Shyam Goenka is a post-graduate in commerce, but has been a keen student of journalism. He has carved out a niche for himself in establishment of institutional journalism in a neighboring country, Nepal, where India's largest diaspora lives. His interest in this arena emanated from his granduncle, Ram Nath Goenka, the founder of Indian Express, whose tireless successive crusades against the ills in the society, spurred him on. He has been a witness to RNGs most trying times as a newspaper proprietor (during Emergency days) along with Jayaprakash Narayan; and also to the time when Janata Party swept into power, and when RNGs 9 & 10 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg address, was compared to only South Block in influence, and yet RNG was understandably one of the most disillusioned men seeing his initiative going redundant.

In the year 1992, Shyam's patriotic quest caused him to pay heed to a diplomat who had served a long term in Nepal and who considered that one of the greatest priorities for the Indian diplomacy there, was to accord due attention to the way opinion should be built-up in the geo-politically sensitive, neighboring country Nepal; which is one of the largest recipients of Indian goodwill and assistances, and yet, paradoxically, does not nurse the measure of goodwill that India's benevolence beckons.

The concerned diplomat was of the view that only an objective and strong Press could possibly do what billions of rupees of assistances could not do there. At stake lied the well-being of the largest Indian diaspora in the world, and equally important, everything that a geo-political poising stipulates. The memories were afresh in Shyam's mind as to how, Late Rajiv Gandhi was desperate in having the Nepalese side see merit in India's point of view on various issues confronting the two nations, culminating as it did in an impasse on the Trade and Transit Treaty in 1989, despite Rajiv's most sincere endeavors to arrest it.

This was an exercise which definitely was not feasible, on a personal note. Yet, it was undertaken as an out-and-out, non-economic extravaganza, as long as it could help serve the cause of India.

Two Dailies, 'Kantipur' in the vernacular language and 'The Kathmandu Post' in English, were promoted by Shyam in 1993, to unleash a new era in institutional journalsm in Nepal. Both the newspapers were an instant success and within months, shattered the monopoly of the 100 year old, government monolith 'Gorkhapatra', and more importantly came up as an acknowledged, free and independent press, where objectivity prevailed.

Interestingly, the success of these two newspapers, also carved out a world record - for, no newspaper anywhere in the world, understandably, ever made it as a country's highest circulated, within months of launch.

The intelligentsia of Nepal, now were egged on by the editorials that appeared in these newspapers, as these were the most credible voice of the country. Indian Diplomatic Mission heaved a sigh of relief.

The newspapers also came up as the standard-setters in good governance. The then Prime Minister of Nepal acknowledged to Shyam, that he had left instructions with his cabinet colleagues that 'any reportage of corruption by a government functionary, in 'Kantipur', would call for a spontaneous resignation from such practioner(s)', just to suggest the impact it had made.

Shyam was also a biographer to King Birendra of Nepal who was slain in the world's most horrendous regicides. He has authored two books on him, titled 'Biography of King Birendra' in 1996, and 'Memoirs of King Birendra' in 2002. Shyam is a recipient of King's honors for his service to that nation.

Shyam is a small time linguist too, for, he speaks half a dozen Indian languages.

He was also an active member of the Nepalese Prime Minister's delegation to India, in 1996, on a bilateral mission, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.

As a social activist, Shyam has conceptualized several poverty alleviation programmes, including a pioneering agro-forestry project, which provided viable means for sustainable accruals to the farmers, as a demo measure.

On his return to India, Shyam authored 'India Matters', a book on Indian luminaries. This was an initiative that germinated from his desire to unleash a host of books, in the hitherto uncatered domain, that document good deeds of people, for the sake of posterity.

Earlier, Shyam also did an investigative story on the BCCI bank, whose liquidator, Brian Smouha, was exclusively interviewed by him in London, and subsequently, had unfolded the machinations of the bank, which was a global money laundering edifice, being run in connivance with people in high places.

This book, 'Eternal Rajiv, Epitome of Humanity' has been Shyam's most cherished envision. It is his sincerest tribute to the quintessential humanitarian and a beloved statesman.