Chandra Kant Birla (born 1955) is an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He is the chairman of the CKA Birla Group (Formerly CK Birla Group).

Early life

Birla was born in 1955 in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. He completed his schooling at La Martiniere for Boys,

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, and later he graduated with a degree in economics from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata. He is the son of industrialist Ganga Prasad Birla and the grandson of Braj Mohan Birla. He gained business expertise under the guidance of his grandfather, B. M. Birla, regarding him as his mentor.

Career

Birla is chairman of the CKA Birla Group (Formerly CK Birla Group), overseeing its diversified operations across the country. He is the chairman for various companies under the group umbrella. These include AVTEC, a manufacturer of auto parts, BirlaNu (Formerly HIL Limited), Neosym, National Engineering Industries Limited (manufacturer of NBC Bearings), Orient Electric, and Orient Paper & Industries. He is on the board of directors at Birlasoft. He is a member of the board of directors of the

Commonwealth Business Council The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) was an institution of the Commonwealth Family that aimed to use the global network of the Commonwealth of Nations more effectively for the promotion of global trade and investment for shared prosperity. I ...

, chairman of the board of governors of the Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, and a trustee of The Calcutta Medical Research Institute. Birla is a member of the National Committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He was also the chairman of the board of governors at the Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur. Birla was on the board of Century Textile and Industries through his shareholding at Pilani Investment and Industries Corporation, a Birla family holding company. He was appointed as the chairman of Hindustan Motors in November 1997 and resigned from the chairmanship and directorship in December 2013.

Philanthropy

In healthcare and education, their major initiatives comprise the B.M. Birla Heart Research Centre in

, Calcutta Medical Research Institute, a hospital in Kolkata, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra in

Ranchi Ranchi (; ) is the capital city and also the largest district by population of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern ...

, Modern High School for Girls in

, and the Rukmani Birla Modern High School in

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

. He oversees the G. P. Birla Archaeological Astronomical and Scientific Research Institute (GPBAASRI), BM Birla Science Centre, and Space Museum in Hyderabad. In April 2020, Birla, his wife Amita Birla, and the CKA Birla Group (Formerly CK Birla Group) jointly committed a sum of 35 crores to support the government's efforts against the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Of this, 25 crores were directed to the

PM CARES Fund The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) was created on 27 March 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Although it is named for the Prime Minister of India, and uses the State E ...

, with the remaining funds allocated to state government initiatives for the procurement of equipment.

Personal life

In 1975, Birla married Amita Birla, the daughter of Raj Kumar Bagri, a co-founder of the London-based

London Metal Exchange The London Metal Exchange (LME) is a futures and forwards exchange in London, United Kingdom with the world's largest market in standardised forward contracts, futures contracts and options on base metals. The exchange also offers contracts on ...

and his wife Usha Maheshwary. The couple has two daughters.

Recognition

The

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

, Switzerland, honored Birla as a Global Leader for Tomorrow, recognizing him among a select group of industrialists. The Rajasthan Foundation, under the Government of Rajasthan, has listed him among the "Legends of Rajasthan" in the business category. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birla, Chandra Kant Businesspeople from Delhi Indian billionaires Living people Chandra Kant Rajasthani people 1956 births La Martiniere Calcutta alumni St. Xavier's College, Kolkata alumni CK Birla Group