March 30, 2025

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EXPANDING THE EMPIRE

IN THE THIRD WEEK of January, Kumar Mangalam Birla summarised the current global situation as uncertain, unpredictable, and unorthodox. "Importantly, we will be embracing an uncertain world, not wrestling with it," he said in his annual noteAs Chairman of the $65 billion Aditya Birla Group that has a presence across 41 countries, he must stay ahead of developments. The group has a global presence across sectors and holds the top slot globally in aluminium rolling and second in carbon black, cellulosic staple fibres and copper rods and third in cement (excluding China). Besides, it has become more diversified in the three decades that Birla has helmed it, even as he has strengthened existing businessesIn recognition of these efforts, Birla has been chosen as the Business Icon of the Year in the BTPwC India's Best CEOs listSTRATEGIC HEFT The Aditya Birla Group has a blend of traditional businesses with a focus on commodities and a strong business-to-consumer portfolio-- an indication of the diverse opportunities India offers"The strengths of the traditional

BUILDING TRUST

IN 1989, WHEN Dr. Devi Shetty left England and returned to India, the cardiac surgeon had no plans of building a hospital empire. He was content working at established institutions. But he was troubled by one question: why was quality healthcare a privilege tied to wealth? During Shetty's early medical training, he had assumed that as a country grew richer, healthcare would naturally become more accessible. That was not the case. "I saw the richest country in the world, the United States, struggling to provide healthcare to its citizens. That meant that India's becoming rich would not necessarily translate into affordable healthcare for everyone." That realisation turned into Shetty's life's mission. He wanted to build a system where healthcare was not a luxury but a right. "My only objective was to bring down the cost of heart care for the common man in the country," says 71-year-old ShettyShetty's father-in-law, construction magnate Charmakki Narayana Shetty, offered to fund his first hospital. What started as a single hospital in Kolkata soon expanded to Bengaluru and beyond. But Shetty, Founder & Chairman of Narayana Health, never imagined that his venture would scale to its current level. "We thought we would build one or two hospitals and see how it goes," he says. "Many factors came into play, and a lot of good people joined the mission. We reached this level mainly because the