Basant Kumar Birla who is also known as BK Birla, the nonagenarian industrialist and chairman of the B K Birla Group of companies, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 98. The veteran industrialist had been suffering from age-related ailments for a long time.

BK Birla was born on January 12, 1921, and was the youngest son of legendary Ghanshyam Das, father of Aditya Vikram - who died in October 1995 and grandfather of Kumar Mangalam Birla. He is survived by his daughters Manjushree Khaitan and Jayshree Mohta, who run Kesoram Industries and Jayshree Tea and Industries respectively.