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 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 Kolkata 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 college in Kolkata, 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, who now heads the Aditya Birla Group.