Kasturbhai served as the chairman of the historic and influential Anandji Kalyanji Trust, that manages Shatrunjaya and several other Jain pilgrimage centers, for 50 years.

Kasturbhai belonged to the Jain family of Nagarsheths (city chief) of Ahmedabad, recognized by the Mughals, Marathas and the English during different times.

His son Lalbhai Dalpatbhai (1863–1912), Kasturbhai's father, established Saraspur cotton mill in 1896 addition to the traditional business of precious gems.

Kasturbhai was born to Mohini and Lalbhai Dalpatbhai, a preeminent Jain family, in 1894 in Jhaveriwad, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

[7] Swadeshi movement by Mahatma Gandhi in the 1930s and starting of World War II in 1939 helped textile industry in India.

R. K. Shanmukham Chetty, the finance minister and a friend of Kasturbhai had to resign for reportedly suggesting that its name be dropped from the list.

The Income Tax department followed its allegations with a spate of inquiries and after almost ten years, absolved the group of any wrongdoing.

[10] In 1952, his trusted advisor and general manager, Dahyabhai Motilal Patel, helped strategise and found Atul Limited (literally, 'incomparable'), India's first modern dyestuff manufacturer, in collaboration with American Cyanamid Company.

During his three-year term, he was involved in lobbying for Indian industries including repeal of excise duty on textiles.

[12] During the 1930s, he became close to Mahatma Gandhi and helped him in the Swadeshi movement, which boycotted foreign goods and promoted local industries.

[13] He held several important positions after independence of India, including Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and the Administration of Tribal and Excluded Areas in 1947, chairmanship of the Economic Committee of the Ministry of Finance in 1948, chairmanship of Central Public Works Department Industry Committee in 1952, chairmanship of National Research Development Corporation, member of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, trustee of Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, member of Indian Investment Centre.

He along with Amritlal Hargovinddas, Ganesh Mavlankar started the Ahmadabad Education Society[15] (AES) in 1936, which later evolved into Ahmedabad University in 2009.

In 1972, Sankat Nivaran Society was founded by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries and Ahmedabad Textile Mills Owners' Association.

He commissioned world-renowned architects such as Louis Kahn, Le Corbusier, B. V. Doshi and Charles Correa to design some of these institutes and bring modern architecture in Ahmedabad.