Devendra Jain is the Managing Director and CEO of Dilip Buildcon Limited (DBL), a diversified infrastructure development company based out of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. During the last three decades, Devendra Jain has been instrumental in making Dilip Buildcon Limited one of the leading diversified infrastructure companies in India with operations across several industries and geographies in India.

Early Life

In 1995, Devendra Jain joined Dilip Builders immediately after graduating in Civil Engineering from Government Engineering College, Ujjain. At that time, he was 21 years old. Founder Dilip Suryavanshi recognized his abilities in execution and operations and eventually made him a part of the ownership of the company.

Career Growth in the Company

Execution of projects, planning, and project monitoring enabled Devendra Jain to climb up the corporate ladder. Eventually, by 2009, Devendra Jain became the CEO of the company and has since been working to strengthen the company’s capabilities in executing projects without depending upon the subcontractors.

In parallel, the company itself was witnessing structural changes as well. Dilip Builders was incorporated in the year 1987 as a proprietorship firm. The firm was incorporated as Dilip Buildcon Private Limited in 2006 and further converted into a public limited company in the month of August 2010. The company was listed on both BSE and NSE in 2016.

Transition to EPC and National Presence

Initially, DBL operated mainly as a subcontractor to large construction companies, undertaking road stretches of between 30 to 50 kilometres each.

As infrastructure-related work led by the private sector became less frequent from 2012, Jain facilitated the transition of DBL to the EPC model whereby DBL was able to undertake government infrastructures contract directly. About 17% of DBL's orders were from government in 2012 while in later years it accounted for nearly 95% of DBL's orders.

The geographical presence of DBL also increased greatly within this period where DBL undertook its first project outside Madhya Pradesh in Himachal Pradesh in 2009.

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer

Presently, Devendra Jain acts as the MD & CEO of Dilip Buildcon along with the founder of the company Dilip Suryavanshi as the Chairman & MD of the company.

He chairs the Borrowing Committee, Risk Management Committee, and Business Development and Administration Committee. He is also a member of Audit & CSR Committees of the company.

Execution Strategy and Important Projects

A significant strategy of DBL has been its emphasis on execution directly. DBL maintains a strategy whereby it avoids subcontracting and does not use any rented equipment.

One of the significant infrastructure projects that DBL has executed is the Zuari Bridge project in Goa. This project involves an eight-lane cable stayed bridge connecting North and South Goa. DBL had got all three phases of the project in 2016.

Diversification into Other Infrastructure

Apart from highways, over time, DBL ventured into bridges, tunnels, airports, metro, irrigation, and mining. In this particular segment, DBL commissioned the first-ever precast segment of 8.5 metre wide for the proposed Kendriya Vidyalaya metro station at Bhopal metro rail project of elevated viaduct between Subhash Nagar.

In terms of irrigation, DBL has bagged the Kundaliya Dam and Mohanpura Dam project both in Madhya Pradesh and worth over Rs.1, 000 crore. Further, the Mohanpura Dam project at Rajgarh has been inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India.

DBL also has entered the mining industry via Pachhwara Central coal mine MDO contract from Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd in 2018 and then 25 year Siarmal Open Cast Project contract from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited.

DBL 2.0 & Multi-Asset Infrastructure Platform

Under the leadership of Devendra Jain, DBL is positioning itself as diversified multi-asset infrastructure platform which is popularly termed as “DBL 2.0”. While initially DBL made a mark for itself in terms of roads and highways, subsequently it has diversified itself in other sectors such as power transmission, urban development, special bridges, industrial corridors, tunnels, petroleum and natural gas, solar energy, mining, rail and metro infrastructure, airports and ICT-based infrastructure services.

Execution Legacy

Devendra Jain is one of the few Indian infrastructure leaders who enjoys the distinction of maintaining continuity in his role. Being associated with DBL almost throughout his professional life, he played a critical role in turning this company from a regional contractor to an infrastructure player of national repute.

The culture of execution that has played an important role in building the success story of DBL is a product of his leadership style, where emphasis was laid on operational control, asset ownership, and large scale project execution. With DBL aiming for the future with its "DBL 2.0" strategy, Jain's importance cannot be denied.