Aditya Birla Group has been extensively making its presence known in almost every segment of possible businesses. From processing of non-ferrous metals, production of cements to its well-oiled Financial and Technology arm (Aditya Birla Capital and Idea Cellular Network), ABG has left a deep impression not just on the history of our esteemed business traditions but also on the millions of lives who were involved with them in one way or other. ABG is one of the biggest business groups in our country and earns its space alongside esteemed names of TATA and Reliance. With an annual revenue of $44.3 billion in 2018 , ABG is now an established organisation with its operations spread out to 35 countries facilitated by a workforce of more than 1.2 lakhs.
Such is the enormity of this privileged organisation. But I would like to insist that this is not the best aspect of ABG. Rather it’s their ability to change the lives of almost anyone and everyone in their own personal way. I am no different to this personalized touch that their products offered to me when I decided to purchase a medical insurance cover for myself. At a meager rate of Rs 759 per year I was getting a lifetime premium insurance cover. When I was doing a comparison between ABG and other options, I was amazed by the number of services included in the cover. The attention to detail is what really caught my eye. Provisions such as Education benefit, Convalescence Benefit, Cancer Secure Cover , Additional Sports Cover etc really connected with me at a personal level. Being an avid Football Player having represented my college in university and national level tournaments, I know the extent of injuries that the sport can have. ABG specifically covered that in their manifesto which instantly connected me with their insurance product.
As I mentioned , the experience of using ABG product is unique to every individual, the ABG was altogether different experience for my father who was initially apprehensive with the idea of going for ABG insurance. But the customer care services provided by ABG completely changed his mind. The customer service was particularly able to pinpoint my father’s needs and suggested a corresponding insurance package which my father could not refuse.
In this way I believe ABG was able to influence my life in a positive unique way which will always stay with me. This I believe is one of its biggest differentiating factor from its competitors and will always put it on a pedestal over the others.
Taking inspiration from ABG and its history, I would like to take this opportunity to narrate my story so far. Coming from a middle class family in a small town of Panvel in Navi Mumbai, I had become independent from a very young age. I had a vibrant childhood and I am always grateful to the way I was brought up. At a young age of 10 years, I became an older brother of 2. Hence my parents were predominantly (and rightly) occupied with their upbringing. I used this opportunity to become more responsible and it paid dividends. I secured good marks in both my 10th and 12th std . I also played football a lot and my parents were not supportive of it. I had to hide my football shoes when I went for practice. I also had to make sure that my dirty Jerseys were not found by my mom . Hence I would silently bring it home and wash it in the night when everyone was asleep . Plus I had a tight schedule everyday. I had school from 8 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon . After that I had football practice from 2 to 3.45 after which I had tuition from 4 in the afternoon to 9.30 in the night. Since my parents were not aware of my football practice, I had to skip lunch almost everyday. All of this efforts ultimately reap benefits when I won the SSN national Level football tournament and made it to the newspaper. I also won the Vibrance national level tournament and finished 2nd IIT Madras sportsfest. It was a moment of joy for me when I saw my mom proudly showing the newspaper cutting to everyone. It was the first time I saw my parents being proud of my achievements in football.
My other big achievement is how I made into one of the most premier B-schools in the country- NMIMS Mumbai. At the end of my 3rd year in the undergrad, I decided to go for MBA against my father’s wishes. He wanted me to go for placements first and then go for further studies afterwards. But I was dead-set to go for MBA. Hence I started my preparations. As it was placement season in my UG in the 4th year, the rules and regulations restricted me from appearing for placements as I chose for higher studies. When my father came to know about this he became extremely angry with me . My mom was the only one who supported me in my pursuit. But all of this made me more determined to get into MBA and prove my father wrong. His main concern was whether I will be able to make it or not and what will I do if I don’t make it. There was no safety net.
Therefore to show my seriousness towards MBA, I stopped playing football for my college team and completely focused on the preparation. It was a big decision for me and was a tough one. But I knew it was the right decision. All of this led to me scoring 99 percentile in NMAT and therefore successfully converting my dream B-school of NMIMS. Now my father always feels proud that his son his doing an MBA from a premier institute. This is my story.
#NMIMSMumbai #ABGLPWooMe
