PRACTICAL – 01

Name of Practical: Submit a profile summary of successful

entrepreneur (in 500 word) indicating milestone achievement.

GHANSHYAM DAS BIRLA (1894-1983)

Inheriting his family’s money-lending business, Birla diversified into
manufacturing. He moved to Calcutta to establish a textiles business,
much to the displeasure of European and British merchants in the area,
who did their best to shut Birla’s business down. Birla had to overcome
not only resistance from established players but also the biased policies
of the British government which discriminated against Bengali traders.

In the 1940s, Birla purchased Hindustan Motors and continued to

diversify his business, investing in tea, cement, chemicals, and rayon.
He was also the first Indian to found a commercial bank, the United
Commercial Bank Limited. Now Aditya Birla group operates in more than
33 countries, employs over 133,000 people and has annual revenues of
over $35 billion.

Birla also founded the Birla Engineering College - now the Birla Institute
of Technology and Science, which is now one of the nation’s best
engineering schools.

Achievement: Laid the foundations of the Birla Empire; founder of the

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Ghanshyam Das Birla is considered as a doyen of Indian Industry. He

was the man who laid the foundations of the Birla Empire. G.D. Birla was
a multi-faceted personality. He was a close associate of Mahatma
Gandhi and advised Gandhiji on economic policies. He was the most
important pre-Independence contributor to the Indian National Congress.
Ghanshyam Das Birla was the founder of the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He is also popularly
known as the builder of Birla Mandirs.

Born on April 10, 1894, G.D. Birla, was a native of Pilani. His grandfather
Shiv Narayan Birla was a traditional marwari moneylender. Ghanshyam
Das Birla entered the business arena during the time of First World War.
He established a cotton mill in Sabzi Mandi, and later on established
Keshoram Cotton Mills. Along with cotton mills he diversified to jute
business and shifted his base to Calcutta city in Bengal, the world's
largest jute producing region. He established Birla Jute Mills in Bengal,
much to the consternation of established European merchants.

In 1919, with an investment of Rs. 50 lakhs, the Birla Brothers Limited

was formed and a mill was set up in Gwalior. In 1930s, G.D. Birla set up
Sugar and Paper mills. In 1940s, he ventured into the territory of cars
and established Hindustan Motors. After independence, Ghanshyam
Das Birla invested in tea and textiles through a series of acquisitions of
erstwhile European companies. He also expanded and diversified into
cement, chemicals, rayon and steel tubes.

Ghanshyam Das Birla also founded several educational institutions. Birla

Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS) Pilani has today evolved
into one of India's best engineering schools. He also established many
temples, planetariums, and hospitals. Ghanshyam Das Birla died in 1983
at the age of 90. In his honour, G.D. Birla award for scientific Research
has been established to encourage scientists for their contribution in the
various fields of scientific Research.

Career: Birla left Pilani for Calcutta in order to start his own business as
he wanted to prove himself. He successfully established a dealership in
cotton and as his business escalated he came back to Pilani again and
got a mansion constructed for the family.

Later, Birla took over the family business and decided to expand it—he
turned money lending business into manufacturing. He started a jute
enterprise irrespective of the fact that British policies and rule supported
European merchants more than Indian businessmen at that time.
He saved his business many a times from getting shut down by the
British and Scottish merchants. They tried to establish their monopolist
ways by trying to pester him and harm his jute firm. It was during World
War I when there was a supply problem all through the British Empire
that Birla’s business became a great success.
It was with such success that Birla decided to further diversify his
business and with an investment of 5 million Indian Rupees he formally
set up the Birla Brothers Limited in 1919. He established a factory in
Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh in the same year.
Besides being a successful businessman, he was also active in politics
and social service. In 1926 he was elected to the Central Legislative
Assembly. He was the founding president of Harijan Sevak Sangh, an
organization founded by Mahatma Gandhi.
With so much success, Birla became a little bolder with his decisions in
business and decided to take the risk of establishing Hindustan Motors
in 1940. After independence Birla got into tea business and started his
own textile industries.
In 1943, he established a commercial bank with Indian capital and
management, which was named United Commercial Bank. Now, it is
known as the UCO bank and is one of the oldest and major commercial
banks of India.
He founded the Birla Engineering College which is now known as the
Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani and Technological
Institute of Textile & Sciences in Bhiwani among other educational
institutions.