Biography

Who Is Sushil Kumar Mohta?

Sushil Kumar Mohta is one of Eastern India's foremost real estate developers and entrepreneurs, the Founder and Chairman of the Merlin Group, a diversified real estate conglomerate headquartered at Merlin Oxford, 22 Prince Anwar Shah Road, Kolkata, that he established in 1984 and has built over more than four decades into one of the most respected and enduring names in Indian real estate. Under his founding vision and sustained leadership, the Merlin Group has grown from a residential developer in Kolkata into a nationally significant real estate organisation with a presence across Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Raipur, and Colombo, with a portfolio spanning residential complexes, commercial offices, IT parks, retail malls, industrial estates, hospitality properties, and townships. He is a Founder Member of CREDAI India and serves as President of CREDAI West Bengal.

Early Life & Education, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata at Seventeen

Sushil Kumar Mohta was born and raised in Kolkata, West Bengal, into a Marwari family with deep roots in the entrepreneurial and commercial traditions that have made the Marwari community one of the most significant business forces in Indian history. His father was a self-made businessman who built his own enterprise from modest beginnings, and Sushil Mohta grew up idolising both his father's achievements and the discipline, ambition, and commercial instinct that had produced them.

He completed his school education and undergraduate studies at St. Xavier's College in Kolkata, one of the finest educational institutions in West Bengal, founded by the Society of Jesus in 1860 and associated with the University of Calcutta, completing his commerce education there at the remarkably young age of seventeen. He immediately joined his father in the family business rather than pursuing further formal study, an apprenticeship that gave him the business and people management skills he would later call essential to building his own real estate enterprise.

Family, The Mohta Real Estate Dynasty

Sushil Kumar Mohta was born into a Marwari (Agarwal) family in Kolkata, a community whose extraordinary entrepreneurial traditions have shaped Indian commerce across many decades and across virtually every sector of the Indian economy. His father's example as a self-made businessman was the most powerful formative influence on his early life, instilling in him from childhood the ambition, discipline, and belief in the possibility of building something significant from personal effort and integrity.

The most important professional relationship of his family life is his partnership with his son Saket Mohta, who serves as Managing Director of the Merlin Group and is the second generation of the founding family to lead the organisation. Saket Mohta is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Group and for steering its pan-India expansion, including new projects in Pune and other cities beyond Kolkata. The partnership between Sushil Mohta's founding vision and Saket Mohta's operational leadership is widely regarded as one of the most successful examples of first-to-second-generation business succession in the Indian real estate sector.

Career: Founding the Merlin Group and Building Eastern India’s Premier Real Estate Brand (1984–2010)

Sushil Mohta founded Merlin Projects Limited in 1984, beginning active real estate development operations in 1990 and building his initial reputation on residential housing in Kolkata before progressively expanding across asset classes and geographies. The Group was established as a privately held entity and has grown entirely through internal accruals and project revenues rather than institutional funding, reflecting Sushil Mohta's philosophy of building for the long term rather than optimising for short-term returns.

Over its first two decades, the Merlin Group built more than fifty residential and commercial complexes and over one hundred and fifty independent bungalows in Kolkata, including landmark projects such as Merlin Homestead, Merlin The One, Merlin Edge, Merlin Rise, and Merlin Heights, establishing the Merlin brand as Kolkata's premier residential and commercial developer with a reputation for quality, reliability, and commitment to customers.

Career: South City Mall, Acropolis Mall, World Trade Center Kolkata, and National Expansion

Sushil Mohta led the Merlin Group's strategic expansion into retail mall development, serving on the Board of South City Mall, over one million square feet, Rs. 1,800 crore annual turnover, two million monthly visitors, and on the Board of Acropolis Mall, making the Merlin Group one of the few developers in Eastern India to hold board positions in two of the region's largest retail destinations simultaneously. He oversaw the development of World Trade Center Kolkata at Salt Lake Sector V in partnership with NDITA, the first World Trade Center in Eastern India.

In June 2025, South City Mall was sold to Blackstone for Rs. 3,250 crore, the largest real estate transaction in Kolkata's history, with Mohta confirming that the exit aligns with the Group's future plans for new malls, IT parks, and residential projects. Under combined leadership with son Saket Mohta, the Group expanded to Pune with Elementa and Elementa 2.0, achieving its first MIVAN technology construction milestone in 2025, and announced a Fashion TV branded residential project in February 2025.

CREDAI Leadership, International Research, and Dronah Foundation

Among the most significant contributions Sushil Mohta has made beyond his own Group's development activities is his sustained senior engagement with CREDAI India, the apex body of the Indian real estate industry. As a Founder Member of CREDAI India, he was part of the small group who established the national organisation and built it into a credible voice for the sector. As President of CREDAI West Bengal (CREDAI Bengal), he represents Kolkata and West Bengal's real estate community in national and state-level policy conversations, addresses homebuyer grievances, and advocates for policy reforms.

He has also conducted extensive research on developed countries on aspects of housing and urban development, studying changing consumer preferences, modern planning of condominium projects, shopping malls, and schools, and modern construction techniques, bringing an international perspective to Merlin Group's quality and innovation standards. He serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Dronah Foundation, supporting charitable activities in built heritage, community, and environment.

Awards & Recognition

• Founder Member, CREDAI India, the apex body of the Indian real estate industry; one of a small group of senior developers who established the national organisation
• President, CREDAI West Bengal (CREDAI Bengal), primary representative of Kolkata and West Bengal’s real estate development community
• South City Mall sold to Blackstone for Rs. 3,250 crore (June 2025), largest real estate transaction in Kolkata’s history and largest mall deal in Eastern India
• World Trade Center Kolkata, first World Trade Center in Eastern India (NDITA partnership, Salt Lake Sector V)
• Advisory Board Member, Dronah Foundation, built heritage, community, and environment
• Member, Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI)
• Member, Global Real Estate Institute (GRI)
• Industry forums: FICCI and CII engagement
• Fashion TV branded residential project (February 2025), first branded residence partnership for Merlin Group
• Merlin Group MIVAN technology construction milestone, Elementa 2.0, Pune (2025)
• 40+ years of sustained real estate development across Eastern India and nationally