The go-getters

Today, with 18 years of work experience, this IIT Kharagpur alumnus with an M.Tech in Applied Geology, works as assistant general manager for Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. His wife, Namrata, who has an MA in psychology, taught primary students till recently. She quit the job to give more time to her children, Tanya 15 and Udeshya 9.

It was more than boredom anddisgust that made him walk out. The shares of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd were selling at a premium in the stock market and it was in the process of setting up multi-billion-rupee steel, power and bauxite plants in the state. Kumar sensed his big chance.

8220;Now my fate is dependent on the company8217;s project,8221; says Kumar, whose father was a class III employee at a government hospital. When he passed away, he didn8217;t bequeath cash or property to Kumar. He knew that if he wanted his children to live it up, he couldn8217;t afford to play safe.

But Kumar knows he can8217;t rest easy yet. To set up plants, JSPL had sought land and mines from the government, but lack of consensus among political parties over land acquisition has his family worried.

8220;What if they don8217;t get the land and the mining lease? Where will we go,8221; asks Namrata.