S K Garg, chairman and managing director, NHPC Ltd (formerly National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd), gets misty-eyed when he reminisces about his childhood days. They were tough. ?My parents couldn?t afford to put me in a private school,? he says. ?I studied in a school run by the Delhi Municipal Corporation.?

But this tough period in a sense has been instrumental in moulding Garg into the individual that he is. ?I prefer being disciplined,? he says. ?This may sound cliched, but a lot can be achieved with hard work and discipline. Trust me, it works.?

It is this single-minded determination to excel and to improve his lot that has driven Garg through his 58-year-long innings. Sample this: He is an alumnus of the Shriram College of Commerce, New Delhi, went on to pursue his chartered accountancy, picked up a job with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), where he worked for three decades, and finally moved on to NHPC, becoming its CMD in 2005.

Garg?s childhood days in a sense have served as a constant reminder to him that his way has to be up, not down. ?I was always focused on my studies right from my school days,? he says. Garg knew that his education would be a ticket to a better life. The struggles at home were sufficient enough to push him in that direction. ?I was conscious of the fact that I would have to work hard to come up. I submitted myself to the will of God. I thought if I have to burn the midnight oil, so be it. There are no short cuts in life.?

Garg hasn?t also forgotten the contribution of his teachers in bringing him to the position that he is in. ?I remember their kind words to me even to this day,? he says. His professors in college were particularly encouraging. ?I think they saw my dedication and hard work towards my studies.?

Garg was a model student in school and college, but at times when he did get distracted by the goings-on around him, his teachers never hesitated to chastise him. ?They were like my second parents. I remember a teacher once telling me that spending my time loitering around the college campus wouldn?t help. It would be better if I sat in the library and pursued my studies. That would take me ahead in life.?

This may seem preachy at one level, but Garg didn?t mind the words at all. For him the road to success was all too important at that time. He knew there were many hurdles to cross.

He remembers the inevitable struggle of finding a job after he completed his education. He began with a private firm in Mumbai in 1973. Finding his feet there wasn?t easy, but Garg wasn?t the one to give up. ?Life is not about giving up. You have to fight it out,? he says.

Garg worked his way up in the firm, putting his chartered accountancy knowledge to use, making every effort to derive as much as he could from his job. His hard work eventually paid off when he was found apt for a job at the IOC in 1974. That was his big break in a sense. A government job, he knew, offered its own distinct advantages. This was pre-liberalisation India, when the burgeoning middle class found security in the confines of a government office.

Garg was no exception. He took up the offer. But the similarity between him and others ended right there. That?s because Garg was very ambitious at the same time. A government job to him wasn?t about comfort and security alone. He wanted to move up the ladder ? and fast.

Garg set about doing that. In the three decades (1974 to 2003) that he was with IOC, an oil marketing company, Garg worked in a number of capacities, enriching his experience pool in the process.

Despite having a background in finance and accounts, Garg worked in the marketing and operations departments of IOC too. ?This was important for my growth,? he says. ?I didn?t want to shy away from these responsibilities. It wasn?t easy. But I took it up nevertheless.?

The initial struggles were there, but Garg soon excelled in what he was doing. ?I was a shy guy when I joined IOC. Marketing in a sense taught me to be a bit more outgoing, to be able to put my point across to the person in front of me. All of this is important from the long-term point of view, if you ask me.?

Marketing in a sense became a passion for the finance professional. This marketing-finance combination would prove to be a boon for Garg at IOC. He was able to successfully lead teams in the north and the east where he was posted by the company as a general manager. He even won the trophy for leading the best state office for the financial year 2000-2001 when posted in Rajasthan. ?I was happy to have bagged that award. My hard work had indeed paid off.?

All of this would go a long way in helping him land the top job at NHPC. ?I became director (finance) at NHPC,? he says. Ironically, when most people would have wanted to get into high-profile organisations following a successful stint at a known public sector undertaking, Garg decided to do something that was quite to the contrary. ?NHPC wasn?t as visible then as it now is. But that didn?t matter to me. I didn?t mind being a big fish in a small pond,? he says.

Garg was opening himself up to a whole new world of possibilities, even challenges. ?In smaller organisations you land up learning more than you would in larger organisations because you have to do multiple things there. Large organisations have their own charm, so do small organisations. I am fortunate to have experienced both.?

At NHPC, Garg holds charge of two departments in addition to being its full-time CMD. He is director (personnel) and chairman and managing director of Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation, a joint venture between the government of Madhya Pradesh and NHPC. That?s quite a bit, but there are hardly any furrows on Garg?s brow. ?I have managed to pull through with the support of my teams. So far, so good,? he says in a matter-of-fact tone.

The unlisted firm?s gross sales for the financial year 2007-08 stood at Rs 2,301 crore ? an increase of 38.5% since Garg became CMD in the financial year 2005-06. The net profit was Rs 1,004.09 crore? a 35% since 2005-06. Company?s gross sales for the financial year 2008-09 is expected to be more than Rs. 2,500 crore. These are modest achievements, but Garg hopes to add to these numbers in the coming years. The company is looking to execute 11 projects, which should add 4,622 MW to its existing installed capacity of 5,175 MW in the next few years.

NHPC, for the record, has managed to tie-up some finances for its impending projects. Both are debt lines from Power Finance Corporation and Life Insurance Corporation worth Rs 4,000 crore and Rs 6,500 crore respectively.

Its proposed IPO, which was to be launched in October 2008, is likely to be taken up once market conditions improve.

?We are constantly monitoring the market situation. We will wait till we see visible signs of recovery. There is no point getting carried away by short-term rallies. We would rather wait and watch,? says Garg.