Chandra Kant Birla – Indian industrialist and philanthropist from Birla family

Chandra Kant Birla is an Indian industrialist and philanthropist, and a fifth generation member of Birla family. He currently serves as the chairman of the CK Birla Group, associated with IT, education, construction and healthcare. He is the son of Ganga Prasad Birla, industrialist, educationalist and philanthropist from Kolkata.

CK Birla is the son of Ganga Prasad Birla, known for constructing many educational and health care institutions apart from building temples and renovating historic monuments. He is the grandnephew of industrialists – Jugal Kishore Birla, Rameshwar Das Birla and Ghanshyam Das Birla. Madhav Prasad Birla, Krishna Kumar Birla and Basant Kumar Birla are his uncles while Aditya Vikram Birla is his second-cousin. Yashovardhan Birla, Shobhana Bhartia, Rajashree Birla, Sarla Birla, and Kumar Mangalam Birla are other prominent members of his close family circle.

Chandra Kant Birla serves as the chairman of the CK Birla Group, apart from heading AVTEC, HIL, National Engineering Industries, Neosym, Orient Cement and Orient Paper & Industries. He is the present-day generation member belonging to Braj Mohan’s (fourth son of Baldeo Das Birla) lineage. His group is also associated with many philanthropic activities.

Chandra Kant Birla – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. Rameswar Das Birla, Ghanshyam Das Birla, Krishna Kumar Birla, Chandrakant Birla, Yasovardhan Birla, Basant Kumar Birla and Kumar Mangalam Birla are some other prominent figures of Birla family belonging to different generations. Most of them were associated with business and well-known industrialists.

2. Present generation (6^th) of his family members include Ananya Birla – a pop singer and Aryaman Birla – a cricketer, (with roots from his paternal uncle Ghanshyam Das Birla) and both are not linked with family business.

3. Birla family’s cotton business began in 1857 in Kolkata with his great-great-grandfather Shiv Narayana Birla being the first member. While most of his family members moved to Maharashtra after the establishment of business firms in the late 19^th century, father preferred to stay in Kolkata where he established a business empire and reputation of his own.

4. Seth Shobharam, grandson of Seth Bhudharmal, who lived in the early 19^th century, was the first one from Birla family who got into trade and business. He was a local trader. It was his son, Seth Shiv Narayana in the second half of 19^th century who ventured business outside their hometown Pilani, now a part of Rajasthan. Birla industrial family flourished since then.