Early Life and Education
Birla was born on 14 November 1943 in Kolkata to industrialist Basant Kumar and Sarala Birla. His grandfather Ghanshyam Das Birla was an associate of Mahatma Gandhi and had built his fortune on aluminium prospecting and as the manufacturer of the Ambassador car.
After college in Kolkata, Birla earned a degree in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was married to Rajashri and had a daughter Vasavadatta and a son Kumar Mangalam, who now heads the Aditya Birla Group.
In 1993, Birla was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His wife and son took on many of the responsibilities of the group There were rumors that he suffered a slipped disc in 1995, but it wasn't true and he was admitted to the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for treatment for prostate cancer. After four months of struggle he died on 1 October 1995.
Aditya Vikram Birla, the chairman of the $2.3-billion Birla Group and an advocate of expanding Indian economic activity abroad, died Sunday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore of complications arising from pneumonia, according to his business associates.
Mr. Birla, who was 51 and widely regarded as one of India's most successful businessmen, was admitted to the hospital about four months ago for treatment of a slipped disc. His associates said he had contracted pneumonia in the hospital.
Indian Prime Minister (then Finance Minister) Manmohan Singh called Mr. Birla "among the best and brightest citizens of India."
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