Second-generation developers shape new realty skyline

Raheja Developers Chairman and MD Navin Raheja had almost given up hope of a JV with Arabtec, the construction firm known for having built the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. That was when his son Nayan stepped in.

Nayan, 29, took charge of the project last year. Soon after, Arabtec signed on the dotted line for a venture with Raheja Developers in Nove-mber 2011 at a contract value of Rs 1,000 crore, with an aim to replicate the Burj heights in India.

Nayan is one of several new-generation realtors bringing in innovation, technology and international aspirations into the world of property that has been rather old-school so far. These 20-somethings are either preparing to take charge of key roles in their family-owned companies, or are already firmly in the saddle.

DLF Chairman K P Singh’s grandson, Rahul Talwar, for instance, is set for a bigger role in the organisation. The company told stock exch-anges recently that Rahul would be elevated to the position of general manager (marketing), with a nearly threefold pay hike. Rahul, son of K P Singh’s elder daughter Renuka Talwar, joined DLF as a senior management trainee last year with a pay package of Rs 57,725 a month, besides other benefits.

Supertech project ‘North Eye’ in Noida, which the company claims as North India’s tallest residential development, is the brainchild of 25-year-old Mohit Arora, son of the group CMD R K Arora. After civil engineering in the US, he is now trying to innovate in Indian real estate. “Seeing the high-rise buildings in the US, I used to wonder why we can’t have these in India,” said Mohit. It was his idea to use pre-cast technology in order to cut the cost of construction and speed up projects. “Pre-cast is a widely used technology across the globe, but is new to India. I was keen to get this technology to reduce the cost of construction, which will be beneficial for affordable housing as well,” the IOWA University graduate said.

Then there’s Kruti Jain, who was just 15 when she joined Lalit Jain, president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (Credai) and CMD of Mumbai and Pune-based Kumar Builders. Now, the 25-year-old law graduate is responsible for the entire Pune business. Kruti cut costs 60 per cent and raised sales 300 per cent when she worked in the marketing department. She also introduced a fixed price, doing away with the earlier practice of negotiation.