Overcoming Challenges And Bringing Value To The World From The Grassroots Level - Ansh Agrawal, NMIMS Mumbai

Since independence, the outreach of ABG brands has gone right down to the common man. The Aditya Birla Group serves the basic needs of the common man. Grasim Industries Limited is the textile arm of the Aditya Birla Group. It was established ten days after India became an independent nation. This is a symbolic fact in the sense that the foundations of the Group were laid down in the cotton textile field and then, right after India’s independence, the flagship brand of the Aditya Birla Group, i.e., “Grasim” is incorporated. Ever since the founder, Seth Shiv Narayan Birla, began cotton trading in the 1860s, till this day, the group has been deeply involved in fulfilling customer needs from the grassroots –

• The UltraTech Cement brand cements human-shelters.
• The Aditya Birla Carbon brand ensures safety while facilitating mobility.
• The BHIM-Aditya Birla tie up streamlines payment mechanisms.
• The Freshwrapp and Freshpakk brands facilitate food hygiene.
• The Pantaloons brand provides basic dignity in the form of clothing and apparel.

Personally, I have been a regular customer at Pantaloons. I can vouch for the fact that with the Pantaloons umbrella of multiple clothing brands like Peter England, Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, and many others, the Aditya Birla Group has truly made a difference in the lives of the Indian demographic. The product offerings have diversity not just in terms of quality but also in terms of price offerings. In my personal experience, the discount sale offers provided at Pantaloons makes a lot of difference for consumers. 

As an Indian, I hold immense pride in being aware of the outreach of ABG’s products, services, and social programs. It has clearly sought to make its mark as a change-maker outside India, with its business operations in North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and other regions. The group has contributed to the global business ecosystem and seeks to help maintain a healthy ecological environment. To me, the Aditya Birla Group is more than just a business conglomerate. In substance, the Aditya Birla Group is a catalyst that has been shaping and cementing the dreams of Indians over the years. It is a brand that has overcome challenges and grown stronger with its global corporate presence. On this note, below, I share my personal experience with challenges.  

How I Overcame Challenges To Achieve My Ambitions In Life So Far

At 12 years of age, I was diagnosed with the illness ‘Dengue’ which went on for multiple months. At that stage, I had just begun doing well in my academic performance. Thereafter, my academic performance for the next few sessions was adversely impacted because I could not attend classes for a long period of time. The major challenges for me at this stage were to cope with peer-competition, cover the academic backlog, and restore my self-confidence.

Throughout my academic years at school, one of my ambitions was to attain the best merit rank in an academic session, i.e., First Merit Rank. During the early months of the academic session of 2008-09, when I was 15 years old, I decided upon a personal goal to restore my academic performance to its best possible level.

In order to realistically achieve my goal, I had to put in consistent efforts for the next year. Consistency needed unwavering focus. It was tough to avoid distractions and deviations, but I held onto my one specific short-term goal of doing my best that academic year. During the year, I also reached out to my faculty very frequently for clearing up subject-specific doubts. For this, I was also judged by my peers in the sense that, they thought I was trying too hard and my efforts were not practical enough. I did not let that bother me because I knew what I wanted.

By the end of the academic session, I indeed achieved my academic ambition. I successfully attained the First Merit Rank. I was also awarded the Certificate of Merit for my overall academic performance. Reaching out for external help, self-belief, decisiveness, and consistency were the key behavioral tools that helped me overcome some of the challenges as mentioned above.