Bihar is an unlikely host to entrepreneurship which has made a mark not merely at the national level but beyond India’s boundaries too. Neither is providing security to industrial and commercial establishments exactly an exciting service to attract foreign investments.

And it is only quite recently that the RBI has issued guidelines for bank funding inside India of mergers and acquisitions. Yet, nearly 20 years ago, State Bank of India’s international banking group proactively assessed a leveraged acquisition proposal and gave a loan to this Bihari enterprise for acquisition of an Australian company (of the well-known Chubb group) eight times the size of the acquirer company.

The deal was successful and yielded good returns. Perhaps a very good example of how an audacious entrepreneur backed by proper banking due diligence and stringent credit appraisal can support Indian companies’ foray into even developed country markets.

SIS Ltd, a listed company based out of Patna, has busted a few such myths. It has revenues of about Rs 14,000 crore, has three lakh employees on its rolls and is the largest security service provider in India. Thanks to some international acquisitions it is the largest security provider in Australia, third largest in New Zealand and the fifth in Singapore.

Its promoter, Ravindra Kishore Sinha, was a journalist with Hindustan Samachar when the late Jayaprakash Narayan suggested to him in the Seventies to do something to better the lot of ex-servicemen. “Ravindra, these ex-servicemen have dedicated their lives to the safety of our nation and now they need the nation’s support and care. I am hopeful that you will find a way to do something for them,” advised JP.

RK Sinha thus started recruiting retiring defence personnel to provide security services to industrial units in Bihar. A hostile territory for all business, Bihar 50 years ago was in the grip of mafias and gangs who ran virtually parallel administrations. For every coal mine there was a mafia which needed to be paid before even the mining companies could operate the fields.

 In The SIS Story, veteran business journalist Prince Mathews Thomas (who had a stint with The Hindu businessline too) narrates the rise and rise of Sinha’s companies, now operating worldwide and trusted by marquee investors like DE Shaw and CX Partners. A first-generation entrepreneur, Sinha had nothing but guts and grit to begin with apart from grooming by and exposure to voluntary work through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). That the security services business is typically a very asset-light (capital-light too) activity helped.

The author takes us through the journey of SIS, the scaling up of its services business, leapfrogging with acquisitions and partnerships and its “people-first” culture. It is a fascinating tale of how the ability to take business risks rooted in conviction that along with commerce, there is a simultaneous attempt to be socially committed (by bringing jobs to a relatively poorer State) proves successful.

In his famous enunciation of “The Seven Sins”, Gandhiji included “commerce without morality” as one. Reading this book, one gets the feeling that the key reason for the sustainability and continued relevance of the SIS business model is because of the adherence to ethical values of the promoters.

For instance, the author refers to an incident where the Chairman of the company receives a call from a security guard. Sinha listened to the guard, noted the feedback and ensured that his office got back to that employee. Sinha says: “We have no labour union in SIS. You know why? Because every guard in this organisation has my phone number. What can a trade union guy do that the Chairman can’t?”

Perhaps this attitude is why the home-grown SIS has been able to withstand competition from the likes of even the British multinational G4S and float a joint venture with the Spanish major Prosegur for cash movement and ATM management in India.

The company got listed in 2017. At the time of listing, a leading merchant banker told Sinha that it is better to move the company’s registration from Patna to Delhi. “It would be good for optics,” the banker said to which R.K Sinha’s reply was forthright “It’s not happening during my lifetime. My tax will be paid in Bihar. My GST will be paid in Bihar, my registered address and the registered address of my business shall remain in Bihar.”

RK, as he is known in industry circles, has ensured a smooth transition of leadership too, to initially Uday Singh, a childhood friend, and then to his London-educated son, Rituraj Sinha, who, in fact, has been behind a number of the latter-day corporate deals.

The 250-page book makes for breezy reading, of the story of rustic entrepreneurship which remains rooted to the ground despite the resounding success of both its organic and inorganic growth. As the country’s economic growth propels it to a larger position among the comity of nations, we need a number of Sinhas to emerge from the erstwhile “Bimaru States”. There is always the legacy of the Mauryas and Magadha to live up to.

Book Details

(The reviewer is a commentator on banking and finance)

Published on January 3, 2026