Ideas may come to someone easily but to make it work is the most daunting task, even for the most experienced. But for M N Chopra, Managing Director, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC), it's the conviction, which is more important than the implementation of an idea. And he has proved mightily right that if conviction rests on firm ground, it pays rich dividends in future. Today, Chopra is credited for making ticket buying convenient, safe and hassle free in India.

The success of IRCTC has become a saga of inspiration for those who are dabbling into B2C e-commerce. Selling railway tickets on internet was never so easy in India. But today, IRCTC, which began selling a humble 112 tickets a day, is selling more than 3,000 travel bills. The credit certainly goes to people like Chopra and his team of workers which have made it possible. As a result of Chopra's efforts, IRCTC has already expanded its network in 120 cities and is even planning to sale tickets through mobile phones. A subsidiary of Railways, IRCTC is a direct interface with the Passenger Reservation System (PRS).

In the hospitality sector, it serves over 13 million passengers commuting on 230 trains and using 12,000 catering units across 3,150 stations. The huge network of IRCTC operation can be very well imagined from the fact that its catering establishments include stationary passenger stalls, mobile units (pantry cars attached to the trains) and base kitchens, which supply food to trains. Chopra has not confined his area of work merely to services and hospitality but was also instrumental in launching the most successful mineral water product with the brand name `Rail Neer'.

Today, it's a huge success. Impressed with its performance, the IRTCE is planning to set up more watering plants in addition to the two existing plants at Nangloi, Delhi and Danapur near Patna. The IRCTC under Chopra's supervision is also trying into Joint ventures with State Tourism Corporations to provide comprehensive tourist packages, including fare, boarding, lodging etc to its customers. With Chopra at the driver's seat, the future of the IRCTC is very much on the right track and all set for a higher growth.