Shri Ghanshyam Das Birla, founder of BITS Pilani

Shri Ghanshyam Das 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 to Bombay to establish a business in cotton dealership. The venture was successful and he came back to Pilani to build a huge mansion, which still stands by the name Birla Haveli.
Envisioning infrastructural development in his hometown, Birla founded the Birla Engineering College in Pilani among other educational institutions. The college has evolved over the years to develop into one of India's best engineering schools, BITS Pilani. Today, Pilani also houses a wing of Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI), a famous residential, public school christened after Birla's family and a number of polytechnic colleges
In 1957, he was awarded India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India.