Discover the beginning

Enriching Lives | Well-being

Aditya Birla Centre for Enriching Lives is a multidisciplinary institution envisaged to focus on conducting research and experiments, co-creating innovative design solutions, developing playbooks, and setting up dynamic resource pools.

Our vision, “Enrich Lives, Enrich Society,” is an emphatic call to action and firmly underscores our belief in the symbiotic link between individual progress and societal prosperity.

The Mission

Build Pathway and Harness Collective Intelligence for Contemporary Wellbeing

Integral to our approach is the creation of community assets that sow the seeds for a brighter future. Over time, ABCEL will develop the Enriching Life Index — a benchmark designed for evaluating the quality of life across various demographics and geographic regions — and Enrichpedia, an open network resource for contemporary well-being..

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

Kumar Mangalam Birla Chairman Aditya Birla Group
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The foundation of the Aditya Birla Group, rests upon a philosophy of trusteeship, which imagines corporations as institutions that drive collective prosperity. In some ways, this nuanced reimagining of capitalism was cemented in the profound and enduring friendship between Mahatma Gandhi and our Group’s patriarch, Mr. G. D. Birla. This extract from his letter to shareholders, more than 50 years ago is instructive.

“How does one judge a Company?
Do the criteria depend solely on its profitability, its production figures, market shares, and product ratings? Or is there some other aspect one must consider as well – some deeper, warmer, more human aspect?
We have always believed there is … what really matters is how much the Company cares. How socially involved it is. To what extent it is concerned about improving the quality of life of the people around it – not just its own employees, mind you, but all the members of the community it lives in.”

Grasim Annual Report 1973.

This philosophy has played an integral role in shaping our actions for generations, guiding us in our quest to enrich lives. Over the years, this purpose, though unstated, has been our unwavering anchor.

Our Purpose – To enrich lives, by building dynamic and responsible businesses and institutions, that inspire trust— I believe, is a force multiplier for greater good.

This belief catalyzed the creation of the Aditya Birla Centre for Enriching Lives (ABCEL) - a multidisciplinary institution focused on researching issues, designing solutions, and amplifying interventions to enrich lives.

In a world ever thirsty for new ideas, we stand at the brink, ready to sprinkle seeds of innovative solutions into a future that urgently beckons for renewal.

ABCEL is imagined at a unique moment in India’s evolutionary curve. India, today, finds itself at the cusp of transformative growth. And it is our collective responsibility to ensure that this growth spurs the enrichment of lives.

I have always believed that for an impact to endure, it needs to transcend the motivations and lifetimes of individuals. It needs to be backed by solid institutions that have purpose at their very core.

This belief has given us the energy to build storied institutions over a long arc of time. ABCEL marks our next monumental commitment— an unequivocal pledge to enriching lives in contemporary India.

And this isn’t our journey alone. It is a collective movement, where every individual, community, and organization can play a pivotal role.

Kumar Mangalam Birla
Chairman, Aditya Birla Group

Enrich Lives, Enrich Society

Design pathways. Harness the collective for contemporary well-being

Enriching Lives - ABCEL

Think tank

Our founding think-tank contributes a wealth of diverse expertise and experience to further our mission.

Ashok Ramchandran

Director
Human Resources
Aditya Birla Group

Ashok joined the group in October 2015 and has over 34 years of rich and varied experience in HR, spanning multiple sectors in IR and HR. Ashok has led HR teams to deliver both strong, strategic impact as well as building depth of HR processes. Ashok was awarded the Seasoned HR Professional by NHRDN in 2015, and the CHRO of the Year – 2017 at the Business World Excellence Awards.

Preeti Gupta

Director, ABFEL*
Program Head, ABCEL**,
Aditya Birla Group

A visionary in the world of HR, recognized for her unique ability to design, lead and sustain organizational transformations. She has penned HR strategies, been a beacon of gender intelligence, in fostering a culture of purpose and values; pioneered performance and reward structures, and championing family care initiatives in organizations, among other transformative endeavors.

Deepak Acharya

Director, ABFEL*
Group General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer,
Aditya Birla Group

A seasoned legal expert, adept at weaving the legal fabric, brings a wealth of experience from across the globe, offering profound insights into the legal landscape. With a diverse career encompassing roles as General Counsel, Chief Risk Officer, overseeing Global Government Relations, and Enterprise Cyber Security, his expertise runs deep, resulting in a calm and confident understanding of the intricacies of law across a wide spectrum.

Dr. Ila Patnaik

Director, ABFEL*
Group Chief Economist,
Aditya Birla Group

Ila is an economist, an author, with expertise honed through years of academic prowess and affiliations with government and international institutions. Her passion and commitment to shaping financial policy to be contemporary is evident through her active participation in Government advisory committees and working groups. Her scholarly pursuits in open economy macroeconomics are well-recognized, with numerous research papers to her credit.

Sandeep Gurumurthi

Group Head
Communication & Brand,
Aditya Birla Group

An accomplished storyteller, who has reigned from the Editor’s desk, sculpting every narrative with finesse. His extensive experience working closely with influential business leaders, management gurus, and policymakers on a global scale brings profound depth to his expertise. With a keen focus on brand building and custodianship, he is dedicated to the art of impactful and relatable communication for a diverse audience.

Manish Gupta

Group Chief Information Officer,
Aditya Birla Group

Manish deconstructs the digital gateway, translating vision into language of accountable action, the startup way. He spearheads thought and action leadership for IT and Digital endeavors. He adeptly oversees multicultural, and global teams, Evangelizes new digital applications, digital experiences, digtial businesses and startups.

Vineet Chattree

Managing Director, Svatantra Microfin Pvt Ltd
Director, Svatantra Micro Housing Finance,
Aditya Birla Group

An action-focused leader of the fastest-growing social impact fintech. He champions sustainable growth by aligning ‘People, Product, and Processes’ with customer needs. He has made notable contributions to the microfinance industry through MFIN, setting up and running digitally savvy, grassroot organization.

Padma Rajeswari Tata

Group Head
Organization Effectiveness & HR Transformation,
Aditya Birla Group

Padma champions Diversity & Inclusion and Culture Building. As the head of Organization Effectiveness, she’s driven capability development and enhancements, leaving a lasting impact. An advocate for inclusion and well-being, she’s a self-reflective writer and social media influencer, encouraging small, impactful actions.

Mayank Bathwal

Chief Executive Officer
Aditya Birla Health Insurance,
Aditya Birla Group

A health and wellness evangelist, pioneered ABHI, revolutionizing India’s health insurance industry. His visionary expertise set new holistic well-being standards.He’s an astute, confident thinker, a dynamic sector influencer, and a builder of organizations ground up.

*Aditya Birla Foundation for Enriching Lives
**Aditya Birla Centre For Enriching Lives

Our partners

Social change

Corporates, professional institutions, alumni bodies, confederations, and eminent organizations.

Role

Amplify awareness by leveraging networks and pooling resources and collective energy.

Strategy

Social impact expert, think tanks or consulting firm who share the vision to co-design and scale up initiatives.

Role

Imagine the possibilities, design strategy, build the narrative, plan capacity and capabilities, support partnership and collaboration.

Knowledge

Academic institutions, research institutions, think tanks, and research scholars, the cornerstone of any transformative change.

Role

Focus on crucial cohorts and themes, study and research on experiences that enrich lives..

Technology

Technology for social change is the ask. Expertise, passion and a mission to harness digital tools and enhance the accessibility and impact of solutions that enrich societies.

Role

Powerful ally in driving change. Harness the potential of digital innovation to propel our movement forward.

Government

Public-private citizen partnerships are integral to our movement. Are pivotal in achieving the shared goal of enriching life and society by actively shaping policies, fostering innovation, and ensuring a conducive environment for the collective vision.

Role

Working in tandem to harness collective resources, knowledge, and influence to drive meaningful change.

In-House Experts

  • Consumer Insights & Brand Development:
    Sunita Bangard, Sudip Mitra, Pooja Khare
  • Information Technology: Priten Bangdiwala
  • Communication & Brand: Shaily Vaswani

Founding Team

Tapas BiswasDr. Nidhi GuptaPriyadarshini PMary MarbaniangRitu ChandwaniSaanjh ShekharSupreeth SudhakaranMudita VardhanAditi VarmaAbhishek Doshi

SETUP PARTNERS