Aditya Vikram Birla

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 net worth was estimated at £250 million by 1995. His death at the age of 51 left his young son Kumar Mangalam Birla in charge of his group of companies.[1]

"Aditya Birla" redirects here. For the company, see Aditya Birla Group.

Aditya Vikram Birla
Birla on a 2013 stamp
Born14 November 1943
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died1 October 1995(1995-10-01) (aged 51)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
NationalityIndian
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
OccupationFormer chairman of Aditya Birla Group
Spouse(s)Rajashree Birla
ChildrenKumar Mangalam (son)
Vasavadatta Bajaj (daughter)
Parent(s)Basant Kumar Birla, Sarala Birla

Early life and education

Birla was born on 14 November 1943 in Calcutta to industrialist Basant Kumar[2] and Sarala Birla.[3] 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.[2]

After attending St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, he earned a degree in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[2] He was married to Rajashri and had a daughter Vasavadatta and a son Kumar Mangalam,[2] who now heads the Aditya Birla Group.[4]

Aditya Vikram Birla received his Sanskrit education from the late Sanskrit scholar Shri Durga Prasad Shastri in Kolkata.

He was married to Rajashree Birla.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] The best medical 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."[2]

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 bosom friend of Ghanshyamdas Birla. Birla arranged for his daughter Vasavadatta to marry Kushagra Bajaj, son of Shishir Bajaj (Rahul Bajaj's younger brother[8]) 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.[9]

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.[10] 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".[11]

Biography

Notes and references
  1. Hazarika, Sanjoy (3 October 1995). "Aditya Vikram Birla, 51, A Leading Indian Businessman". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  2. Hazarika, Sanjoy (3 October 1995). "Aditya Vikram Birla, 52, A Leading Indian Businessman". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
  3. "Passing the Baton". Economic Times. 27 May 2005. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
  4. "At the helm (Aditya Birla Group Management Team)". Aditya Birla Group. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
  5. "At home: Rajashree Birla". www.ft.com. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  6. Gurcharan Das (2002). India Unbound: From Independence to the Global Information Age (PDF). Penguin Books. ISBN 978-1861974457. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2016.
  7. "Story of one of India's prominent business families". Money Control. 20 February 2005. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
  8. https://www.livemint.com/Companies/W1KcASuM6q2liXL3ALmJRJ/Bajaj-Group-plans-for-Gen-Next-with-a-family-settlement.html
  9. "Aditya Birla Scholarship". Experts' Global. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  10. Chavan to give away Aditya Vikram Birla awards. Newstrackindia.com (5 February 2013). Retrieved on 2018-11-09.
  11. Aditya Vikram Birla. indiapost.gov.in (14 January 2013)
  12. Minhaz Merchant (1997). Aditya Vikram Birla, a biography. Viking.
  13. "Minhaz Merchant". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.

A special commemorative stamp issued by postal department of India on Aditya vikram Birla

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