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KUMAR MANGALAM BIRLA

Kumar Mangalam Birla, born on June 14, 1967, is among the richest persons in India and the eighth youngest billionaire outside India.

He is chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of India's largest business groups. Some of the AV Birla group's companies are: Grasim, Hindalco, UltraTech Cement, Aditya Birla Nuvo and Idea Cellular.
He took over as chairman of the group in 1995, at the age of 28, after the sudden demise of his father, Aditya Birla. When he took charge, there were doubts about his ability to handle the giant business house, but he proved all naysayers wrong. In the 11 years that he has led the group, he has won admiration, recognition and praise for his management acumen and contribution to the industry.

Under his leadership, the group has consolidated its position in existing businesses and ventured into cellular telephony, asset management, software and BPO. He is a chartered accountant and also holds an MBA from the London Business School.


Rahul Bajaj is the chairman of the Bajaj Group, which ranks among the top 10 business houses in India. He is one of India's most distinguished business leaders and internationally respected for his business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit. He took over the reins of Bajaj group in 1965.


Under his leadership, the turnover of the Bajaj Auto the flagship company has risen from Rs 72 million to Rs 46.16 billion.
The initiation of liberalisation in India posed great challenges for Bajaj Auto. Liberalisation brought the threat of cheap imports and FDI from top companies like Honda.
Rahul Bajaj became famous as the head of the Bombay Club, which opposed liberalisation.



The scooter sales plummeted as people were more interested in motorcycles and the rival Hero Honda was a pioneer in it. The recession and stock market collapse of 2001 hit the company hard and it was predicted that the days of Bajaj Auto were numbered.

However, Bajaj Auto re-invented itself, established a world-class factory in Chakan, invested in R&D and came up with Bajaj Pulsar Motorcycle.

Bajaj Pulsar is currently a leader in its segment. Recently, Rahul Bajaj was elected to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra. He is an alumnus of Harvard, St. Stephen's and Cathedral.