DLF Cyber City Success Story – The Journey of K. P. Singh

Here is the incredible real estate success story of DLF Cyber City, and the journey of K. P. Singh, how he made India’s biggest real estate development company DLF.

Rajiv Singh is the Richest real estate developer in India and MD of DLF (Delhi Land & Finance), a company founded by his father in law Chaudhary Raghvendra Singh, back in 1945 at the time of Indian independence. His father ‘Kushal Pal Singh, made DLF cyber hub as its today. Without his efforts, DLF share price might fall. 

DLF Cyber City Success Story (K P Singh)

Today the total valuation of DLF share price is estimated at around $400 billion, but It was on the verge of bankruptcy 50 years ago. They must sell the DLF company for just ₹26 Lakhs. But somehow, they stopped.

The Delhi Development Authority put a ban on private development companies at that time. Only the government has access to develop something in the city. With that new development law, DLF was doomed.

But they never gave for the DLF Cyber City. They fought and chose a better location to fulfill the dream of ‘Building India.’ That location was Gurgaon, our Cyber City, where thousands of foreigners come to India to visit that area. If you are visiting incredible India, you can not miss the DLF Cyber City.

Gurgaon was an open field back then, but today, it is the business hub of India. Here top fortune 500 companies opened their head offices, including:

• Microsoft
• Coca Cola
• Pepsi
• IBM
• BMW
• And many more.

General Electric CEO Jach Welch has a big hand in this success with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. 

Real Estate Success Story of DLF Begins

In 1946, when the whole country was singing the independence song, Mr. Chaudhary Raghvendra Singh started the DLF company to supply the demand that was yet to come from those refugees who were coming to Delhi from different parts of India to support Gandhi Ji in the impedance movement.

Chaudhary Raghvendra Singh was born on 19 September 1910 in Haryana. After his Graduation from St. Stephen’s Delhi, he took a job in Public Civil service and got promoted in a few years. They made him a member of the British Empire, a Nobel reorganization back then.

His life was in a good flow. But he saw an opportunity as the whole country was preparing for independence. He thought that if people were coming here to support Congress, they must have a place to live today and after independence. Somebody needs to supply those houses. It is an opportunity for me.

He left his job and formed a development company named Delhi and Land Finance, later known as DLF. His vision was to build 21 colonies in Delhi. Some of those famous colonies are:

• Shibaji park
• Rajouri Garden
• Krishna Nagar
• South Extension
• Greater Kailash
• Kailash Colony 
• Hauz Khas

If you live in Delhi, you know all these places. DLF had built all these.

A Big Problem for DLF Company

The construction work was going on fire, and DLF was making good progress, but in 1957, the Delhi government came up with a law that blocked the path for DLF in Delhi Urbanization.

The law said all the development work now will be done by a Government entity. No private player can interfere in construction projects in Delhi. DLF was toasted. They had no other option besides shifting the company to a different industry.

So they did. Made a connection with an American company and established a battery manufacturing company American Universal Electric India LTD, in Faridabad, Haryana.

That ran for a few years, but Chaudhary Sahab was facing many problems. He was becoming older and could not handle all the work properly. Chaudhary Sahab needs a trusted man to take over the company. 

Chaudhary Sahab insisted his only son-in-law, K P Singh, join DLF. But K P Singh could not come the right way because he was in the Indian Army. But somehow, he managed to come back and joined the company.

From now on, the journey begins. With the leadership of K P Singh, DLF made it into the real estate industry again and became the biggest real estate development company in India.

Also, read: The incredible story of Indiabulls real estate

The Entry of Kushal Pal Singh – A New Era

The legend Kushal Pal Singh was born on 15 November 1931 in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. After graduating from Meerut University in Science, he came to England go higher education. There he qualified for a course on Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Air Service Training Faculty. 

Back then, it was expensive for an average man to send his kid to study abroad. But, his father Mukhtar Singh, somehow managed to send him. There he started his education and got interested in Horse raiding.

With that Horse raiding, he met with Juli, a Nobel woman from a reputable English family. They fell in love and informed their parents that they were about to marry.

But everything changed after he met an Indian army officer in a bar in London. He advised him to join the Indian Army, as his Horse raiding skill was impressive. He can get a promotion faster because of these skills.

Mr. Singh was not interested in Army life. But, he took the exam and passed it. He gave an interview and got selected for training in IMA Dehradun. All these were happening in England with the help of that Army man.

The Life-Changing Decision

Now he has the options, either he says in England and live a comfortable life with Juli, or join the Indian Army, which will make his life harder. What to choose, a decision can make him a Nobel man, a super rich life, or a difficult life full of challenges.

After thinking for a few days, he chose the difficult life of the Indian Army and came back to India in 1952 and reported to Dehradun. He served the Army for ten years before his father-in-law insisted on joining the family business DLF.

Resurrection of DLF Company

After serving in the Army for ten years, he joined DLF in 1961. At that time, DLF was not in good condition. It was operating under the name of American Universal Electric Company (India Ltd).

To expand this business, K P Singh started another company ‘Willard India Limited’ with the help of a Philadelphia electric company. In 1969, he merged both companies and made himself the MD.

But that battery business was not doing well. The company was not making much profit. The condition was so bad that it was time to sell it for only ₹26 Lakhs. They decided to sell it, but when signing the contract felt a little emotional, could not move his fingers, and decided not to sell the company that his father-in-law built with sweat.

That was the turning point for DLF. He thought one last time, are we in the right industry? Why did the company was started? He thought hard and decided to come back to the development business. At that time, the Delhi government realized the mistake and allowed private later to develop buildings.

The Real Estate Success Story DLF Cyber City Begins

They started constructing buildings and decided to build a cyber city in Gurgaon. When people asked him why he selected that place, he replied that the trend was moving toward it. 

From the time of the Mughals, Delhi was moving to the South. From Chandni Chowk to Daryaganj, Daryaganj to Connaught Place, and Greater Kailash. The next big thing will be in Gurgaon. That’s why we thought it was the best place for Cyber city.

But what about the Land. To build this city, you need more than 3000 acres of land. Indian farmers will give their life rather than give their land. How are you planning to convince them?

Land Accusation Time in Gurgaon

In 1979 K P Singh and his few associates knocked on every door of about 150 farmers and tried to convince them politely. They eat and drink together and spend a lot of time just to become like them. 

They explained the whole project to every farmer and helped them understand the importance of Cyber City in the Country. That took a lot of years. But ultimately, farmers agreed to give it even on credit. 

That happened the first time in world history that a company got 3000 acres of land on credit. Although, DLF paid them all the money after constructing the city and selling it to investors. 

Time to Get Government Approval

K P Sigh says, if our government was not that corrupt, we might get the approval 10x faster. Politics made an impact on the approval process at that time. Even he has a misunderstanding in with the CM in Haryana. 

But lastly, the project got approval, and the construction was on the move to build the dream of everyone, the price of India.

The Entry of Fortune 500 Companies

Rajib Gandhi was the prime minister of India at the time. He invited Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, to discuss business. He also invited K P Shing to the meeting. They both convinced jack to open their first ever office in India at the Cyber city. 

Because the opportunity was there and India’s workforce was in good shape. Jack agreed to the proposal and became the first company on the fortune 500 list to open an office in Gurgaon.

Following GM, more and more companies started to create offices in the city, like:

• Microsoft
• IBM
• Coca-Cola
• Pepsi
• And many more

Over 100 fortune 500 companies have an office in the city for their business in India, you name it. Every time a foreign company wants to do business in India, the first choice is Cyber City for the head office.

With that success, the city becomes a tourist spot to enjoy its beauty. Every day thousands of people visit the place just to witness the modern architecture of the Cyber Hub.

The Real Estate Success Story of DLF Cyber Hub

To date, DLF has built over $800 Billion worth of infrastructure all over the world, including:

• Skyline
• Business hub
• Cyber city

Today DLF operates over 24 top Indian cities making India proud.

DLF Cyber City has made a lot of millionaires

If you invested in that time when the Cyber City was in development, you would become a millionaire. Many people who had invested got huge money by investing in those properties. 

For example, back then, at the time of construction, the price of a property was ₹5,000/sq.ft. After five years, that price had become ₹27,000/sq.ft. Because of the market condition. That market had grown exceptionally over the years.

K P Singh says DLF is made out of trust. Mr. Chaudhry Sahab never forced anyone, and neither we did. All the farmers donated their lands. His net worth is over $9 billion.

Last Words

DLF made India proud. They had built India and still building it. K P Singh is a respected countryman among the leaders, and I respect him more now after knowing his story. He sacrificed his love life for India.

So here is the incredible story of the biggest real estate developer DLF (Delhi Land & Finance). I hope you liked the story. Thanks for reading.