My father had the courage to delegate authority to me: Aditya Birla

Born in the biggest business family in India, Aditya, 38, could easily have rested on family laurels and coasted to corporate success. Instead, he chose to dive in at the deep end and make his own waves - and he has done so with results outstanding even for a member of the Birla clan. A reticent young man by character, Aditya nonetheless opened up to India Today's Business Editor Jay Dubashi last month in the course of a 90-minute interview. Excerpts:

On the Birla group:There is no such thing as a Birla group, just individual Birlas on the boards of many companies. At the moment you could say that GD is the head of the family. There are no formal meetings of the family or exchange of views. Individuals in charge of companies take the initiative. We are the most professionalised group in the country today. Each company makes its own policies, expansions, etc. Our business interests are completely different and we don't discuss them with each other. For example. I know nothing about Hindustan Motors which is B.M. Birla's concern. There is a lot of competition within the Birla group, in textiles, for example.

On his personal evolution as a Birla:I was given a licence to start a spinning works in 1964. I was 21 at that time and had just finished chemical engineering from MIT. I did the recruitment of staff and carried out the financial arrangements with banks and financial institutions. I didn't join any existing concern but started my own. I made mistakes but I learnt from them. Starting the company itself was a great training for me. After Eastern Spinning, which today has a turnover of 18 crore - twice its original size - I took on Indian Rayon Corporation, which had been doing very badly. It was running in the red to the tune of Rs 35 lakh.

After a certain stage, money dosen't matter as much as prestige does...I wanted to make my mark as an individual and not just another Birla.