Birla family Ethnicity Primarily Hindu Maheshwari descent Current region Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, India Notable members Baldeo Das Birla
Jugal Kishore Birla
Ghanshyam Das Birla
Krishna Kumar Birla
Basant Kumar Birla
Aditya Birla
Kumar Mangalam Birla
Yasho
Aditya Vikram Birla (14 November 1943 – 1 October 1995), was an Indian industrialist. Born into one of the largest business families of India, Birla 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, among other places. His unexpected death at the age of 52 left his young son in charge of his group of companies and also much doubt about whether it would survive him. These doubts however proved unfounded as his company has enjoyed success and so has his legacy of philanthropic activities.
Early life and education
Birla was born on 14 November 1943 in Kolkata to industrialist Basant Kumar [1] and Sarala Birla.[2] 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.[1]
After college in Kolkata, he earned a degree in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1] He was married to Rajashri and had a daughter Vasavadatta and a son Kumar Mangalam,[1] who now heads the Aditya Birla Group.[3]
In 1993, Birla was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His wife and son took on many of the responsibilities of the group [4] (There were rumors that he