Life should be like the precious metals, which weigh much in little bulk. And like a precious metal, the life of B Ramesh Kumar, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, National Mineral Development Corporation Limited, has been intricately woven with the mining industry. The quintessential man who is as tough as metal when it comes to work, Kumar has climbed the ladder of professional hierarchy through his sheer mettle, perseverance, hard work and his enthusiastic zeal for scaling newer heights of excellence. Known for his indomitable spirit, Kumar has fought several odds on professional front to help the NMDC achieve its cherished objectives of high productivity and efficiency.

It's no wonder that as a result of Kumar's efforts, the NMDC registered a production of 179.59 lakh tonnes of iron ore, as compared to the previous best of 169.72 lakh tonnes during the earlier years. Not only this, the sales also registered an increase from 195.11 lakh tonnes to 206.64 lakh tones with profit registering an increase of 46.61 per cent. Earlier Director (Technical) at NMDC, Kumar is a mining engineering graduate from the Osmania University, Hyderabad. Significantly, he has been serving NMDC for the last 35 years. And it was under his stewardship that Bailadila project was commissioned, which today has assumed a place of pride in NMDC-managed mines in the country. A man who has made his mark in the mining sector, Kumar has been instrumental in introducing several path-breaking measures in NMDC, especially related to technology.

In fact, as a result of his efforts, majority of NMDC-owned mines have been doing exceedingly well. The only organised producer of diamond in India from its Majhgawan mine at Panna, NMDC under Kumar has continued to carry forward high production with total diamonds recovered having exceeded 959323 carats. Setting his eyes on future, the NMDC under Kumar has taken up expansion plans to step up the iron ore production from the present 18 million tonnes to 30 million tonnes by 2010. In fact, Kumar, over the years have helped NMDC consolidate its position irrespective of the market fluctuation.

A fully Government of India owned public enterprise, the NMDC which explores wide range of minerals like iron ore, copper, dolomite, gypsum, rock phosphate, lime stone, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite etc. has several accolades and awards to its credit. To name a few - Corporate Performance Award, Management Excellence Award, Productivity Award, Pollution Control Award, Marketing Award, R&D Award and the top ranking performance award from the Indian Institution of Industrial Engineering. No doubt, Kumar and his predecessors have put NMDC on a metallic foundation from where no goal seems to be impossible. This man of high integrity and unmatched vision is the best that could happen to NMDC.