The timeline goes back to more than 150 years when the group was founded by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla in 1857. From cotton trading in Pilani, Rajasthan to operations in more than 11 business sectors in 34 countries across 5 continents, the group has made marvelous progress. Overseas operations forming more than 50% of revenue speaks for itself.
The group has been long known as first India based international group that now leads globally in aluminum rolling, copper smelting, carbon black, telecom Company and the list goes on and on. The group has always had India at its core as the focus was to put India business on the world map. The group has created enormous wealth for the nation and generated respect for Indian entrepreneurship in South East Asia.
Talking about my engagement with the conglomerate, I belong to the generation Z though there is significant debate on birth years under generation Z but I would rather go with the majority view. The generation has been an end user of the dot com boom. We have witnessed technology disruptions and fondly enjoyed ample products and services.
It is not very tough to recall my very first mobile connection that was Idea 2G. The impressions created by ‘
What an Idea, SirJi’ and ‘
Walk and Talk’ were substantial in my involvement with Idea Cellular of Aditya Birla Group. The transition from 2G to 3G was smooth and Idea was awarded prestigious World Communication Awards 2012 (WCA) under the ‘Best Brand Campaign’. This goes on to show the kind of impact Idea Cellular created on its users.
The group has such a vast range of products and services that only mentioning telecom would be myopic. The flagship Grasim Industries that was setup in 1947, post-independence revolutionized the Indian textiles with state of the art machinery. The linen that has been worn by us has come from Jaya Shree Textiles, part of the illustrious Aditya Birla Group with Grasim Industries being the holding company. From journeys in trains, electricity in our homes to the clothes we wear, the third-largest Indian private sector conglomerate has been part of them all.
As the iconic group evolved, it made a new mark for new milestones by changing its corporate logo. The journey of 2 decades from launch of first Aditya Birla Group logo to 15 August, 2016 that is the launch date of new logo had seen the group evolve and transform. The new logo combined legacy and modernity with sun depicting legendary leader, Aditya Vikram Birla and a blend of continuity plus change.
Coming to part two of the story – my life and the hurdles that I jumped. I have always been an individual looking for learning opportunities. Since my childhood, I have had this trait but the only difference has been that I was not aware of it at that time. As I was doing my engineering in computer science, I felt that the syllabus that is being taught is not up to date and lacks many new technologies. I started finding opportunities and I got to know about Microsoft Student Partners. I applied and got selected in the Microsoft Student Partner team. I organized seminars, talks and events to develop an appetite for new technologies among my peers. My efforts were appreciated by Microsoft when Head of the Academic Initiatives, Microsoft visited the campus citing the amazing responses. Another major challenge that I successfully conquered was of motivating female students to participate in blood donation drives. Debunking the major myths around blood donation especially among women was the primary challenge. I used my content writing and public speaking skills to create an impact. Having been through these challenges and coming out on top gives me utmost satisfaction.
I have also got inspired by the CSR initiatives of the Aditya Birla Group like installing more than 1000 bio gas plants, vaccinated over 90 million people for polio and setup of 4500 women empowerment groups are just a few to speak of.
I aspire to keep on doing my bit for the society and develop personally & professionally in the best possible manner.