Basant Kumar Birla passed away at the age of 98. (Express Archive)Birla group patriarch Basant Kumar Birla passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday. He was 98.
Born on 12 January 1921, the nonagenarian industrialist was the chairman of Century Textiles, Krishnarpan Charity Trust, BK Birla Institute of Engineering and Technology (BKBIET) and various educational trusts and institutes.
He was the youngest son of industrialist and philanthropist Ghanshyam Das Birla. He had been associating himself with a large number of companies since the age of 15 and subsequently became the chairman of Kesoram Industries.
Birla specifically concentrated on sectors like cotton, viscose, polyester and nylon yarns, refractory, paper, shipping, tyrecord, transparent paper, spun pipe, cement, tea, coffee, cardamom, chemicals, plywood, MDF Board.
Birla is survived by his daughters Jayshree Mohta and Manjushree Khaitan. His son Aditya Vikram Birla died in 1995. Kumar Mangalam Birla, the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, is the grandson of BK Birla.
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