Over 160 years of Birla Heritage

It was the year 1862 when Shiv Narain Birla stepped out of Rajasthan, the desert state of India towards Mumbai, to set up a Trading House. This move marked the first step in the evolution of the biggest industrial empire India had ever seen. Today, the Group has operations across the globe.

In the initial years, the Group was only involved in commodity trading and in exports and imports. In 1918, the Group diversified out into manufacturing and set up its first jute mill. Since then, there has been no looking back.

By the mid twenties, the majority of their activities centred around industry. The Group was now involved in the manufacture of a vast range of textiles made from jute, synthetics, cotton, wool and fibers. Each unit is an independent public limited company listed on the stock exchange.

The Birlas, in fact, pioneered the concept of public holdings and professional management. Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of Trusteeship has guided the Group’s business-thinking and actions through generations.

It comes as no surprise that the Birlas are one of the strong pillars holding up the Indian economy today, while participating significantly in the Global economy.