A brief look at the journey of

KUSHAL PAL SINGH

Chairman Emeritus, DLF LTD.
(w.e.f. 05-06-2020)

A presentation by Ishaan Sharma

 Delhi Land & Finance
(DLF)
• Delhi Land & Finance (DLF LTD) is a commercial
real estate developer.
• It was founded in 1946 by Chaudhary Raghvendra
Singh and has developed residential colonies in
many areas of Delhi and NCR.
• Its services include apartments, residential
colonies, offices, shopping malls and golf courses.
• The company’s $2 billion Initial Public Offering
(IPO) in July 2007 was India's biggest IPO in history.
• As of 2021, DLF’s assets are worth ₹ 57,229.78
crores.
 K.P. Singh: The
messiah of Delhi
NCR
• Mr. Kushal Pal Singh is the
CEO and Chairman
Emeritus (w.e.f. 05-06-
2021) of DLF LTD.
• According to Forbes, his
net worth stands at a
mammoth $10.7 Billion,
making him the 297th
richest person in the world
(and 23rd richest in India).
 The Journey: A young boy from
Bulandshahr
• Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr (which was,
then, a part of the United Provinces), Mr. K.P.
Singh used to go to a madrasa for initial education
followed by a normal high-school and Meerut
College, where he was a student of sciences.
• Soon, he moved to the United Kingdom to study
Aeronautical Engineering. After completing his
studies, he was made to enroll with the Indian
military Academy situated in Dehradun.
• He planned to run away but stayed after an officer told him that he would
be known as a deserter, and eventually grew to love the tough life, seeing
it as an adventure. He was commissioned into the 9th Deccan Horse
Cavalry Regiment.
• Though he carries a torch for the Army, he decided to step down so as to
pursue his real dreams.
 Career
• In the initial phase of his career, K.P. Singh
aspired to become an entrepreneur in a battery-
manufacturing business, which, did not satisfy
him.
• Following his failure to be an entrepreneur in a
battery-manufacturing business, K.P. Singh
joined [his father-in-law] Chaudhary
Raghvendra Singh’s company which went by
the name of Delhi Land & Finance a.k.a. Dlf
Limited.
• Due to obstructive government regulations and borderline bankruptcy, he
wanted to shut DLF down.
• As a matter of fact, in January 1975, K.P. Singh was on the verge of selling
DLF for ₹26 lakhs. But, it was the persuasion of Prem (his sister-in-law),
Indira (his wife) and YS Tayal (CFO, DLF Limited 1975) that cajoled him not
to sell the company.
 Revitalising DLF
• In order to revitalize DLF, he started persuading farmers to sell land in
Gurgaon, on the outskirts of the national capital, with the ambition of
building a modern city full of high-end gated colonies.
• Many people told him that he was wasting his time as there were too
many hurdles in the form of government restrictions.
• It was until a chance meeting with Rajiv Gandhi that changed his fortunes.
Gandhi was driving on the dusty roads of a village on a sweltering
summer afternoon when the overheated engine of his car stalled.
• Upon being questioned by the former Prime Minister of India, K.P. Singh
expressed his ambition of building the most modern city in India.
• Rajiv asked him to make a presentation at his New Delhi office. He then
convinced his mother Indira Gandhi to make the necessary legal changes that
would make it easier for real estate entrepreneurs to build in Gurgaon.
• There was no looking back after that. Singh, however, was careful to ensure that
farmers selling their land were given a good deal and even helped them buy larger
pieces of land in areas like Alwar.
• He also helped them restart their agriculture business in their newly settled areas.
As he built goodwill, more and more farmers came forward to sell their land.
• Singh still had to deal with a plethora of laws and bureaucratic tangles to obtain
clearances to acquire over 3,500 acres of raw land on which a large part of
Gurgaon stands today.
• All this was acquired without a single case of legislation against DLF.
• Singh achieved this by personally meeting with villagers who respected him
because of his army background.
• He would chat with them in their houses, breaking bread and explaining why
they should sell their land (it was mostly unproductive as it was rocky and
there was little water for farming).
• It was a good deal for the farmers because they could settle elsewhere and live
a better life. He even persuaded some of them to give him back the money he
had paid for the land as a loan.
• He promised that he would pay them back whenever they wanted. He kept his
word and every month, on a designated day, a jeep would go into the villages
disbursing the interest on the loans he had taken from the villagers.
• This built trust, helping him to get more land and also gather the capital to
start construction activities
 Gurgaon: K.P. Singh’s dream project
• Today, Gurgaon is one of India’s biggest and most well-developed
cosmopolitan cities. The city’s urban infrastructure as well as employment
opportunities and easily available facilities make it one of India’s most
attractive cities for people to make a living.
• DLF has a very big role in the development of Gurgaon, thanks to Kushal
Pal Singh’s resilience and determination. However, in his biography
‘Whatever The Odds: The Incredible Story Behind DLF’, K.P. Singh stated
that Gurgaon did not turn out to be what he exactly envisioned. He felt that
the infrastructure developed by the state was sloppy and successive
governments did not do what it was required to make it an example of good
visionary urban governance.
DLF: A Journey From
₹26 Lakhs to ₹57K
Crores
• As per DLF Limited’s
Annual Reports (2020-21):
• Revenue: ₹5,945 crore
• Net Sales: ₹3,084 crore
• Total Comprehensive
Income: ₹1,086 crore
• Surplus Cash Flow
Generation: ₹382 crore
A master plan of DLF Downtown, Gurgaon
• Other cities where DLF has built various malls, apartments and
offices include:
1. Delhi
2. Noida
3. Chennai
4. Chandigarh
5. Hyderabad
6. Kolkata
7. Lucknow
8. Panchkula
 Kushal Pal Singh: Bidding Adieu To a
Successful Career
• After serving as DLF’s Owner and CEO for nearly 3 decades, the man
behind the success of the big brand, Mr. Kushal Pal Singh retired in 2021
at the age of 88 as the Chairman Emeritus of one of India’s biggest and
most prominent real estate developers, Delhi Land & Finance a.k.a. DLF.
• Rajiv Singh, one of K.P. Singh’s 3 children, serves as DLF’s Director and
takes the torch from the latter.