www.insightssuccess.in December 2018
T h e
10
Most Admired
REAL ESTATE TYCOONS
Rajnikant Ajmera Chairman & MD
RAJNIKANT AJMERA The Forerunner of the Real Estate Renaissance in India
Editorial
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he real estate industry in India is in a promising stage and has started embracing professional standards and transparency with open arms. The sector happens to be the second largest employer after agriculture and is expected to grow at the rate of 30 per cent over the next decade. A growing migrant population due to the increasing job opportunities, together with healthy infrastructure development, is underpinning demand in the region's residential real estate market. This sector in India is being recognized as an infrastructure service that is driving the economic growth engine of the country. The Indian real estate market size is expected to touch US$ 180 billion by 2020. It has witnessed a series of regulatory reforms aimed at driving transparency, governance, financial discipline and regulation and the industry has now started moving ahead with a positive mindset.
Real EstateAn Essential Contribution in Indian Economy
The real estate sector is witnessing an influx of opportunities driven by government reforms, initiatives and convergence of digital and emerging technologies such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) and Internet of Things (IoT). These technologies are enabling real estate developers to provision better products and services, while also impacting how they can effectively interact with potential customers. India’s commercial real estate market is one of the most well-organised markets in the Asia-Pacific region and the introduction of Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) structure is expected to help the sector become even more efficient. Emerging technologies are helping new era, forward looking real estate companies to derive value propositions by targeting specific issues in real estate with technology capabilities, readily available now. Rapidly evolving technology and changing regulatory landscape is redefining how real-estate business is conducted and managed in the Indian scenario. What’s noteworthy is how virtual tours of property, digital contracts, centralised command and control centers, smart building solutions and cloud storage are quickly becoming common industry practices and are gradually heading to a techdriven real estate sector. With the possible deployment of technology, there remains a broad array of opportunities lying ahead of entrepreneurs and investors. Automation of legacy system, elimination of low value intermediaries will lead to a transparent ecosystem for customers that will make them feel empowered and valued. The need of the hour is to embrace the subtle shift customer-centric environment to remain relevant in the business.
Shweta Priyadarshini Shweta Priyadarshini
Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Managing Editor Shweta Priyadarshini Contributors
Rahul, Sneha
Art & Design Head Amol Kamble Associate Designer Poonam, Shweta Art & Picture Editor Rahul Kavnekar Co-designer Savita Pandav Business Development Manager Akansha Garewal Marketing Manager Dhruv Apte Sales Executives Asif , Tarun Technical Head Swapnil Patil Technical Specialist Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Prashant, Rahul SME-SMO Executives Swati, Manoj Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com
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Cover Story
Rajnikant Ajmera The Forerunner of the Real Estate Renaissance in India
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Maestro’s Talk The Fast Expanding Construction Sector
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44 36
Professional Stance
Expert’s Opinion
Still Thin, But Complaints Galore!
The NBFC Real Estate Crisis – What, Why and What Next?
Contents Editor’s Heed
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Ingredients of a Sustainable Home
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Through the Looking Glass Green Cement The Construction Choice of Tomorrow
Abbey Homes Interview with Insights success
Expertise in Providing Best Class Customer Service through World Class Technology 18
Manoj Agarwal RedeďŹ ning Trust in Real Estate 20 16
Rahul Chawla Seizing Opportunities to Develop Seamless Real Estate Solutions 24 20
Sanjay Jain Envisioning Affordable Luxury Homes 42
T h e
10
Most Admired
REAL ESTATE TYCOONS
Admired Real Estate Tycoons: Soaring Above the Skyline
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he Real Estate Companies in India are serving the people by offering solutions to all their property needs. With rising demand for residential and commercial space, the property developers are leaving no stone unturned and coming up with new projects in every real estate segment. The real estate and construction sectors are an integral part of Indian economy’s growth graph and responsible for the development of India’s core infrastructure. And the real estate developers, across cities, are offering a variety of inventories to buyers with different reasons. Most of the cities of India have residential launches in budget as well as luxury segments. The real estate sector is a critical driver of India’s economic growth. The sector has been sailing in turbulent waters over the past few years with lot of challenges. To analyze how various challenges are tackled by the individual companies, Insights Success has introduced the top real estate developers across major cities in India to analyze the most successful real estate firms. We have introduced Ajmera as cover story; the company has been the usher of the most futuristic vision when it comes to real estate business changing the outlook of the Indian customers about a cozy yet affordable housing. Agarwal Estates is the brand that focuses on the values and professional process through its futuristic approach to real estate market. It serves the clients with transparency, knowledge and the quality of work delivered. In4velocity is focused on developing solutions for the Property Development market to manage complex construction activities and customer related sales transactions. Siddha Group which has conceived, designed and built residential & commercial units at prime locations across India over a successful journey spanning three decades. We have also interviewed Abbey Homes which works as a consultant to the brief the customers about the latest to latest information related to new properties. This opens up for the deals and embraces the purchase of a property with the convenience for both the parties. Our in-house editors have written articles such as Green Cement: The Construction Choice of Tomorrow and Ingredients of a Sustainable Home Articles such as The NBFC Real Estate Crisis – What, Why and What Next? written by Shobhit Agarwal is the MD & CEO at ANAROCK Capital and RERA Deployment – Still Thin, But Complaints Galore! And The Fast Expanding Construction Sector written by S.B.Saraswat is the Resident Director at Danieli Corus. Let’s explore the best real estate tycoons in India and know more about them.
Cover Story T h e
10
Most Admired
REAL ESTATE TYCOONS
The Forerunner of the Real Estate Renaissance in India
“ Ajmera Realty
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understands Indian sentiment and taste as well when it comes to housing solution
Rajnikant Ajmera Chairman & Managing Director
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A
man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”
-George A. Moore
Where Dream meets Reality With headquarters in Mumbai, Ajmera Realty is engaged in building a range of, residential properties such as integrated townships, residential hi-rise towers, exclusive and premium apartments and ultra-luxurious villas among others. The company provides a world-class experience to its customers with the aid of superior quality, innovative technology, on-time delivery and high value for money. Architectural and structural excellence along with the acquisition of a robust and strategic land bank at the premium location is the signature strategy of Ajmera. It has enabled the company to develop masterly crafted homes and truly grand lifestyle statements. It has a strong presence in metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Bengaluru as well as London and Bahrain, in the International market. Forbearer of Ajmera Realty Ajmera was founded by Chotu Bhai Ajmera in 1968 with a vision to create a company which would be a pioneer and a trendsetter in the industry. This took the company where it stands now. Though the beginning of Ajmera was humble; however, Chotu Bhai was not a person to be weighed down by limitations and had the courage to take unlimited risks and face challenges head-on, a trait that played an important role in his success. The band of seven brothers, also fondly called as ‘seven pillars’ of the company, Ishwarbhai Ajmera, Late Shri. Chagganbhai Ajmera, Rajnikant Ajmera, Late Shri. Bhogibhai Ajmera, Shri. Natubhai Ajmera, Rasiklal Ajmera and the Late Shri Chotu Bhai Ajmera have
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We believe the economy and social structure directly relate to the living and Ajmera keeps that in mind, always
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Home is the only place where the entire universe gets unified for us. Thus owning the perfect home is the dream of every individual. Real estate is a business which is above the profit and services in general. It is something that is truly too close to the soul of its customers as it comes with the reality of the ‘dream humble abode’. A dream home or a long-awaited business establishment or a well-designed office comes holding the hands of the strong foundation of real estate merchants. India is currently seeing the boom in this sector with its strong economic growth. One of the most prominent names of the real estate giants, Ajmera Realty is the brand that needs no introduction and Rajnikant Ajmera is being the flag bearer of the company. Over the last 50 years, it has successfully established itself as a leading real estate company in India to fulfill the dream of a peaceful retreat.
“Real estate market is changing drastically and it is very important to understand the change of the market and mould accordingly to stay ahead in the competitive business” their immense contribution to the company to help it reach the zenith of success. A Civil Engineer by qualification, Rajnikant Ajmera is currently holding the chair of Ajmera. He is the Chairman & Managing Director of the Ajmera group of companies and the mainstay behind the growth of the brand. Trailing on the same path of the Founder Chairman, Late Shri Chhotubhai Ajmera, a large number of housing colonies have been successfully completed under Rajnikanth's eagle eye, in the shortest possible time. The group has also attained ISO 9000-2000 certification. He served as the President of MCHI (Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry) and has also served CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India) as their President and Vice-President. During his tenure, he was very active in bringing the amendments to various rules governing this industry. After diversifying in Steel Industry, he served CORSMA (Cold Rolled Steel Manufacturers Association of India) as their President for many years. Alacrity to Stay Ahead The company’s vision is to be the most preferred and trusted name in the industry that enhances the quality of life through sustainable growth of all the stakeholders. Rajnikant Ajmera adds, “Our Mission is to fulfill the growing aspiration of our customers, for which we create
innovative and world-class complexes for every stratum of society. Our mission is to preserve affordability with a superior outcome which is aligned with our motto of 'less is more'.” The Voyage of Triumph in a Favorable Socio-economic Vagary The real estate market has changed a lot in the last 2-3 years. The main reason that could be attributed to the change is the introduction of regulatory policies along with flagship government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and other developments such as granting of infrastructure status to affordable housing and the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act of 2016, or RERA can be considered as one of the biggest growth drivers for this industry. RERA especially has been a potent instrument in addressing some of the pertinent issues afflicting the sector. Amongst them, the impact is most visible in terms of completion and deliveries of projects. It is by which they have managed to increase consumer confidence making the fence sitters an active player in the market. Respecting the Sentiment Demand for real estate is driven solely by economic
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Our Mission is to fulll the growing aspiration of our customers, for which we create innovative and world-class complexes for every stratum of society
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growth. As industries grow and purchasing power of individuals goes up, new homes, offices and shops witness an increase in uptake. Indian buyers are price sensitive regarding the purchase of their homes, with expectations of great design and amenities along with it. Rajnikant believes that, developers have to plan and create a perfect balance so that they meet the expectations of the buyers while meeting the price point for the projects. Herald for the Newcomers While discussing about the current market situation, Rajnikant Ajmera talked about something that is very enlightening for the entrepreneurs of the same sector. He says, “Discipline is the word that comes up as the most virtuous quality in a world of distractions.” The multitudes of digital distractions that surround to chip away the attention affect the goal of ours. For the entrepreneurs, getting distracted can lead to outright failure. “It’s easy to get caught up thinking through every detail and yet it can prevent one from putting out a minimum viable product. In short ‘Keep Your Eye on the Prize’ ” adds Rajnikant. The second important factor to stand in the competitive market is to ‘Know Your Industry and Your Numbers’. When, one pitch to an investor or a client, the one must know the business, the industry, and one’s numbers. There’s no substitute for that knowledge. “Believe me when I say that people will know quickly if you don’t have it,” says Rajnikant, and adds “Go through the different aspects of your company from an investor’s perspective. That way, you’ll have answers in advance. There’s a world of
difference between an answer you give to an anticipated question and an answer you have to think up on the spot.” And last would be to Work hard. “Work sincerely, do your best and leave the rest to God’s grace” clarifies Rajnikant. Looking Back at the Glorifying Past This year, the company is marking its 50 years in business after completing construction on 27 million sq. ft. of land in India. Over the decades, Ajmera Group has achieved many milestones like constructing India’s first ever dome theater, building the first ever mall are some of the examples of their foresightedness and innovation. Curving a Promising Future This year is very special for Ajmera, as it’s the Golden Jubilee Year. Ajmera is planning to develop ‘Land Back’ of approximately 30 million Sq. ft. Rajnikant sounds too determined while talking about the future plans of the brand, “We are all set to create ripples by entering into new markets internationally in the coming months with launches planned in Bahrain, and London”. Apart from that, the company aims to diversify in other sectors as well, and have launched a 15MW sun-borne energy plant at Kutch. The brand is also coming up with the Ajmera Global School which will be situated in Wadala region of Mumbai in association with Jamnabai Trust. All in all, their aim is to “keep expanding and keep exploring new challenges that will continue to push us to our limits and enable us to keep innovating”. Trail of Achievements This year Dhaval Ajmera (Director) individually secured an award as the ‘Young Entrepreneur of the year’ in the Construction Week India Awards. The company has also won the awards for ‘Top Brands and Leaders’ in the World’s Greatest Brands and Leaders 2016-17 - Asia & GCC by Price water house Coopers at The Meyden Racecourse, Dubai on 21st May 2017 out of 1200 entries. Ajmera Realty bagged an award for ‘The Best Brand in the Realty Space’ and Mr. Dhaval Ajmera was awarded ‘The Best Leader Award’. Ajmera Realty won ‘Luxury Developer of the Year’ at Real Estate Business & Leadership Awards 2017 By Realty Fact. Casa Vyoma, a project of Ajmera Group won ‘Best Project ’ in the mid-segment category at 11th Real Estate Award by CNBC Awaaz (2016). Ajmera Group has also been finalized as ‘Luxury Developers of the Year’ and Top Challengers of 2017-2018 in Real Estate category in Upcoming Quikr Realty awards and Construction World Awards 2018 respectively.
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Manoj Agarwal Redefining Trust in Real Estate
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home has a lot of emotions attached to it. It’s a place where a person spends a larger part of his/her life and has memories attached to every nook and corner. Deciding to buy a house and settle down with one’s loved ones is a big occasion. When one zeroes in on a house, one wants the space to be available as per the specifications given at the time of booking the house. Even a slight change in the plan, looks and delay in delivery time hurts the sentiments of the house owners. Finding Order in Chaos -Real Estate Industry is looked at with distrust. People are facing shoddy services and over promises which make them view the entire industry as untrustworthy. While everyone saw the gloomy conditions, one man saw the need to provide high quality services in an organized manner and that too within the agreed timelines. Manoj Agarwal founded Agarwal Estates in 2012 with the primary objective to bring about a paradigm shift in the industry, and build a transparent platform for the property buyers and sellers to do business, and provide one stop solutions for the customers.
segment, and endeavor to make it an organized and disciplined sector. He focused on implementing processes, service delivery standards and standardization of methodologies. Redefining the Sector Manoj founded his company Agarwal Estates to change the perception of the real estates’ services industry, and provide world class services to the customers. He set out to “Redefine” the “Trust” by investing in professional process management. Through his company, he introduced world class documentation practices, standardization, checklist and processes which are unheard in the industry. The key to earn trust was to become transparent in the dealings and sharing all the information with the customers.
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An Uphill Task
Never Give up your dreams, and dream big
Manoj has varied experiences in IT and Telecom industry, and has worked in the top-notch companies like Cisco, HP and TCS. He has worked across different geographies and has knowledge and experience in PMP, ITIL and Six Sigma. Being in a competitive industry that runs in an organized manner and on deadlines helped him use the same principles, standards and methodologies in the real estate
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The first challenge was dealing with the distrust that people were harboring towards the real estate sector. Having correct information, making the right choice and not being forced to choose was a new and defining experience for them. Acquisition of clients was a hard task initially, but fortunately it started out well and the company focused on building the client base gradually. Within five short years, the company moved on from a new and unknown entity to a trusted and acclaimed organization due to its focus on KEY (Knowledge Empowers You) and goal to empower the customers with all the right information and enable them to make an informed decision.
December 2018
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REAL ESTATE TYCOONS
The Key to Success Manoj’s decision to make the processes transparent became the secret –ingredient, USP and the core strength. As a one stop solution, his company has expertise in varied aspects of real estate business such as, real estate investments, buying, selling, renting property, property and tenant management, home loans, home decors and interiors and more. In addition, the enterprise offers allied services such as property tax, electric meter transfer, painting, cleaning to name a few. His strategies were quite successful as the customers became the marketing person, and referred it to prospective buyers and sellers. The Current Scene Speaking about the current market scenario, Manoj acknowledges the urbanized lifestyle, fast economic growth, financial independence and attitude of modern consumers as the changing factors with regards to savings, investment and consumption. The urban consumers are more demanding, well informed and are looking for a life style. The new generation consumers want all the available amenities, club house, sports facility, technologically advanced safety and security solutions, smart homes governed by AI and home automation and such new age tools and facilities. Double incomes, fast-economic growth, ease of home loan and migration from rural to urban areas have enabled the consumers to invest in the real estate and fueled the market. From the regulatory perspective, it has become easier and better than before, but hindrances do exist. Recent changes like demonetization, GST and RERA have hit the market adversely and brought the process down making them more affordable. People are looking at properties as an investment especially in tier 1 and tier 2 cities. Marching into the Future
Manoj Agarwal founded
unethical and compromise on your values”, he adds. And always remember there will be thousands to discourage you and paint a picture of dismal future, but there will be few who will always encourage and support you – so keep your well-wishers near. Future, as per Manoj, is exciting. Innovative and customized solutions have made his firm a major player and he plans to carry on the momentum. The company is CRISIL verified and features in the top ten lists of most leading magazines. It is growing in all verticals. He will continue to simplify the complex process, and make it seamless and easy for the customers. Manoj and his company’s journey into the future continue with the vision to “Redefine Trust in Real Estate Services”.
Manoj advises budding entrepreneurs to live their dreams. He says,” I plunged into the world of Entrepreneurs without knowing what the future holds for me, buoyed by the support of my family and well-wishers”. His advice is to never give up on dreams, and dream big. Every risk met turn into an opportunity, and every failure lays the foundation for a roaring success when one persists. “Your efforts, passion and belief will help you tread ahead even in the darkest of the time. And never ever do anything
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Abbey Homes Expertise in Providing Best Class Customer Service through World Class Technology
Mr. Avtar Singh Founder/CEO
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December 2018
Interview with Insights Success
1. Kindly brief us about the company. Enlighten us with the foundation story and a brief detail of the initial days of the company. Abbey Homes is a company which works as a consultant to the brief the customers about the latest to latest information related to new properties. This opens up for the deals and embraces the purchase of a property with the convenience for both the parties. The company was founded on 14th January 2012 and since then, achieving the successes perpetually. The company has started with the hope and plans for a successful future and obviously started with a few steps. The struggle and plans of those initial days serves the customers along with the business. Although the company faces difficulties at the initial inception phase in Chandigarh, the planning and mechanism helps the overall system to hit the plan like splendidly. 2. Brief us about the Founder/CEO of the company? Please share with us the major contribution of him/her towards the development of the company. AHC is developed and derived by Mr. Avtar Singh who is the person behind the scene and the one who takes courage and guts to prove something to the industries. He has started the career as 2004 and took it to another level by and with the utilizations of his various skills and guidance. Mr. Avtar has unbeatable knowledge about business and marketing. Apart from that, his tremendous experience in customer relationship management what he had gathered in his prior banking career, is set to be very beneficiary for the business and company. 3. What kind of struggle or hindrances were there to overcome to grow this flawless gigantic business structure? In the growing trends of industries, it is really hard
December 2018
for one to set a start up and grow it. There were struggles while the inception of the business, but the hard-works and struggle clears all the obstacles of the way and proves to be the best. The people and the support of the best professionals, helps to thrive the business with the best ever pace. 4. What kind of vision or approach is there in your business? What is the mission of your company? Vision is concerned with the growth, undoubtedly. But to prove this success, there must be the dedication towards the people and a trust to prosper them with. Here, Abbey Homes is proving itself as one of the most supportive that avails their customers with the best ever services. The foundation and plans somehow relies upon the hope and intuitions of being India's largest real estate services organization. 5. How do you justify the architecture, price and the sentiment of Indian buyer at the same time? Indian buyers always incline towards the best piece with the most reasonable rates. Apart from this, they literally have emotions towards the homes and properties. Buying a property matters a lot for them. There is no need to get offensive for the same, the need is to comprehend the plans in front of audience where the lines not only hit the mind but it must also penetrate the heart with the emotions and sentiments. Indulge the need of the customers and they will themselves be your business promoters. This will be a onetime investment; therefore it is necessary to treat every buyer individually and specifically. 6. Share your views on how real estate market is changing and enhancing Indian urbanized lifestyle. Real estate market is thriving and growing drastically. This is something that is literally immeasurable these days. The people are running towards buying the properties and this is increasing the business obviously. As far as the Indian
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urbanized lifestyle concerns, it is enhanced by the architectures and ambiances. There was a time when people are devotionally depends upon buying the plot and then construct the regular homes. The real estate market is facing competitions where there is a run race to serve the best. In this race, ultimately the buyer wins. As they get the best offers and deals while competition. Those traditional kitchens are converted into the modular kitchens. The lanes get converted into the society which has own clubs and swimming pool. 7. Please tell us about the business model you follow and the service you provide that makes the company unique in the mid of the cut-throat competition. Abbey home avails the customers with the end to end services whether it is about the selection of the property or about loans and other documentation works. The customers are benefitted with the transparency of the services as the platform is reducing their head-aches by taking the issues and tackling them so efficiently. There are basically two categories of the services what AHC has for its customers – Pre sales services: This leads the customers to get relaxed for visiting the areas, flats and all. Here, the company matches your needs and then convey the required details to you. Post sales services: People are having full documentation supports. The trustable loan partners are also here to help you for any financial need. 8. Brief us about the future of the company or the goal it has set to mark its exceptionality in future. The real estate industry has really a bright and rich future. This is thriving like none other is setting like. Having an own home, is a dream of the people and youths are realizing the same. Therefore, to serve the needs that lead to the better future in every term, there are few guidelines to be followed. Whereas, the educated professionals are always here to prosper the
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needs, the transparency matters. There is also a need of creating a trustworthy wealth partners with the company to avail and serve the customers better. Sharing the best services at the best reasonable and competitive rates and then with the transparency is the basics of AHC. 9. Advise for the budding entrepreneurs who are trying to embark in the same field. See, there is no hard and fast rule that can promise anyone that the success is definite. First of all set a main goal and then go for the fragmentations, set some small goals with the cantles. Develop a set of rules to follow, try to stick on that. But don't make them as rigid as the world is changing and the real estate industries too. If one has starting a business with a vision for 10 years, so many things are going to change and so as the plan lists too and they must be indeed. This industry requires the embracement from the customers' views. Success is there and waiting for you, come with a planned structure to serve the customers, be honest with them and they will drag your business to the heights of success. 10.Share with us the accomplishments and achievements of the company. Abbey Homes has the fabulous plans and ideas that are continuously serving the customers and getting their love and response in revert. The company is setting trends and acquiring the establishments since the birth. Here, the accomplishments are adding the feather to the cap Abbey Homes has received numerous awards which includes Extra Ordinary Performance 2015, Awarded for Relationship Builder 2016, Magnificent Star Achiever 2017, Award of Honor- Consistent Contribution towards Growth 2017, Sales Achievement Award 2017, Star Performer of the year 2017, Rising Star of the year 2017, Achievers Award –Outstanding Sales Performance 2017.
December 2018
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he infrastructure and industry sector in India is progressing rapidly with many ongoing large scale construction projects receiving huge investments. Any large-scale construction project in industry sectors is complex and involves one or more contractors/employers. The importance of construction sector cannot be denied from the fact that it’s contribution to GDP of India is around 1.4% which is next highest to the agriculture. It employs around 40 Million of work force. This sector has operation budget of around 175000 crores per annum. Due to multi - party nature, the projects are becoming more risky. There are many risks in the large and mega construction projects in any country in general and in India in specific. One of the identified risk is delay of the projects due to various reasons of delays, therefore, the disputes in the construction sector are on rise. Any kind of disputes in the projects, delays the projects which are not good for country's economy as growth declines. Whenever such disputes do arise among the stake holders, it is essential that there should be a mechanism in place to sort out the dispute and complete the project as early as possible under agreed contract conditions. Construction disputes always arise in a variety of situations which varies from project to project. These disputes finally land in demands of extension of time of project without imposition of any liquidated damages (LD) and penalties and brings claims and counter-claims from contractors to employers and vice-versa and that begins the battle of conflicts and disputes. One of the first requirement for this kind of projects is engineering of the process/technology, equipment's and structures which again needs the support and application of various engineering disciplines like Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Automation, Chemical, Metallurgical etc Involvement of these engineering's may vary from one industrial project to other depending on process of production, type of technologies and products manufactured. Objectively, construction sector needs to be on top priority for the nation to achieve a high growth rate. In today’s competitive environment, the construction sector is becoming more complex and uncertain resulting in various disputes including non-performance, breach of contract and delays. To resolve these disputes, approaching courts does not appear to be the most promising option as it becomes long drawn and tedious. Resolution of disputes through courts may take inordinately long time given the
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extreme pendency in litigation. This will in turn defeat the main purpose of dispute resolution. Delay in resolution of disputes in construction projects is an unhealthy trend for the country’s economy as it leads to a decline in its growth. Means of Dispute Resolution in the Construction Sector To minimize the disputes, there is a need to have a clear understanding of the contract, the project execution requirements and to adhere to the same. However, in practice, disputes are bound to arise in projects. Therefore, it is necessary that the disputants have confidence and faith in that mechanism of dispute resolution. Arbitration is a preferred mode of dispute resolution because of its economic price and shorter durations with the flexibility in procedures and autonomy of disputants. However, arbitration has not been a prevalent means of resolution in industrial disputes, specifically in the construction sector. However, given the estimated backlog of three crore cases in courts, disputants have had to compromise with the best possible alternative in the given circumstances and have lived with these disputes. Other than ad-hoc arbitrations, there are a number of institutional arbitrations wherein the arbitration is governed through an institution including International Chamber of Commerce, Singapore International Arbitration Centre as well as Indian Council of Arbitration. Alternate dispute resolution mechanism like Arbitration and conciliation is getting huge popularity in India .The Government of India’s has taken lot of initiatives to present India as a pro-foreign investment and pro-arbitration nation. Now this dispute resolution mechanism will be reachable by a common man of this country. This situation has created a big demand of qualified arbitrators comprising of advocates, chartered accountants and officers with an engineering degree, to take over the role of arbitrators. Conclusion With the increase in arbitration as the most preferred mode of dispute resolution, it has created rewarding career opportunities, for a wider range of professionals, as arbitrators in India and other international arbitration centers world over. The stricter and more professional timelines are also encouraging foreign investment in India. India will be on the path of becoming the arbitration hub and consequently the requirement for arbitrators will rise.
December 2018
Maestro’s Talk
S.B.Saraswat Resident Director Danieli Corus
December 2018
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Rahul Chawla Seizing Opportunities to Develop Seamless Real Estate Solutions
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hen a business grows, it doesn’t grow in just one direction. There are many other fields and services that get impacted. Moreover, the sector’s own needs change and it needs services from other sectors to help absorb the huge demand that has been created. Last decade, the Real estate Sector was riding a high wave. Property prices were going great and people were purchasing property not just to reside but also as an investment. The Natural Entrepreneur
started his career in 1993 in the United States playing a crucial role as part of the team credited with establishing Cambridge Technology Partners (CATP), a global IT consulting firm. The year 2000 saw him starting Orbit-e Consulting, funded by Warburg and dedicated to Business Strategy Consulting and offshore development. In 2003, he merged Orbit-e into a Bain-funded company based in the US and China. Finally, in 2004, Rahul started In4, which is India’s foremost Real Estate ERP for Property Developers and Infrastructure players. He then established ArrowPS, in 2015, which is a top Professional Services Automation software company.
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It was during this high in 2004, that Rahul Chawla, a techie, entrepreneur, and a natural problem solver, saw the Unifying Real Estate need for a Real Estate software platform that would work In4’s proprietary product towards unifying a Real Estate Nurturing skills today In4Suite® (as in Developer’s workforce. His can create more capable and “Information Suite”) is an own interactions with Real effective entrepreneurs, integrated product platform Estate developers made him that helps Real Estate leaders, and realize the lack of a single developers streamline their platform product, that was responsible citizens operations and optimize the cost-effective and easy to use, business processes leading to and that made operations an increase in revenue and efficient. This realization shortening of cash-flow cycles. It also accommodates paved the way for establishing In4velocity as a focused Rental/Leasing customers, as well as Property Management effort to build a vertical solution for the Property companies that benefit from automating maintenance and Development market to manage complex construction management thereby enhancing customer experience. It activities and customer related sales transactions. brings all key processes of a real estate organization on a single platform by combining a group of integrated modules Rahul, the Chief Executive Officer of In4Velocity System, that together provide a comprehensive and complete is a visionary and a charismatic leader. He holds a degree of solution. It digitizes the complete value chain – from the B.A. in Computer Science & Economics from Brandeis purchase of Land to the communication to customers to University, U.S.A. and has played semi-professional Golf delivering the construction of their units and managing all representing India in Tournaments at St. Andrews. He
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their transactions and relationships via one single platform. This builds hyper-efficiencies and impacts the bottom line by reducing costs and increasing customer satisfaction. Making the Most of Today Speaking about the current real estate scenario in India, Rahul emphasizes that the sector has entered a revitalization mode where the teething problems posed by various regulatory reforms (like RERA, GST etc.) have started settling in. These have now instigated a healthy ecosystem infused with greater transparency, accountability and customer assurance. Active promotion of digitization and enabling ICT based infrastructure solutions through initiatives like ‘Smart City’ is letting them explore new opportunities. They are now looking to develop building automation and resource management systems for commercial and private spaces to maximize comfort, environmental quality, and sustainability. As a serial entrepreneur, Rahul is enjoying every moment of the current startup fever that has caught the country. About the budding entrepreneurs, he says “I believe everyone is born an entrepreneur- they just need to develop certain skills and behaviors at an early age to grow into truly successful and effective entrepreneurs.” He shares his set of eight traits that are needed to develop business and are true for life alike. The set includes Learning from failure and getting back up; Ingenuity, creativity, and critical thinking; Dedication and commitment to productivity; Curiosity and an appetite for knowledge; Confidence and conviction; Compassion and emotional intelligence; Positivity and optimism and Engaging the community. Improvisations for the Future Under Rahul’s leadership, the company has garnered several awards.It is the only software company to get “CREDAI’s seal of approval” and be selected as a CREDAI Preferred Partner for consecutive three years. Other industry accolades include “Best Product Startup”, by Silicon India, 2009, “Red Herring Top 100 Winner”, 2011, Asia & “NASSCOM Top 50 Emerging Companies”, 2011, amongst others.
Rahul Chawla CEO
their dreams. He adds, “Our Vision will drive our Future.” Standing in the inspiring vision of future, Rahul and his team are ready to boldly take every step large and small with courage and intent. Increasingly moving into a digital world, every organization will need to move from physical processes to automate and software-enabled processes. Keeping this demand in view, Rahul, along with his efficient team, continues to look for new ideas and platforms that can help the real estate sector provide better services and delighting customers always.
These awards just fuel the desire to excel in future. As a leader, Rahul is capable of communicating the vision of the company to inspire employees and customers. The future, he insists, belongs to those who believe in the beauty of
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RERA DEPLOYMENT
Still Thin, But Complaints Galore!
A
nuj Puri, Chairman of ANAROCK Property Consultants, is a highly respected industry authority and thought leader with 30 years’ experience in leveraging Indian and global real estate opportunities. At ANAROCK, he leads a dynamic team of 1800+ real estate service and research experts across 13 key Indian real estate markets and in Dubai, and a global network of 80,000+ preferred channel partners. ANAROCK serves the needs of investors, developers, occupiers, ďŹ nanciers and the public sector.
ANUJ PURI
Chairman ANAROCK Property Consultants
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December 2018
Professional Stance
M
ore than a year and a half after the deployment of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), it is evident that the Centre’s aim to have it enforced in each state to regulate the Indian real estate sector still falls way short of the intended mark. It may be recalled that RERA intended to cover developers as well as real estate agents seamlessly across the country. As it stands now, there are quite a few states still in the process of notifying their RERA rules, while there are others where buyers have been continuously fretting about the dilution of the rules notified. However, one provision that makes RERA across a few states a ‘hit’ among consumers is the rising number of complaints being registered with the respective state authorities, and its redressal timeline. Even if the redressal of complaints is not satisfactory for many, consumers are increasingly bestowing their faith on RERA regulators and coming forward in large numbers to register their complaints. For example, the latest numbers (as on November) show that more than 4,900 complaints have been registered in Maharashtra ever since MahaRERA came into effect. Interestingly, out of this total, orders have been passed for more than 3060 complaints while the remaining are pending with the concerned regulators. Similarly, in UP, a whopping 8,000+ complaints have been registered since RERA notification, of which only a little over one-fourth have been addressed. Looking at these numbers, one can say that while consumers are banking heavily on RERA provisions, the authorities need to buck up and address the concerns in a time-bound manner – as provided in the RERA Act itself. Here is the latest deployment status in the form of a heatmap which provides a ready visual oversight of the actual situation on the ground. Maharashtra still leads the ‘race’ (if it can be called that, considering the overall lack of adrenaline behind this movement) with 18492 RERA-registered projects and 17273 registered agents and agencies. The rest of the numbers speak for themselves: RERA Registered Projects & Agents across States (as on November, 2018)
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State/UT
Notification Status
Arunachal Pradesh
In Progress
Assam
Notified (Website yet to be launched)
Kerala
Notified (Website just Launched)
Manipur
In Progress
Meghalaya
In Progress
Mizoram
In Progress
Nagaland
In Progress
Sikkim
In Progress
Tripura
Notified (Website yet to be launched)
West Bengal
Notified (Website yet to be launched)
Lakshadweep
Notified (No Regulator)
Puducherry
Notified (Interim Regulator)
Tabular Format
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State/UT
Notification Status
Registered Projects
Registered Agents
Andhra Pradesh
Notified
61
34
Arunachal Pradesh
Notified (Website yet to be launched)
-
-
Assam
Notified
-
-
Bihar
Notified
250
-
Chhattisgarh
Notified
859
316
Goa
Notified
320
120
Gujarat
Notified
4076
740
Haryana
Notified
481
-
December 2018
Himachal Pradesh
Notified
23
17
Jharkhand
Notified
30
66
Karnataka
Notified
2133
1159
Kerala
Notified (Website just launched)
-
-
Madhya Pradesh
Notified
2019
479
Maharashtra
Notified
18492
17273
Manipur
In Progress
-
-
Meghalaya
In Progress
-
-
Mizoram
In Progress
-
-
Nagaland
In Progress
-
-
Odisha
Notified
215
35
Punjab
Notified
602
1267
Rajasthan
Notified
841
731
Sikkim
In Progress
-
-
Tamil Nadu
Notified
778
367
Telangana
Notified
30
86
Tripura
Notified (Website yet to be launched)
-
-
Uttar Pradesh
Notified
2517
2169
Uttarakhand
Notified
200
175
West Bengal
Notified (Website yet to be launched
-
-
Andaman & Nicobar Island
Notified
1
15
Notified
80
2
Delhi (National Capital Territory of Delhi)
Notified
18
89
Lakshadweep
Notified (No Regulator)
-
-
Puducherry
Notified (Interim Regulator)
-
-
Dadra & Nagar Haveli Daman & Diu
December 2018
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INGREDIENTS OF A
SUSTAINABLE HOME 32
December 2018
Editor’s Heed
‘
G
o Green’, ‘Eco-Friendly Homes’, ‘Sustainable Living’ are not just the buzzwords or lifestyle in vogue. While our forefathers lived in harmony with nature, the current generation needs to bring nature to their living spaces to bring harmony to their lives as well. Instead of being dependent on the Government, rules and regulations, the Real Estate Industry, the Architects and so forth to construct eco-friendly homes, the onus lies on individuals to make their current dwellings sustainable. Green is the New Black Going eco-friendly is not that tough as it may sound. Building a new home with sustainable features is easy considering the fact that green construction products are now available in the market. Those who already own a home can also make a few modifications and make their homes and society eco-friendly. The first and foremost step to create a green home is to realize and maybe list down the consumption of the house including energy, electricity, water which will give a fair idea about the kind of solution required. Depending on it the following features can be added to make homes greener and closer to nature.
Sustainable and Locally Sourced Material should be used to reduce the carbon footprint in construction. After all, there’s a good reason Eskimo live in igloos and not a high rise building! Houses made of local material are more suitable for the area utilizing the abundantly available raw material and also financially helping the locals. Energy Efficient Lighting will require making a switch to light bulbs that utilize less energy and last longer. The modern LED lights are better than the old filament bulbs and come in varied
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advocates using sustainable material and recycled or second-hand furniture to design the homes. Using cork instead of conventional wood for flooring, using toxin-free paints, using bamboo or refurbished furniture go a long way in creating an ecofriendly home.
colours too. One can also make efforts to minimize the use of artificial lights by efficiently capturing the natural light with help of sunroofs and broad windows according to the location of the house. Water Efficient Homes reduce, recycle and reuse the water available to them. Set up wastewater management system, rainwater harvesting system for home and society alike, fix leaky taps in time, use flush systems that use less water, bath fittings that optimize water consumption, use treated water for watering plants and flushes. Harnessing Solar Energy is a very important step for a sustainable home. Use it to light up home, run appliances, regulate the temperature and more. Solar fixtures are now becoming easy and cheaper to install and prices do fall when the complete society or
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community opts for it. Waste Management is another essential feature of an eco-friendly house. The wastes must be segregated and treated accordingly. The wet and kitchen waste can be used to make compost for the garden and even be used in biogas plants. Recyclable and non-recyclable products, medical waste, sanitary waste should all be separated and sent for proper treatment. Plants should be an integral part of one's home. Depending on the space that one has, one can opt for potted indoor plants, shrubs, herbs, and garden trees. Vertical gardens, green roofs terrace gardens, are options that should be considered. If one has space and time, having a kitchen garden will help provide organic food items and put kitchen waste to good use too. Sustainable Interior designing December 2018
Small Steps, Big Rewards Apart from the mentioned broad features that need to be incorporated, there are many small but important points that need to be pondered over and practised in our daily lives that make for an eco-friendly home and life possible. These include but are not limited to • Unplugging your devices when not in use. • Replacing your old appliances with energy saving appliances. • Turning off taps, taking bucket baths and using normal water for washing clothes. • Better ventilation, use of fan instead of air-conditioners. • Installing motion sensing lights which turn off when no one’s around. • Solar powered outdoor lights. • Using natural filters to clean kitchen water which can be then be used in gardens. • Minimum, multipurpose, refurbished, and reusable furniture. The whole motive behind eco-friendly luxury homes is not hurting nature anymore and giving back to it more than we take from it. The cost of constructing or buying such a home almost equals the normal homes. Moreover, with growing awareness, the government and financing institutes are offering sops and lower interest rates for such homes. With initiatives like Smart City being put forth, the need for smart and sustainable homes will also grow. The demand is growing and is expected to beat the demand for the normal home. These small and individual steps will go a long way in making an eco-friendly world. December 2018
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shobhit Agarwal is the MD & CEO at ANAROCK Capital. He has been a protruding deal-maker in Indian real estate markets for more than two decades now. His team of capital markets consists of well-honored industry experts who have been part of handling multimillion-dollar capital mandates. Shobhit has added a feather in his crown of success by trading capital in excess of US$ 10 billion in his previous assignments.
Shobhit Agarwal MD & CEO ANAROCK
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December 2018
Expert’s Opinion
The NBFC Real Estate Crisis
– What, Why
and What Next? N
BFCs account for over 50% of total developer financing - close to INR 4 trillion in Fy2018
• Real estate has already exhausted over 75% of available credit • Consolidation of not only developers but also NBFCs on the cards
the country and enjoy a much larger share than the public sector banks. Which sectors do they fund?
What ARE NBFCs anyway?
After agriculture, the MSME sector is heavily dependent on NBFCs for loans and working capital. Since banks cannot be present in every nook and corner of the country, NBFCs have capitalized on their highly localized presence to grow their business on the back of strong rural demand and the thriving SME and MSME sectors. Their local network and understanding of customer profiles at a local level give them an edge over the banks when it comes to lending at the micro level.
NBFCs are financial institutions that are essentially engaged in the business of providing loans and advances primarily to retail customers. Unlike the formal banking sector, they cannot accept deposits from the public; they depend solely on wholesale lending and banks for their operations. Two-wheeler loans, consumer durable loans, gold loans, vehicle finance and loan against property are the segments where NBFCs have a very strong presence across
Due to these advantages, NBFCs could rapidly scale their businesses where the formal banking system was slow in lending. Also, the rising Non-Performing Assets (NPA) crisis in the overall banking sector made banks reluctant to lend to the perceived riskier sectors like SME and MSME, thus helping NBFCs to gain market share. Real estate, also considered a high-risk sector, depended heavily on NBFC funding as well.
As an alternative to the main banking sector, Non-Banking Finance Companies or NBFCs have had few peers, which makes the perfect storm that has gathered around them now all the more worrisome.
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How did the current crisis play out? The ongoing liquidity crisis in the NBFC industry is the result of asset-liability mismatch (ALM). Since the NBFCs cannot raise retail deposits from the general public, they depend on wholesale lending for their capital requirements. As a result, the cost of funds for NBFCs is higher than that of banks. The biggest error that the majority of NBFCs and HFCs committed with regards to the real estate sector is that they ventured into long-term lending to builders and also into underwriting loans with very long-term repayment tenures. As a result, the NBFCs short-term borrowing was channelized towards financing long-term loans. They were heavily dependent on banks, mutual funds and private placements to meet their capital requirement as well as for refinancing of loans. However, post the IL&FS default, banks and mutual funds have stopped refinancing the loans of NBFCs and also stopped the disbursal of sanctioned loans to them, since there is still no clarity regarding the spill-over impact of the IL&FS default. How bad is the situation for real estate? NBFC loans to developers have seen a phenomenal rise since 2014, particularly due to the slowdown in bank loan disbursals. Interestingly, as per the current fiscal, NBFCs alone account for more than 50% of the total developer financing, which is somewhere close to INR 4 trillion in FY2018 as on date. However, the recent NBFC crisis has clearly spelt intense gloom - if not outright doom - for Indian real estate. Nearly USD 34 billion of mutual funds debt in NBFCs and HFCs is maturing between Oct 2018 and March 2019. Prior to the crisis, the sector was already dealing with a massive cash crunch and subdued demand, due to which more than 75% of the available credit facility was already exhausted. With the rise in banks’ NPAs to INR 10 lakh crore (as on March '18), up INR 1.39 lakh crore in a quarter, further funding from banks to NBFCs and HFCs (currently have an exposure to bank lending of more than 40%) seems extremely difficult.
sales, banks’ refusal to disburse loans due to rising NPAs and the widening debt-equity ratio even with the biggest developers. The recent NBFC crisis in September has only exacerbated the pain for the real estate sector and its major stakeholders – the developers. Post the IL&FS crisis, some NBFCs even halted the disbursal of earlier sanctioned loan amounts to developers for fear of widening the funding crisis even further. The worst phase came when some NBFCs urged developers to return the money that was disbursed to them so that they can repay their dues. As per the S&P BSE realty index data, the debt-equity ratio of the top 10 listed players (on a stand-alone basis) in FY 2014 ranged anywhere between 0.10 to 0.85 which has increased in the current fiscal to range anywhere between 0.17 to more than 1. This may not seem overly alarming, but the situation is worse in the case of small and mid-size developers whose debt-equity ratio is much higher. The major bailout option for most of these small developers is to possibly consolidate. It also needs to be highlighted that out of the approximately 10,000 developers in the country today, only 35-36 are listed. Hence, the financial numbers could be even worse. What next? The Government’s consistent assurance of ensuring credit to NBFCs is some sort of a relief, particularly for skittish investors who started panic selling in the equity market post the IL&FS default. Sensing trouble, even the RBI came forward to aid NBFCs by relaxing liquidity norms and allowing banks to lend more. Vey recently, the apex bank relaxed asset securitisation norms for the NBFCs in a bid to ease the persistent stress on the sector. Thus, even while the RBI and the Government have taken steps to ringfence the NBFC crisis and support its financing needs by providing additional liquidity to banks and credit enhancement for refinancing needs, there are speculations over spill-over concerns in the market in the near-term. Only time will tell whether or not we feel this heat in the near term. However, one major outcome visible in the coming year will be the consolidation of several small NBFCs.
The liquidity crunch has been a major pain-point for Indian real estate over the last two to three years owing to tepid
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December 2018
Green G The Construction struction Choice of Tomorrow
C
onstruction is a part of a growing economically emerging country like India. Every day new buildings and roads are being constructed and the key to all this construction is a powdered grey coloured binder known as Cement. Seldom used on its own, cement is used to bind the construction materials together by adhering to them as it sets and hardens. When it is mixed with fine aggregate the resulting mixture is mortar which is used for masonry. Mixing of cement with sand and gravel produces concrete for construction task. The most common variation of cement used is the Portland cement which sets like an adhesive due to a chemical reaction between the dry cement and water. Each passing year witnesses millions of tonnes of cement being produced and consumed worldwide. China, India and USA are the top three producers as well as consumers. Cement is a vital part of industries like chemical, cement, industrial and real estate and construction. But with its convenience comes the baggage of its effect on the environment. The production of cement involves heating or roasting of limestone and clay at
40
high temperature in giant kilns releasing tonnes of carbon dioxide in the air. Dry cement powder causes severe eye and respiratory irritation and a long duration exposure can cause diseases like tuberculosis. It is highly alkaline and the setting process i.e. mixing with water makes it even more corrosive and can severe skin burns on contact. The reaction also produces some carcinogenic and toxic chemicals. So while Cement may be a boon to construction, it seems to be a bane to the environment and human beings. Looking into cement’s unwanted effects, scientists have long been searching for safer, cheaper and viable alternatives. The recent result of this research is Green Cement. It is defined as “A cementitious material that meets or exceeds the functional performance capabilities of ordinary Portland cement by incorporating and optimizing recycled materials, thereby reducing consumption of natural raw materials, water, and energy, resulting in a more sustainable construction material.”
December 2018
Through the Looking Glass Right now there is no fixed recipe to produce green cement. Individual researches have created substances that set like cement and are as sturdy. The whole idea behind Green cement is making a product that reduces carbon emission, requires less energy for manufacturing uses industrial wastes as raw materials, has high long-term strength and higher ductility, reduced porosity and enhanced mechanical strength. These goals are achieved by using alternative fuels i.e. fuel other than petrochemical or coal, using ground limestone which reduces cost and carbon emission, using Ground granulated blast furnace slag which uses less energy and works at low heat. Other ideas are based on the use of resource efficient cement mixes. This includes: Calcium Sulfoaluminate cements which use comparatively lesser energy and release less carbon; Calcium aluminate and calcium alumina–silicate cement which is comparatively quick to produce and produces less carbon; Magnesium-oxide based cement which requires less energy to produce and form a carbon-negative cement meaning it absorbs more than it releases carbon in the process.
December 2018
Alkali-activated cement which is competitive with regular cement in terms of performance and cost, produce very less carbon, have a longer life and use industrial waste as raw material thus helping in recycling. Commercially, many companies in the USA and Australia are now manufacturing green cement for worldwide consumption. They differ on various points but are aimed towards providing a cleaner and greener alternative to cement. A company uses seawater to make calcium carbonate out of the carbon emissions to be used as Portland cement substitute. Yet another one uses superheated steam to modify cement particles which are more reactive and separates and captures carbon emitted in the process. Zero-carbon footprint claims a cement manufacturer, which is made of fly ash and liquid additives. Construction is essential for humankind and so is cement. The idea now is how to reduce if not reverse the damage that has been caused by the popular methods of construction. With every industry in need to go green and sustainable, it is important for cement manufacturers to look for an alternative that help them take up the cause. The need to deliver an alternative that suffices, if not supersedes, the current virtues of Portland cement soon, persists on the scientific minds.
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Sanjay Jain Envisioning Affordable Luxury Homes
T
he Indian Economy has long shifted from being totally dependent on agriculture to other industries. It is now a buzzing centre for varied industries like IT, textile, tourism, medical tourism, spiritual hub and more. This drastic shift has brought a change in the lifestyle too. India is no more confined to villages and the urban population is rising. The last few decades have seen a massive flow of population from villages and small cities to urban areas. This changing lifestyle has proved to be a boon for the Real Estate Industry.
Sanjay, an accomplished and empowering leader, voracious reader and a world traveller, has more than two and a half decades of industry experience and has led the group to be one of the most trusted and renowned real estate developers in India. He oversees the entire functioning of the company’s real estate development and ensures smoothsailing of all the residential and commercial projects. He is currently focusing on the expansion plans of the group, and new project launches.
Breaking New Grounds
Customer as a Priority
‘‘ “
Mr Chandra Prakash Jain and Mr Sanjay Jain at Sanjay and his team at Siddha endeavor to provide quality Siddha Group has been a major real estate player offerings and affordable homes without compromising on overseeing this transition since world-class comfort and 1986. The company’s success quality, within the committed story spanning over three timeframes to the clientele. decades have seen the An in-depth research on Deliver what you have company conceive, design and prevailing market trends and promised and this will go build residential & commercial demand drivers helps them to units and townships at prime create world-class spaces a long way in building trusting locations across India. Being a with high-design material and relationships with the clientele credible real estate developer construction excellence at and marketer, they have been competitive prices. Customer crafting full-fledged residences satisfaction is of paramount in Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai, importance and the group and Bengaluru. constantly innovates to provide a unique living experience in a time and monetarily efficient manner. The journey started with CP Jain, the Group Chairman expanding his expertise and venturing into other avenues of He believes in making the company a customer-oriented business and built the Siddha House in Jaipur. Inspired by and a progressive organization with due respect to nature. him, Sanjay Jain, the Group Managing Director forayed Achieving sustainability ranks high for the company and to into the real estate business with his first project ‘Aashray’, serve the purpose, it has inculcated the use of eco-friendly which was the first duplex apartment building in Kolkata. products such as PPC (Portland Pozzolana Cement), PSC The company has now grown exponentially and executed (Portland Slag Cement), AAC block, Fly ash bricks and several residential and commercial projects in Kolkata and aluminum shuttering instead of wooden shuttering in its Jaipur.
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December 2018
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projects. Most of its projects are certified by the IGBC’s ‘Silver Rating System’. Awards and Accolades Sanjay and the group’s journey so far is witness to completion of thirty-five projects, and handing over of more than five thousand apartments and office spaces. Over the years it has achieved several credible awards such as Realty Plus Conclave & Excellence Awards 2018, CNBC AWAAZ Real Estate Awards 2018, 10th Annual Real Estate Awards 2017, Credai Bengal Realty Awards – 2017, Realty Plus Conclave and Awards 2017. It has been credited for ideating and offering unique Rooftop Skywalks in their projects, the first for Indian real estate. Assessing Indian Market Sanjay has seen the Indian Real Estate Market transform and evolve with the introduction of new trends and policies and developers striving to offer the best-in-class amenities and designs. The demands have been fueled by growing economy, higher purchasing power, bold and positive steps from the Government and RBI and policy reforms which have effectively cleaned the sector. Developers are making efforts to deliver projects that are encompassed with quality amenities at attractive prices. These range from Sky walks, rooftop gardens, premium residential clubs, swimming pool, gymnasium and offering beneficial schemes and deals such as customized payment plans, cash back offers, 0% EMI until possession, modular kitchen and interiors, complementary furniture and appliances and much more. Guiding the Young The Real estate sector has witnessed growth promoting regulatory developments and initiatives that are paving the way for strong sector growth in the future. This has also inspired young entrepreneurs to look at this sector with a renewed interest. Sanjay advises the young guns know the industry like the back of their hands. He says, “They should understand the market dynamics and study the competition. Once they have gathered their market intelligence, creating proper plans with timelines and should be realistic with their goals.” They should understand their strengths, seek help from peers and the experienced and keep pushing themselves and should be true to their values and goals.
Sanjay Jain Group Managing Director
Jaipur, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. It has introduced the concept of Rooftop skywalks and Siddha Galaxia is among the four skywalks which is the world's longest unique rooftop Skywalk. Sanjay recognizes the current real estate industry as a more mature market than earlier that has been catalyzed by the various policy interventions and development. Progressive reforms have started showing results with increased transparency and accountability. The industry is now more organized and consumers are getting quality construction. This enhanced market sentiment has fueled demand in the residential sector across affordable and premium segments and NRIs too are viewing India as an attractive investment destination. Siddha Group looks forward to continuing its legacy and leading the fraternity to construct affordable homes that are world-class spaces, green and sustainable.
Planning the Future Going ahead, Siddha Group has twelve ongoing projects and seven upcoming projects that are spread across Kolkata,
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