INTRODUCTION OF ENTREPRENEUR

Aditya Vikram Birla (14 November 1943 – 1 October 1995), was an

Indian industrialist. Born into one of the largest business families
of India, he oversaw the diversification of his group into textiles,
petrochemicals and telecommunications. He was one of the first
Indian industrialists to expand abroad, setting up plants in South
east Asia, the Philippines and Egypt. His networth was estimated
at £250 million by 1995. His death at the age of 52 left his young
son Kumar Mangalam Birla in charge of his group of companies.

Early life and education

Birla was born on 14 November 1943 in Calcutta to

industrialist Basant Kumar and Sarala Birla. His
grandfather Ghanshyam Das Birla was an associate of Mahatma
Gandhi and had built his fortune on aluminium prospecting and
as the manufacturer of the Ambassador car.
After attending St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, he earned a degree
in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. He was married to Rajashri and had a daughter
Vasavadatta and a son Kumar Mangalam,[1] who now heads
the Aditya Birla Group.
Aditya Vikram Birla received his Sanskrit education from the late
Sanskrit scholar Shri Durga Prasad Shastri in Kolkata.

Career

After returning to India in 1965, Birla struck out on his own in

textiles. His Eastern Spinning Mills in Calcutta (Kolkata) quickly
became a success, putting the group's sinking rayon and textile
business back on track. He was then placed in charge of the
corporation's expansion into the oil sector.
In 1969, Birla set up Indo-Thai Synthetics Company Ltd, the
group's first overseas company. In 1973, he established P.T.
Elegant Textiles to manufacture spun yarn. It marked the group's
first venture in Indonesia. In 1974 Thai Rayon, the Group's Viscose
Rayon Staple Fibre business was incorporated in Thailand. In
1975 The Indo Phil Group of companies, the first Indo-Filipino
joint venture commenced production of spun yarn. In 1977 Pan
Century Edible Oils was incorporated in Malaysia, going on to
become the world's largest single-location palm oil refinery. In
1978 Thai Carbon Black, was incorporated in Thailand. In 1982
P.T Indo Bharat Rayon was established, the first producer of
Viscose Staple Fibre in Indonesia. All these ventures not only put
the Birla group on the world map as the companies became the
largest producer of Viscose staple fibre and refiner of palm oil.
Ghanshyam Das Birla died in 1983, bequeathing most of his
companies to his grandson Aditya. With Aditya Vikram Birla as the
chairman, the Birla group of companies success expanded
Hindustan Gas and rescued Indo-Gulf Fertilisers and Chemicals
Ltd.

Death

In 1993, Birla was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His aged father
and young son took over many of the responsibilities of the
group. The best medical attention for treatment for prostate cancer
was arranged for Birla, and he availed of the cutting edge facilities
available at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He spent
many months at that facility, and it was there that he died on 1
October 1995. He was survived by both his parents, his wife and
both his children, as also by two sisters and a daughter-in-law.
Former Indian Prime Minister (then Finance Minister) Manmohan
Singh called Mr. Birla "among the best and brightest citizens of
India."
While battling cancer and dealing with the torment of his
devastated parents, Birla's great concern was in fact to see his
daughter settled into a respectable family. Towards this end, he
took recourse to a very old and deep friendship with the Bajaj
family, the descendants of Jamnalal Bajaj, who had been a busom
friend of Ghanshyamdas Birla. Birla arranged for his daughter
Vasavadatta to marry Kushagra Bajaj, son of Shishir Bajaj of the
Bajaj family. He witnessed their engagement ceremony but not
their wedding. The wedding could not be held immediately because
the couple, both born in 1976, were still underage. Vasavadatta
could marry at eighteen, but under the Indian law, Kushagra could
not marry until he turned twenty-one. The couple were married in
1997, two years after Birla's demise.

Legacy

His group instituted the Aditya Birla Scholarships in his memory.

Every year more than 40 scholars from among six Indian Institutes
of Management, seven Indian Institutes of Technology, Birla
Institute of Technology and Science and Faculty of Management
Studies (Delhi) receive this scholarship. From the 2012–13-year
onwards, this scholarship was extended to 4 law campuses as well.
Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital in Pimpri-Chinchwad has been
named after him.
The Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar and Kalakiran Puraskar
awards for excellence in theatre and performing arts are given
every year, were instituted in 1996 by the Sangeet Kala Kendra
(SKK), which was founded in 1973 by Aditya Vikram Birla to
encourage performing arts.] A special commemorative stamp has
been released by Government of India in the name of Aditya
Vikram Birla on 14 January 2013, honouring him as "India's first
global industrialist".

Biography

Aditya Vikram Birla, a biography by Minhaz Merchant.