How Jaiprakash Gaur, founder Jaypee Group, laid the trail of entrepreneurship in post-partition India

A man that set out the course of his journey with a civil engineering degree in his hand, and as little as INR 100, never knew what time and destiny awaits him. In his expansive career, the leader of Jaypee Group -Jaiprakash Gaur, managed to set up a million dollar empire, which is nothing short of inspirational.

Having an experience of more than 64 years in diverse fields of civil engineering, construction, cement, real estate, expressways, hospitality and power, one might think as to how Jaiprakash turned into a million dollar worthy builder from barely being able to make ends meet?

Born in a family that stressed on education, he completed his studies, and then joined one of the esteemed colleges in India, IIT Roorkee, to complete his degree in engineering. As he started his career during the heated time when India was on the verge of partition, he was paid INR 218 while working for the government on contractual basis. He was one of the first contractors to be actively associated with the construction industry from the time of the first Five Year Plan to the 11th Five Year Plan.

After serving consistently for seven years, JP Gaur wanted to venture out into entrepreneurship, which made him quit the job and start something on his own. “In 1961, there was a proposal to build a railway line from Bastar to Vishakapatnam to carry iron ore. Japan had given INR 50 crore aid for this project that involved several different works for which there were 150 tenders. I won three contracts and within six months, we earned INR 9 lakh. There was no looking back after that. It was now time to think big and start a company. I brought in my younger brother and brother-in-law and the foundations of the group were laid,” says Jaiprakash Gaur, reminiscing the beginning of Jaypee Group.

That one major decision made him the man he is today, who stands proudly as the owner of one of the prominent real estate group – The Jaypee Group, which has more than 32 thousand flats spread across Delhi/NCR. Another milestone addition in the company name is the 165-kilometer long Yamuna Express connecting Greater Noida to Agra, created by JP Infratech Limited Company of JP Group.

When questioning him about his earning, Jaiprakash Gaur does not let his contributory role in building the nation go unmentioned, and says, “I don’t have a salary. But during this journey across roads, power, real estate and hospitality, I believe I have contributed a lot to the nation.”