The story
CKA Birla Group was founded by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla in 1862. In 1939, the group established Orient Paper in Brajarajnagar, Odisha, which went on to become India's largest paper company. In 1946, National Engineering Industries (NEI) was founded, followed by the acquisition of Neosym, previously known as Indian Smelting & Refining Company, in 1947.
In 1948, Braj Mohan Birla started the operations of Hindustan Motors, an automotive company that he founded in West Bengal. Known for producing the Ambassador car, widely used as a taxicab and government limousine, Hindustan Motors held the position of India's largest car manufacturer until the rise of Maruti Udyog.
Under Ganga Prasad Birla's leadership, the group ventured into project management by acquiring the three-million-tonne Ajaokuta steel project from the Nigerian government, which was facing operational challenges at the time. It undertook the modernization of integrated steel plants owned by the state-operated Steel Authority of India Limited in Durgapur and Rourkela.
Subsequent acquisitions included Orient Fans (1954) and HIL (1956). In the 1990s, the C K Birla Group had a 50:50 joint venture with General Motors, which ended in 1999 when GM acquired 86%, and Holden took 14% of the Indian production facilities.
It expanded in cement (Orient Cement, 1982) and information technology (Birlasoft, 1995). Institutions like Birla Science Centre and BM Birla Heart Research Centre were founded in 1985 and 1989, respectively. AVTEC, an automotive component manufacturer, was formed in 2005. The group acquired Switzerland-based ASSAG in 2013 and EnablePath in 2014 by Birlasoft.
In 2017 group entities have been associated with manufacturing joint ventures linked to Groupe PSA (later Stellantis) for powertrain production and vehicle manufacturing in India, supporting Citroën’s operations in the country.
In 2018, HIL acquired Germany-based Parador Holdings GmbH, a manufacturer of flooring products for $96.5 million in July 2018. In 2020, National Engineering Industries (NEI) acquired Slovakia-based Kinex Bearings through its European subsidiary. During the same period, HIL divested its thermal insulation business to Imerys SA for US$11.26 million (₹80 crore). In 2022, HIL acquired Fast Build Blocks, an Odisha-based building materials company for ₹65 crore.
In 2024, Hyderabad Industries Limited (HIL) was rebranded as BirlaNu Limited as part of a restructuring of the group’s building products business. Through 2024–2026, the group continued operations across its core sectors, including automotive components, software services through Birlasoft, industrial products, building materials, and consumer electricals, while maintaining international manufacturing and distribution operations.
From Wikipedia’s article on CKA Birla Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3