Industrialist B K Birla passes away at 98
Mumbai, Jul 3: Birla Group patriarch B K Birla passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday at the age of 98, his family said.
A doyen of the Indian industry, Birla had been suffering from age-related ailments.
Birla was the chairman of Century Textiles and Industries and had been active in business since the age of 15.
He was instrumental in a slew of business initiatives, starting with his stint as the chairman of Kesoram Industries, they said.
He is survived by his daughters Manjushree Khaitan and Jayshree Mohta, who run Kesoram Industries and Jayshree Tea and Industries respectively.
His wife Sarala Birla predeceased him in 2015. His only son Aditya Vikram Birla had died in 1995.
The sources said Birla's body would be brought to his house at Birla Park in Kolkata and the cremation will take place on Thursday.
His grandson Kumarmangalam Birla had taken him to Mumbai due to his failing health.
The seat of the Birla brothers in the city Birla Building will remain closed on Thursday as a mark of respect to B K Birla.
Born in 1921, Birla was the youngest son of philanthropist Ghanshyam Das Birla.
By the time he was 15, he was already actively associated with a large number of companies and eventually became the chairman of Kesoram Industries.
He focussed on the industries such as cotton, viscose, polyester and nylon yarns, refractory, paper, shipping, tyrecord, transparent paper, spun pipe, cement, tea, coffee, cardamom, chemicals, plywood and MDF Board.
The B K Birla group comprised Century Textiles, Century Enka and Jayshree Tea and Industries besides Kesoram Industries.
Birla was also the chairman of the Krishnarpan Charity Trust, which runs an engineering college named B K Birla Institute of Engineering and Technology at Pilani, Rajasthan and a patron of 25 educational institutions across the country.
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Massive turnout in assembly polls across states, women voters outnumber men: EC data
New Delhi (PTI): The recently-concluded assembly elections witnessed exceptionally high voter participation across states, with women voters outnumbering men in turnout percentages, according to Election Commission data.
West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout among states, with 93.71 per cent polling in 293 constituencies where counting has been completed. The state saw over 6.38 crore votes cast, including postal ballots, against a total of more than 6.81 crore electors.
Women voters recorded a turnout of 93.8 per cent in the West Bengal Assembly polls, slightly higher than the 92.06 per cent participation among men.
The data for West Bengal does not include the figures for the Falta assembly constituency, which is scheduled for repolling.
Tamil Nadu registered an 85.01 per cent turnout, with nearly 4.8 crore votes polled from an electorate of 5.74 crore. Women voters recorded a turnout of 86.2 per cent, higher than the 83.77 per cent among men.
Assam also witnessed robust participation, with the final turnout touching 85.74 per cent. More than 2.15 crore votes were cast in the state, while female turnout at 86.53 per cent marginally exceeded the 84.95 per cent recorded among male voters.
Kerala registered a turnout of 78.11 per cent, with over 2.12 crore votes polled. Female voter participation stood at 81.17 per cent against 74.9 per cent among men.
Puducherry recorded a turnout of 89.82 per cent, with women voters again leading participation at 91.39 per cent. More than 8.5 lakh votes were polled in the Union territory.
Yet, women's representation among elected candidates remained modest.
Tamil Nadu elected 23 women MLAs (9.83 per cent) out of 234 members, West Bengal elected 37 women legislators (12.62 per cent) out of 293, while Kerala returned only 11 women MLAs (7.85 per cent) in the 140-member House.
Only two third-gender candidates contested the elections - one each from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and both lost, forfeiting their deposits.
The elections also reflected extensive electoral mobilisation infrastructure. West Bengal had the highest number of polling stations at 85,092, followed by Tamil Nadu with 75,064 and Assam with 31,490.
In terms of candidates, Tamil Nadu saw the largest contest with 4,023 candidates in the fray across 234 constituencies, averaging 17 candidates per seat and peaking at 79 contestants in one constituency.
West Bengal pitted 2,920 candidates for 293 constituencies, while Kerala had the fewest contestants among the major states, with 883 candidates for 140 seats.
The data also showed relatively low NOTA votes across states. Tamil Nadu recorded the lowest NOTA share at 0.4 per cent of total votes polled, while Assam recorded the highest at 1.23 per cent. In West Bengal, 0.78 per cent of the total votes polled were NOTA, while it 0.77 per cent and 0.57 per cent of the electorate opted for None of the Above (NOTA) in Puducherry and Kerala, respectively.
