Early career and growth of DLF
After resigning from the army, Singh, together with another retired army officer, initially entered the stud farm business. [4] He also started a battery company; however, the venture was unsuccessful and the losses from sustained from it caused Singh's creditors to take him to court. [4] In 1960, Singh joined American Universal Electric Company and, after its merger with DLF Universal Limited (DLF) in 1979, he took over as the managing director with Chaudhary Raghuvender Singh. [18] [19] However, in 1975, Singh almost sold his shares in DLF for 25 lakhs after a decision made by his father-in-law Chaudhary Raghvendra and apathy regarding the real estate sector due to bureaucratic red tape, but Singh at the last minute declined to do the transaction, keeping his shares. [20] In 1976, the Government of India introduced the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (ULCRA) to grow low-income housing and set limits for the ownership of vacant urban land. [17] The law received a backlash from people who had already invested in the urban land, including Singh, who took over a dormant DLF to attempt to secure exemptions for investors while studying the city’s limitations. [17] He identified the Old-Gurgaon Road as a key link between Delhi's southern area and Haryana, that had not passed the ULCRA. [17] DLF used the relaxed land acquisition laws as Singh revitalized the company, starting with its 30 acres and rapidly acquiring land from local landowners and farmers. [17]
During the 1980s, Singh had a chance meeting with Rajiv Gandhi, who had then just entered politics and later became Prime Minister of India, after his car engine had overheated near Singh's property in Haryana. [11] Singh met Rajiv and spoke about business plans for Gurgaon and how certain laws were hindering his acquisition of land in the state. [11] Singh later had meetings with Rajiv, and Rajiv convinced his mother, then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, to change the Haryana land laws. [11] DLF then received a license to develop land in 1981 and in 1983, the company received another license. [11] During the early growth of DLF in the 1980s, Singh had a dispute with Bansi Lal, a senior politician who had also served as the Chief Minister of Haryana. [21] Lal attempted to ruin Singh's business and even have him arrested, which led to Singh going into hiding on the advice then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. [21] [22] Lal also managed to persuade other Haryana politicians to go against Singh. [22] However, Singh's friendship with Rajiv Gandhi eventually led to Lal stopping his attacks on Singh due to pressure from Rajiv Gandhi. [21] [22]
Established DLF
By the 1990s, several large foreign companies, including American Express, British Airways, IBM, and Nestle became tenants of DLF properties due to the growth in outsourcing. [10] In 1995, Singh become chairmen of the company. [23] Singh constructed numerous earthquake-proof office buildings, apartments, shopping malls and leisure facilities in Gurgaon. [10] While he was the chairman of DLF, the company went for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2007 and made approximately US$2.24 billion, one of the largest IPOs in Indian history. [10] Market capitalization of the company in 2007 increased to $24.5 billion, making Singh and his family one of the richest clans in the world. [24] In the same year, Singh's Cyber City Gurgaon was awarded the world’s first LEED Platinum City and Community Certification. [25] By 2015, Singh scaled DLF's land bank to 10,000 acres, the largest in India. [6] In 2020, Singh retired from all of his executive positions in DLF, and he was succeded as chairman of the company his son, Rajiv Singh. [26]
India 
Indian Army 
Captain