CEO Insights Magazine

A huge number of players have emerged in the realestate business during the last few years. Only a few have managed to survive on the basis of their fundamental strength. Being in this business for more than two decades, Ajay Ashar, the CMD of Ashar Group reveals his thoughts and observations in a recent interview with CEO Insights. He enlightens us about the industry and shares the journey his company has taken to carve a niche in real estate market. He believes that self-discipline is important in life and when that is aligned with hard work, every challenge can be addressed. He also believes that calculated risk-taking is an important key in the real estate business that has enabled him to yield extra ordinary results in the long run.

Give us an overview of Ashar Group as an organization and its position in the real estate market. What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to its clients?
The tagline of our group is 'Promises Delivered' which means delivering on all commitment within the stipulated time with best quality. Every project at Ashar Group is aligned with innovative thoughts and exclusive designs. We keep in mind the vision of our end users and deliver a project within the time that we have committed. Our mission is to provide exceptional service and products to our customers and keep all our stakeholders happy whether it is our vendors, land owners or any other person or team involved in any project.

Our unique proposition is the design, execution, and timely delivery of the project. Every speedy project is designed in a consumer friendly basis by executing the latest technologies available in the market. For any project we make, we thoroughly do the research and planning and see the feasibility of that site. The planning is done in such a way that there is zero

wastage, and we don’t compromise on the quality we offer to our customers. Great thoughts are involved in bringing quality products at Ashar and that is our USP for sustaining so long. Our endeavor is to constantly innovate and adapt and this is the single most important contribution from all our team members while we work.

Tell us about your educational and professional background. What has inspired you to join the real estate business and what keeps you going till today?
I passed B.Com in 1990, studied law and acquired my LLB degree. After that, I came into the construction business and worked in a company for seven years. After leaving that job, I started my own business in real estate in 2001.Since then, Ashar has been delivering all the projects successfully.

Right from the very beginning, real estate sector was the one which attracted me the most. Seeing people content and living their life in these infrastructures fascinated me to work more on my dreams and that is how I drew inspiration from the real estate sector. Today we are creating buildings and infrastructures that outlive generations and that are long lasting in nature. With this vision, we are working towards a creation that brings fulfilment to life and dreams of people be it education, retail, IT Parks, residential or commercial. At the end of the day, watching a family happy at Ashar’s project is what makes me and everyone at Ashar Group feeling accomplished.

How has your company’s journey been so far and what strategy has the company observed to maintain its position in the market?
We have a very clear policy. Whenever we acquire a plot, we don’t start the work without putting all the provisions in place. We make sure that the financial closure is done before the work is started. We take permissions from the relevant authorities and pay all kinds of premiums at the beginning of a project so that it does not face any

hiccups due to any change of law. These are some hard decisions that are taken before the start of any project so that we can deliver it as per our committed timelines. Hence, we keep our fundamentals strong which helps us in providing timely possession to our customers.

Why did you choose Mumbai to be the breeding ground for your company? How has the city favored you so far in your operations?
I am from Mumbai and I know the place very well. We are fully aware of the market along with its legal rules. We also know the behavioral pattern of the customers here. 40 percent of the real estate market of the country is in Mumbai and we have developed a good network here because of local connection. We have around 4.5 million sq. ft. under development across the MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) in Bandra, Mulund, Ghatkopar, Thane and Nasik. The potential in MMR and diversity we see in each micro markets makes it one of the best real estate breeding grounds in the country.

Tell us about the awards and recognitions that Ashar has received so far. What are your longterm and shortterm plans in the real estate market?
Ashar has received awards like Excellence in Timely Delivery from Mid-Day in 2020, Iconic Super Luxury Project 2019 from Times Realty, Most Promising Brand in 2019 from Times Realty and Iconic Trusted Developer in 2017 from Mid-Day to name a few.

We already have a new portfolio of acquisitions across MMR and we have onboarded a wide spectrum of projects across Thane, Kalwa, Mulund, Vile Parle, Ghatkopar and Bandra. All these projects will take off in 2022 and will allow us to take our organization to five times our current potential.

At Ashar Group, we believe that individually we can create limited impact but collectively we can create game-changing momentum.We have made significant advancements in the designing of TATA Cancer Hospital to set up a 700-bed cancer hospital in Thane. We have also launched 110+ bed multi-specialty Shree Mahavir Jain hospital in collaboration with JITO and TMC. Over there, we have already treated 5000+ patients for cardiac problems and have vaccinated close to 60,000+ patients for Covid-19.