These are trying times for the country’s real estate sector, which is hit by credit crunch, low demand and rising project cost. However, the IITL-Nimbus Group, based out of Mumbai, continues to remain bullish about future prospects. With stress on quality, customer satisfaction and value for money to customers and stakeholders, Nimbus is able to buck the gloomy trend, points out IITL-Nimbus Chairman and Managing Director Bipin Agarwal.

Mr Agarwal, a qualified company secretary and first generation entrepreneur, has played a vital role in turning the IfTL-Nimbus Group into an over Rs 250-crore diversified business conglomerate with interests in real estate, hospitality and insurance sectors. The group’s realty business boasts of projects completed with a built-up area of around 83,00,000 sq ft and has another 1,00,000 sq ft of built-up area under development. With a land bank of around 1,03,000 sq metres, Nimbus has completed the first phase of its big-ticket residential projects – The Hyde Park and The Golden Palms in Noida and Express Park View in Greater Noida.

One of the Nimbus group companies is a joint venture partner in Future Generali Life Insurance Company with around 19 per cent equity stake. Besides, Nimbus is also into stock broking and insurance broking. The IITL-Nimbus Group is also a leading player in the hospitality sector with The Golden Palms Hotel and Spa in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mussoorie. In an engaging interview with Amit Brahmabhatt, Mr Agarwal, who keeps fit with daily walks and gymming, talks about his business conglomerate and reveals its future plans.

How do you see the impact of the government’s initiatives, like Housing for All, Smart Cities and RERA, on the realty sector?

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Smart City and RERA will have positive impact on the real estate market, and they open up opportunities for serious players in the sector. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is an admirable initiative that will set the benchmark for real estate development across India. The programme lays stress on affordable homes with water connection, toilet facilities, and electricity connection. Targeting lower and economically weaker sections of society, the scheme will reduce slums and have positive impact on the entire realty sector. The Smart City programme is the need of the hour which will provide retrofitting and redevelopment for many of our cities. This will ensure a planned infrastructure development, including transportation, and has the potential to make such cities self-contained and hubs of increasing productivity and quality of life. With RERA, of course, the ultimate customer will now he aware of the projects, and this will eliminate unscrupulous and marginal players.

How do you see the demand situation in your major markets?

It depends on the type of city and avail ability of land. If supply of land is constrained, it will have an impact on pricing, and this is true in the case of Mumbai. However, in other cities, demand will continue to grow, and the cities will also grow as families become nuclear. The challenge is to provide appropriate infrastructure, like water, sanitation, transportation, schools and colleges, medical facilities and entertainment. Demand for affordable and quality housing Will continue to see an upward trend.

We believe that success depends on the satisfaction of our customers and stakeholders. We attribute our success to ensuring adherence to our principles of quality, value for money and transparency – BIPIN AGARWAL, CMD, IITL-Nimbus Group

What, according to you, are major challenges before the realty industry?

A number of projects have been delayed due to various reasons. Customer confidence is low, and customers are expecting prices to correct beyond reasonable levels. Competition is also very severe, and builders are exiting at a loss in some areas. This creates pressure on others in the market. Getting construction finance at a reasonable Cost is also a challenge. It is our sincere belief that customer confidence will return, and genuine developers will be able to liquidate their inventory without loss.

What prompted the lITL-Nimbus Group to enter hospitality and insurance sectors?

We believe that hospitality and insurance sectors have high-growth potential and are the industries to be in. The hospitality and tourism sector accounts for more than 9 per cent of the country’s GDP and contributes substantially to its foreign exchange earnings. This sector is expected to grow at a decent pace of over 12 per cent per annum. The good news is that domestic tourism is on the rise, and thus, there is a rising demand for quality hotels.

The life insurance sector too is a crucial one as there is huge untapped potential. Insurance penetration level across India is less than 4 per cent. Low awareness level about insurance, need for a life cover among the working population and need for a proper pension plan among senior citizens are pointers for demand and growth of the sector.

Would you share with us your expansion and diversification plans in the near future? As on date, we plan to be focused on real estate, hospitality and insurance. As cities grow, there is bound to be Opportunities in terms of housing and commercial estates. Infrastructure development will also be an area where we may play a role. In hospitality, we will focus on tourist destinations and look at creating a chain of hotels across important tourist centres. There is immense scope for growing our insurance business with a huge population of the country without proper life cover, especially in semi-urban and rural areas. This can be addressed by designing proper products and creating awareness among the target groups. In short, we intend to participate in the Indian growth story.

What is in store for the Indian economy my and businesses in the next decade?

The Indian economy will be in the global limelight for its growth. India will be a global leader, and I expect growth to be in double digits, maybe in five years from now. Peer pressure will ensure that most of the States will have business- friendly environment and compete for better economic growth. The businesses we are into, such as real estate, hospitality and insurance, will have a definitive, long-term, positive impact.

What factors do you attribute the success of your group to?

According to Swami Vivekananda, “The greatest work is done only when there is no selfish motive to prompt it”. We believe that success depends on the satisfaction of our customers and stakeholders. We attribute our success to ensuring adherence to our principles of quality, value for money and transparency.