Dr. Krishna Kumar Birla (died August 30, 2008) was a noted Indian industrialist of the Birla family, and the eldest surviving son of Ghanshyam Das Birla. He also served as a Member of the Rajya Sabha.

In 1991 he established the K.K. Birla Foundation to promote Hindi literature and is the Chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science at Pilani.

He is the group chairman of the Zuari-Chambal group of companies with a turnover of Rs.10, 000 crores.

He is the Chairman of ZUARI-CHAMBAL-PARADEEP, India’s largest fertilizer combine in private sector.

Group companies: Zuari Industries Ltd, Chambal Fertlizers & Chemicals Ltd, Paradeep Phosphates Ltd, Zuari Investments Ltd, Zuari Furniture Ltd, Zuari Seeds Ltd, Zuari Cement Ltd, Chambal Agrotech Ltd, Chambal Food Processing Unit, Sutlej Industries Ltd, Birla Textile Mills Ltd, Oudh Sugar Mills Ltd, Texmaco Ltd, Indian Steamship Company Ltd, Indian Oiltanking Ltd, Simon India Ltd, ISG Novasoft Ltd, Indo Maroc Phosphore Ltd, Style Spa Furniture Ltd, Hindustan Times Media Ltd, and many more companies …..

Total No of group companies: more than 40.

K K Birla died on 8/30/2008 at 7:30am after a brief illness.

K.K.Birla Foundation Proposals / Applications are invited for the Foundation’s following Awards / Schemes are

i) Saraswati Samman (Rs.5 lakh) meant for an outstanding literary work in any Indian language.

ii) Vyas Samman (Rs.2.50 lakh) for an outstanding work in Hindi.

iii) Bihari Puraskar (Rs.1 lakh) meant for Hindi & Rajasthani writers of Rajasthan only.

iv) Shankar Puraskar (Rs.1.50 lakh) given for an outstanding work in Hindi on Indian philosophy, culture and art.

v) Vachaspati Puraskar (Rs.1 lakh) for any work written in Sanskrit

vi) G.D. Birla Award for Scientific research (Rs.1.50 lakh).

vii) Fellowship in Camparative Indian Literature.

Compiled by RoopaThayabji