As you walk into Ekta Telecommunications, the thing that strikes you is the company?s long list of achievements written on the walls.

The next thing that strikes you is the owner himself. This 30-something entrepreneur, Niraj Sinha, can bowl anyone over with his boyish grin. The decor in his office is simple and minimalistic, but the huge photographs adorning the walls speak volumes of his successful journey in the biz world. ?Whenever I get an award I take is as a signal to move further ahead. They always remind me that there is no time to rest. These awards are my energy boosters. They propel me to proceed in the right direction.?

In 2001, Niraj won the national award for being the best entrepreneur. He also bagged the Jharkhand Udyog Ratna consecutively for two years in 2001 and 2002 and was given the award for excellence in electronics by the information technology and and telecommunications ministry, Government of India.

That?s quite an achievement for this young engineer from Jadavpur University, who decided to settle down in the steel city after his marriage.

Today, his company is manufacturing IT products like UPS, DC Power systems for the Indian Railways and the defence sector and temperature censors and line conditioners for Tata Steel.

The firm is also into manufacturing innovative products like solar UPS and solar fans. ?These two products will be in demand in the future. In rural areas there is a huge power crisis. So, it becomes difficult to operate computers. But with the solar UPS and solar fans this problem will no longer exists,? beamed Niraj.

Before venturing into business, Niraj worked with Indian Telephone services. ?I worked there for six months and then decided to start my own venture.? Then what prompted him to leave a flourishing career and take up the untrodden path. ?When I was in college a team from the ministry of commerce and industries conducted a programme on entrepreneurship and since then I cherished this dream of having my own firm.?

?I dreamt of starting a modern electronics factory in the field of artificial intelligence and robotic systems as there are a few such companies in the Indian market.?

The initial years were not encouraging for this young entrepreneur with dreams in his eyes. ?Initially, my family was completely against my decision to leave my job. It took quite some time to convince them.?

Niraj started his business at a time when most industrial units were closing down and banks were refusing to give loans. ?I also lacked experience in this field so the project got delayed by almost a year.? says Niraj.

Getting the necessary technical expertise was another problem. ?Almost every day I was interviewing someone or the other. Most of them were engineers from reputed colleges but they all lacked in-depth knowledge.?

But with time even this problem was solved and today he and his team of experts have taken the company to the pinnacle of success. ?In 2002, we sent our products to Baghdad and to our utter surprise our product got a gold medal. The honour came as a big surprise as the product did not receive a good response in India. Very soon we will set up our own exporting unit?.

Ekta Telecommunications is one of the few companies in the entire region to be awarded with ISO 9000 certificate for its internationally approved designs.

The company also specialises in research and development (R&D) and power electronics and automation. It is also producing fibre optical for night vision for the Army.

?Till now the government was importing night vision glasses from Israel. But we are producing it at a much lower rate. So we are hopeful that the government will place more orders.?

Niraj has a vision for his company. He says, ?If Jamshedpur is known for the presence of Tata Steel. I want Adityapur to become famous because of the presence of Ekta Telecommunications.?

But Niraj has one complaint. ?No financial concern is ready to finance any R& D projects so it becomes difficult for us to arrange for funds even though we have all the other prerequisites.?

A perfectionist to the core, Niraj refuses to tolerate any sort of lax in work. ?There is a lack of dedication in people these days. They are not focused. My company is my dream and I want everyone involved in the project to be as dedicated as I am. We are far ahead of our competitors and moreover we offer quality products at an affordable rate. So we are pretty sure of our success. It?s very sad that though our products are so much in demand outside but the local authorities have failed to realise its potential. But I hope that with time even this problem would be solved.?

And for this all he wants is the support of the state government. ?My workers are my strength. They all have a positive attitude and for them the company is as much mine as theirs. They give their best to the company. I think that?s what sets my firm apart from the others.?

Even after achieving so much in such a short span of time, Niraj is too modest to accept the fact that he successful. ?This is just the beginning and I have miles to go before I sleep?.

Niraj is a complete family man, who loves to spend his leisure time with his wife and four-year-old son son.

But what makes a successful man? ?If one has focus and dedication, along with a vision, success will be knock on his/her door.?

Nilanjana Ghosh Choudhury