Krishna Kumar Birla was a noted Indian

Indian people

Indian people or Indisians constitute the Asian nation and pan-ethnic group native to India, which forms the south of Asia, containing 17.31% of the world's population. The Indian nationality is in essence made up of regional nationalities, reflecting the rich and complex history of India...

 industrialist of the Birla family

Birla family

The Birla family is one of the foremost business houses in India. The fore-father of the Birla family is Shiv Narain Birla, a member of the Marwari community from Pilani, in the westerly state of Rajasthan. He moved to Bombay around 1857 to establish a trading house. His son, Baldeodas Birla moved...

, and the second son of Ghanshyam Das Birla

Ghanshyam Das Birla

Ghanshyam Das "G.D." Birla was an Indian businessman and member of the influential Birla Family.Birla's grandfather Shiv Narayana Birla wanted to diversify from the traditional marwari business of lending money against pawned items. He left Pilani, his hometown in Rajasthan with a modest capital...

. He also served as a Member of the Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...

. Birla was one of the industrialists who supported economic reforms in India in 1991.. He was the chancellor of BITS Pilani from 1983 until his death in 2008. The Goa Campus Of BITS, Pilani was renamed BITS, Pilani K.K Birla Goa Campus in his remembrance.

In 1991, Birla established the K.K. Birla Foundation to promote Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 literature.

Birla was the group chairman of the Zuari-Chambal group of companies with a turnover of over Rs.10,000 crores. He was also the Chairman of Zuari-Chambal-Paradeep, India's largest fertilizer combine in private sector.

Birla died on 30 August 2008 after a brief illness.

Legacy

After the demise of Birla, his son-in-law Saroj Kumar Poddar took over as the chairman of Zuari-Chambal-Paradeep fertilizer combines. The textiles and sugar business is now headed by Nandini Nopany, eldest daughter of Birla and Chandra Shekhar Nopany, grandson of Birla. The Media group, Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....

 Media, is now chaired by his daughter Shobhana Bhartia

Shobhana Bhartia

Shobhana Bhartia is the Chairperson and Editorial Director of the Hindustan Times group, one of India's leading newspaper and media houses. She has also recently taken charge as the Pro Chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani....

, Member of Parliament.
Kumar Mangalam Birla

Kumar Mangalam Birla

Kumar Mangalam Birla is an Indian industrialist and the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest conglomerate corporations in India. He is also the Chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science.-Education and career:...

, Chairman-Aditya Birla Group and grand nephew of Birla, took over as the Chancellor of BITS Pilani.