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Kumar Birla

Chairman, Aditya Birla Group

Search every verified Kumar Birla interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, has been active in public forums discussing business strategy, technology adoption, and investment plans. At the 2026 Bloomberg New Economy Forum, he discussed the group's approach to building business resilience, citing its position as a low-cost producer and noting that its cement capacity reached 200 million tons, making it the largest cement company outside China. He also addressed artificial intelligence, stating that the focus has shifted from an "AI arms race" to generating returns on investment, and that the group plans to adopt AI gradually rather than out of fear of missing out. Birla has also outlined significant capital expenditure plans. He stated that the group has a $30 billion investment plan underway, with allocations including approximately $10 billion for Hindalco, $6 billion for telecom network expansion, and $2 billion for an acquisition in the renewable energy space. In September 2026, the group launched a new wires and cables business under the brand Ultravolt. Birla said the business sits at the intersection of urbanization, electrification, and digitization, and cited projections of over 100 million new homes in India and data center capacity growing to 8 gigawatts as demand drivers. He also commented on India's global position, suggesting the country should focus on a "world plus one" strategy, and expressed that conviction about India's growth is high.

Recent appearances

Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“I think that if I think about a year ago we probably thought that AI was a monster sitting there on the last row and it would eat me up by the time it got here if I didn't know everything about AI and so there was a sense of trepidation and fear that now doesn't exist. I think that what you're absorbing is that this is something that'll take time and the shift is from an AI arms race which is getting the right comput”

“You know, I think it's about building the inherent strength of the business. So, for example, in all our manufacturing businesses, we'd be in the bottom decile of the cost curve globally. So, amongst the 10% lowest cost producers, it's about scale. So just this year we our capacity in our cement business touched 200 million tons and with that we become the largest cement company anywhere in the world ex-China. For ex”

“We are making a sizeable investment in the wires and cables category from day one, with the bold ambition of becoming at least the number two player within three to five years.”

“I think that you're right. Probably that is the intent. But I don't think it works like that. I think companies uh would have a far more nuanced approach to investing. You can't in for example invest in aluminum facility in the US uh just because there are tariffs on aluminum exported from India for example theoretically. I mean the cost structure is different, the capital requirement will be different, the kind of p”

“So, that's a an interest interesting question and I'm glad you asked it because um you know, every country, every economy has its own issues, has its own pain points, its point its choking points. Um we are putting up a large plant in in an advanced economy where um we were allotted land by the local authorities, we spent 6 months of intense work. Uh just before we were we were to break ground, uh we had to change ou”

“I don't think we should confuse capital discipline with conviction about India. I find that conviction about India is perhaps the highest I've seen it for a long time.”

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