Gaurav Sharma

The Mammoth Aditya Birla Group Aditya Birla Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. It operates in 42 countries with more than 120,000 employees worldwide. The group was founded by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla in 1857. The group has interests in viscose staple fiber, metals, cement (largest in India), viscose filament yarn, branded apparel, carbon black, chemicals, fertilizers, insulators, financial services, telecom, BPO and IT services.The group had a revenue of approximately US$44.3 billion in year 2018. It is the third-largest Indian private sector conglomerate with revenue of just over US$100 billion and RIL with revenue of US$74 billion.With a strong focus on stakeholder value creation, Aditya Birla Group has been big in people’s lives in many ways. The main areas of focus are education (Aditya Bal Vidya Mandirs, Balwadis for elementary education), livelihood (4,500 self-help groups created with an overall view to empower women, partnership with industrial training institutes, vocational training through Aditya Birla Rural Technology Parks, watershed development), social change (dowry-less marriage, widow remarriage, DE-addiction programmer), Aditya Birla CSR Centre of Excellence and Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development and performance management (developing plans for the development of the marginalized).Moving on to sustainability in the way they work, Novelis is the world’s largest recycler of used beverage cans and Idea Cellular launched the ‘Green Idea’ initiative with Aditya Birla Group aiming at reduction in carbon dioxide emission. There is also a continuous endeavor to reduce carbon footprint, reduce water consumption and conversion of waste to raw material.Giving back to the society is a cause that has been close to my heart and hence I have grown to appreciate the initiatives taken by Aditya Birla Group, in particular, the focus on de-addiction programmes and dowry-less marriage. I also am a strong proponent of higher education, for it is a respectable way to rise out of poverty which is again a key focus area for the Aditya Birla Group.With such a strong vision to contribute to the country, the group has built a strong image of being a caring corporate citizen and thus, it has struck a chord with people of all socio-economic groups. Acting on an ethos of generosity and compassion is the cornerstone of their CSR policy which shall work in maintaining their brand image for many years to come.