Blending Business and Politics

  5 min 53 sec to read

Anil Kumar Rungta
 
“Political stability is the most essential factor for the economic development of a country,” says Anil Kumar Rungta, Director of Jagadamba Enterprises Pvt Ltd. Apart from being an entrepreneur, Rungta is also actively involved in politics. Appointed from the quota of Nepali Congress in the Constituent Assembly by the government, Rungta feels the obligation to fulfill dual responsibilities. “Doing my part in the drafting of the constitution is the foremost responsibility for me, along with lobbying for the amelioration of the private sector,” says Rungta. 
 
 
--By Om Prakash Khanal
 
Anil Kumar Rungta believes that the country has not been able to achieve the expected rate of economic growth owing to the lack of vision in political parties. However, he is hopeful that the new constitution will effectively address the issues of trade and manufacturing.  “As I am representing the private sector in the Constituent Assembly, I feel responsible for incorporating agendas of economic development and also the expectations of the private sector in the new constitution,” says he. 
 
Appointed a CA Member after the second election of Constituent Assembly of 2013, Rungta is also actively involved in social service. According to him, politics and social service are synonymous to each other. “There should be only the feeling of service in social work and politics. Politics with expectation of return cannot help the society in anyway,” says he. Rungta wants to take his business and politics alongside for a few years, and says he will be a full time politician in the future.  “My biggest aspiration is to contribute to the welfare of society through politics. If I hadn’t been an entrepreneur, I would have definitely been a social worker,” says he.   
 
Early Life
Rungta was born in Birgunj in 2026 BS to father Om Prakash Rungta and mother Chandra Kala Devi. As his father was a government employee and had to travel frequently, Rungta’s childhood was spent in various places of Nepal. As a child, he was interested in football and cricket. However, he is not satisfied with the development of sports in the country. “I have plans of doing something substantial for the improvement of sports sector,” says he. 
 
After doing his schooling from various schools, he joined Thakur Ram Campus of Birgunj for his higher studies. A graduate in Management, he says his education has played a vital role in managing his business. Rungta still regrets for not being able to complete his Masters Degree. “When I graduated, there were no colleges on Birgunj to pursue Masters Degree. I wasn’t able to go elsewhere for my studies as I had to look after the business,” says Rungta. 
 
Despite coming from a business background, Rungta says he was also politically conscious. This consciousness inspired him to actively participate in the peoples’ movement for the restoration of democracy in 2046 BS. “I was doing by graduation in Thakur Ram Campus of Birgunj at the time. I participated in the movement from Nepal Students’ Union (NSU) along with other students of the Campus,” recalls Rungta. After that, he was indirectly involved in politics for long time. In the same time, he also made his business evolve.  
 
Business Journey
Rungta family has been doing business in Nepal from 2036 BS. Rungta and his two brothers entered into the business under the guardianship of his father. They first started their business by trading in construction hardware. After many years of trading in the construction materials, Rungta thought of shifting the focus to manufacturing and started manufacturing from Jagadamba Enterprises Pvt Ltd. “There were a lot of hurdles in the starting days of manufacturing. It was quite tough to switch from trading to manufacturing, but I faced all the obstacles with hard work and patience,” say he. Today, Jagadamba Enterprises is one of the major manufacturers of GI pipes, black pipes, rectangular and square pipes, tubular steel poles, constructions rods and other construction materials.  
 
Having expertise in manufacturing and trade of construction material, Rungta is also involved in construction works. His company has constructed bridges in various parts of Nepal. Apart from it, he is also associated with hotel industry. He is one of the partners in Diyalo Hotel in Birgunj which is currently under construction.  He is also setting up an industry for producing flour. “If you are hardworking and honest towards your profession, new and better opportunities will definitely come knocking at your door,” says an industrious Rungta. 
 
 
Personal Side
Rungta is married to Sunita Rungta, and the couple has two sons Ankur and Anunaya. Although most of his time is spent in looking after his business and politics, Rungta doesn’t fail to give time and attention to his family. He has been going through an even busier schedule after being appointed the CA member. Whenever free from all his responsibilities, Rungta likes to read, and also write on current politics. He has written and published various articles on current political economics.  Apart from scholarly work, he also finds time to travel to new places with his family.  
 
Words of Advice
Rungta places huge importance on human resource, and says that an organization can succeed only if it is equipped with efficient workforce.  “Human resource selection and recruitment is very crucial for maximizing productivity of any organization. Educational background, efficiency and professional background should be the basis for selecting employees,” says he. He believes that motivation and discipline both are equally important for managing the available workforce. 
 
Rungta advices to perform adequate market research and risk estimation before starting any business venture. He also says that entrepreneurs should not be disappointed with failures. “There are always ups and downs in business. Facing them and moving on is the trait of a good entrepreneur,” says Rungta.  According to him, a manufacturer is only successful if his products are the first choice of the customers. “This can only be achieved by strictly maintaining quality. A manufacturer can never be successful if he compromises on the quality of his products,” advises he.   

Ankur Rungta

This makes me feel so proud and only dad along with other entrepreneurs with such mindset can meagre the problems of our country.

Abhay Rungta

I am very honored and proud to be a part of your family.

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