<span style="color: #222222;">Birla Group patriarch B.K Birla passed away in Mumbai today at the age of 98. He had been suffering from age-related ailments. </span><br />''<br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">A doyen of the Indian industry, Mr. 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.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' Mr. Birla 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. </span><br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">His only son Aditya Vikram Birla had died in 1995. Mr. Birla's mortal remains would be taken 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.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' 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. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">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. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">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. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The B.K Birla group comprised Century Textiles, Century Enka and Jayshree Tea and Industries besides Kesoram Industries. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Mr. 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.</span><br />''