Aditya Birla – Why it’s Big in our lives?
Integrity, commitment, passion, seamlessness, and speed. These values serve as the foundation stone on which the Aditya Birla Group rests. Keeping these values at the heart of every business decision taken by them, it should hardly come as a huge surprise to anyone that the conglomerate is ranked among the Forbes Fortune 500 list.
My association with the Aditya Birla Group has been one which is a little different from others. Yes, I have had my school tiffin packed in a Freshwrapp, and more than half my wardrobe has been bought from Pantaloons, and my Vodafone Idea contact number is how all my near and dear ones contact me, but the one brand that has affected me the most is UltraTech Cement. It may seem a tad unconventional, but my family business was residential real-estate construction. I have seen it grow from a small fledgling business to a successful one in spite of the tough competition we faced and one of the major reasons why we were able to make a good name for ourselves was because we never compromised on the quality of our raw materials.
Another aspect of the ABG group, which I greatly admire is their commitment to serve the society in which they operate. They have built many libraries, institutions, planetariums, university, over 20 hospitals, 50+ schools, and 15 temples. I strongly believe that one should do their best to help those in less fortunate situations and the CSR policy of ABG reflects these views as well.
How I made an impact?
This particular situation takes me back to my school days when I had just finished my class 10 exams. I wanted to spend my next two years studying under the Commerce stream but unfortunately, my town at that time didn’t have many good schools in which I could study. The best school in the district was two towns away, a distance of nearly 50 kilometres from my home. I got admission into that school, but then the issue of the distance became a bone of contention for my family and me. My parents were willing to shift to a place near the school. However, that would have caused some detriment to my father’s business, and it would have caused some problems for my mother too as she held a position of service in Asansol and she has certain health issues which would not have permitted her to travel every day. Moreover, the rent being charged in the other town was exorbitant. At that point, I took a decision. I told my father that I would make the daily commute to school every day. I also took two tuitions in a neighbouring town, which were 25 kilometres away from my home. Altogether, I had to travel an approximate distance of 620 kilometres per week. I took the challenge upon myself that I would maintain perfect attendance for these two years and in those two years’ time, I was absent only once for school, and that too because of an emergency medical appointment of my mother. I even received an award for perfect attendance in class 12. The experience taught me about how if a person puts his mind to something, he shall always be able to achieve it, in spite of whatever hurdles are thrown at him. It also instilled in me a sense of punctuality and discipline, qualities which have continued helping me, even to this day.