A doyen of the Indian industry, BK Birla
Birla group patriarch Basant Kumar Birla passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday. He was 98.
According to reports, Birla’s body would be brought to his house at Birla Park in Kolkata and the cremation will take place on Thursday. The seat of the Birla brothers in the city- Birla Building will remain closed tomorrow as a mark of respect to B K Birla.
A doyen of the Indian industry, BK Birla had been suffering from age-related ailments.
Who was BK Birla?
- Born on 12 January 1921, Birla was the youngest son of philanthropist Ghanshyam Das Birla.
- He was the chairman of Century Textiles and Industries and had been active in business since the age of 15.
- The nonagenarian industrialist was the chairman of Century Textiles, Krishnarpan Charity Trust, which runs an engineering college named BK Birla Institute of Engineering and Technology at Pilani, Rajasthan and a patron of 25 educational institutions across the country.
- He subsequently became the chairman of Kesoram Industries.
- He specifically focussed on the industries such as cotton, viscose, polyester and nylon yarns, refractory, paper, shipping, tyrecord, transparent paper, spun pipe, cement, tea, coffee, cardamom, chemicals, plywood and MDF Board.
- BK Birla also authored several books, including an autobiography titled ‘Svantah Sukhaya’.
