sport, I was also worried about staying in a secluded hostel on the snow-clad mountains of Kashmir for a training period of 15 days. The students had to manage their chores independently and would also remain cut off from the outside world due to recurrent blizzards and severe network issues.   The next set of days were extremely trying and as anticipated, the slope was merciless. I fell down in every two minutes, tangled my skis with the ski gear and hurt myself. My entire time on the slope was divided between only two activities - falling down and trying to get up. Falling down was fairly easy but getting up required all my might and the kind help of my fellow batch-mates and ski instructors, soon after the first half of the first day, all of them discontinued their help.   On third night of the camp, I decided to put an end to this ordeal, phoned my parents and asked them to pick me up. My parents agreed but asked me to give it one last shot, on the following day, things did become a little bearable and I also made a couple of friends. One of them asked me if I skated and suggested me to think of skis as skates and balance my body in similar fashion.  On the next day, I approached skiing exactly like skating and to my amazement, her brilliant cheat code worked! I phoned my parents and told them that I will come home only after finishing the course. The consequent days were very blissful and proved me that human body is highly adaptable. It is us, who restrict ourselves by creating limiting beliefs in the mind.