Birla Group: 140 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 in over 12 countries and a turnover that exceeds US$ 8 billion.

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.

Birlas firmly believe in technological excellence. It's a philosophy that has helped bring to India technologies and collaborations from 70 International giants.   The Birla Group is the foremost Indian industrial conglomerate. And it comes as no surprise that they are one of the strong pillars holding up the Indian economy today.