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Sour Dreams
Inadequate infrastructure is a major roadblock in Ludhiana’s realty growth, reports
Jupinderjit Singh
COST FACTOR
The total investment in all private projects, including housing and malls in the city, is pegged at anywhere over Rs 15,000 crore where as funds required for providing the requisite infrastructure including fly overs, bridges, widening of roads is estimated to be around Rs 5000 crore
It has been raining realty projects in the city with major developers and realtors making a beeline for the industrial capital of Punjab. While the city is on a high dose of swank multiplexes and residential projects, the supporting infrastructure like roads, flyovers, bridges, parking lots etc are in an abysmally poor state. Over 15 malls and 20 modern colonies besides several flats and apartments are coming up in and around the city. The developers conjure a beautiful picture of houses and shopping complexes where the potential buyers would be able to vroom in their swanky cars and relax and unwind in cool and calm environs after a day’s hard work. But the reality is very different from this dream world as just outside these perfectly planned complexes lie narrow potholed roads swarming with vehicles of all hues. What the dream merchants and buyers are failing to visualise is the fact that the roads have already failed miserably to cater to the load of heavy traffic. Many roads are still as narrow as they were a decade ago, the flyovers have not lived upto the expectations. Encroachments along the roadsides have compounded the problem. In order to reach most of these upscale residential and commercial projects coming up on Pakhowal road, Gill road, Doraha Canal, Ferozepur road and South City, people will have to cross narrow bridges on the Sidhwan Canal. While many others will have to pass through traffic bottlenecks and highly busy intersections and traffic light points in order to reach areas along the Jalandhar bypass, Chandigarh road and Sahnewal side. Ironically, people, who would be paying over a crore rupees to live in a flat or a farm house equipped with what they claim international standards of living, will have to wait for hours in serpentine queues at bridges, traffic light points and railway barriers as fate of several flyover projects remains uncertain. Ignoring this major flaw, none of the private developers investing hundreds of crores in malls, or developing colonies, has come up with a project to bolster infrastructure, leaving the job of ‘smoothening the rough edges’ to the government. The state government, on its part, is waiting either for the Centre government or private-public participation projects to salvage the situation. In fact the writing has been on the wall ever since the opening of the very first mall, Ansal Plaza, in the city. With limited parking facility, visitors parked their vehicles, mostly big and swanky cars right on the Ferozepur Road thus choking the traffic. It is highly difficult to move through the bumper-to-bumper traffic outside the mall on weekends. Months later when Flamez Mall came up on the Malhar road, similar chaos ruled till the city police chief, R.K Jaiswal was himself stuck in a traffic jam for 45 minutes. After this incident, however, the parking of vehicles along the road was immediately banned. Pakhowal Road is one area which is witnessing major growth. Modern colonies like Basant City, Omaxe luxury apartments, Anand Enclave, Thakur Farm Houses among others are coming up in the area. Following the approach road from Bhai Bala Chowk (Park Plaza chowk) one covers a distance of almost 20 kms to reach Pakhowal village. Colonies are coming up on both sides of the road outside the municipal limits well after 10 km. And in order to reach these colonies commuters have to cross a major traffic light intersection at old Sarabha pully, a railway barrier near Sacred Heart School, a narrow bridge over Sidhwan Canal and travel through the narrow road. To cap it all, one has to wade through heavy traffic courtesy the presence of a virtual ‘line-up’ of marriage palaces before the new colonies. Varun Kalia, of Kalia Estate and Constructions sums up the frustration, “One cannot overtake a vehicle on the road and so much of time and energy is wasted in waiting to cross the bridge over the canal, the railway barrier and traffic lights.” “Unless the government constructs an elevated road or several flyovers along the way, the massive investment in the colonies would not be of any use,” feels Parvesh Kumar, of civil lines, who was planning to buy an apartment in the area but is in two minds due to the pitiable state of the approach roads. The same problem is ‘spread’ on all the other roads. The Municipal Corporation is the authority responsible for development within the city. The Commissioner Vikas Pratap said there are number of plans and schemes to build flyovers, wide bridges and wide roads but all these need time and lot of funds. He said the government is looking forward to private-public participation project where private players can get their investment back either by charging toll or getting rights for urban development of a specific area. However, paying toll to use a road within the city would be difficult to push down the citizens’ throats and giving rights also needs a lot of careful planning and execution. So all hopes of any constructive steps in this direction seem like distant dim stars dotting the horizon. Pratap said the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board is also coming up with plans and proposals in accordance with the masterplan of the city to provide better infrastructure. The ground reality is that the government has not been able to keep pace with the development by private investors. It taknt Board is also coming up with plans and proposals in accordance with the masterplan of the city to provide better infrastructure. The ground reality is that the government has not been able to keep pace with the development by private investors. It tak of old Lakkar bridge. The construction of bridge was started in 2003 but was never completed. While the bridge remains incomplete, the MC chooses to look the other way. The SAD-BJP combine had made it an election issue also but it forgot all about it after coming to power. The design of this bridge was recently changed as it was stated that the earlier one was not feasible. It remains to be seen whether the construction of the bridge gets completed or not. Work on yet another flyover on Gill bridge is pending with the local bodies department. Though the work was allotted to a construction company also, the shopkpeers, who were to be affected by flyover protested and state government shelved the project. Later, it was mired in controversy relating to irregularities. Another flyover was to be constructed at Bhai Bala chowk to address the ever-increasing traffic problem at this chowk on Ferozepur Road. But it is yet to see the light of the day even as all formalities like soil testing and feasibility of the project have already been completed. Whether it is government apathy or lack of proper planning, the state of affairs clearly reveals a sheer disregard for people’s problems and all this does sour the dreams of world class lifestyle being sold by major realtors.
Key Projects
Ferozepur Road: Jalandhar Road: Chandigarh Road Pakhowal Road Sidhwan Canal Road (Only projects involving national-level developers have been listed)
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BPTP bags Asia’s biggest realty deal
Previous Highs
Earlier last year, Unitech had bagged 1,750 acre in Vizag for Rs 3,350 crore, and in another big-ticket deal the company had won a 340-acre in Noida for Rs 1,582 crore in 2006. The country’s biggest real estate developer DLF had clinched a 38-acre land deal in the national capital for
Rs 1,675 crore.
Noida seems to have beaten Mumbai on land prices. In what is being described as Asia’s biggest land auction, a piece of 95 acres of land in Noida has gone for a whopping Rs 5,006 crore.
The Business Park Town Planners (BPTP) made the winning bid for the commercial land in Sector 94 of Noida, the Capital’s suburban area in Uttar Pradesh. BPTP Group was one of the bidders for the complex along with three other real estate developers, DLF, Omaxe and Ansal Properties and Infrastructure. Omaxe quoted Rs 80,100 per sq. metre, DLF quoted Rs 117,000 per sq. metre, and BPTP Group won the bid with a quote of Rs 1,30,207 per sq. metre. The reserve price for the bid was Rs 77,000 per sq. metre. Ansal Properties was disqualified in the technical bid. According to sources, the commercial land in Noida’s Sector 94 will be used for developing cineplexes, shopping malls and office buildings. Kabul Chawla, MD, BPTP limited said, “We are delighted to have won this important bid. We are looking at large, planned commercial district on this 95 acre land which would be developed by us. The company would invest about Rs. 3000 crore to develop this land. BPTP is already in discussions with world class architect like Norman Fosters for the project.” According to Sudhanshu Tripathi, Director, BPTP Limited, the acquisition will be funded purely through internal accruals. It is a staggered payment of where BPTP will have to play 30 per cent of the total amount now and the rest in 16 instalments over eight years, along with an interest of 11 per cent compounded annually on the due amount. The company may take on board strategic investors for the development of the project. “We will make this commercial complex a world class destination. We will draw a plan for the entire chunk of land within a year. The first phase of the project will be completed in two years, while we propose to complete the entire space of 90 lakh sq. ft. in five years” said Tripathi. However, other developers do not feel that it is such an expensive deal. “I do not feel it is a very expensive deal. Even Rs 200 billion would not have been enough. This is Asia’s biggest land deal,” said Vipin Agarwal, executive director, Omaxe. “Noida today is one of the fastest growing property markets. And land at a prime location, next to Kalindi Kunj is worth the money. As the company has to pay the money in 10 years so it is a fair deal,” he said. “This deal just signifies the booming real estate in India. The Indian real estate is on an all time high and Noida is also getting its share of land deals,” said Kunal Banerjee, head corporate communication, API. “Also with the airport coming up, the expressway, and the infrastructure development happening in the backdrop of the Commonwealth Games to be held here, Noida and Greater Noida are sought after real estate destinations. “In fact the developers like Utopia and Parsvnath, are already coming up with their projects. I do not think that it was a very expensive deal. It is worth it and in the two to three years, they can reap good benefits,” he said. BPTP Ltd. is developing integrated township, residential, IT/ITES, IT-SEZ, retail and hospitality in the NCR.
— TNS and Agencies
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HOME DECOR Shedding bulk and brocades the curtain couture goes wispy sheer with dainty hand-painted, block printed silk, organza, organdy, cotton choices for the summer, writes Harsimrat Kaur
“After ‘Saawariya’ a lot of my clients are asking for painted organza curtains. It is surely curtains for brocades and heavy frilly ones. Now it’s time for the magic of brush and paints. Painted curtains reflect the mood as well as the theme of the room. It is just like dressing your doors and windows with your creativity, thoughts and innovation. They are a combination of simplicity and style,” says Rashmi Bindra, a Chandigarh-based fashion designer who specialises in hand painted stuff.
Silk too has taken the curtain call with an aplomb. The significance of silk curtains can be drawn from the past. Traditionally silk curtains were used in palaces. And raw silk or silk is still the favourite of the modern and young. “Raw silk curtains with modern geometrical art or designs, butterflies, sparrows, humming birds, peacocks, swarms, flowers, and dragons painted in a wide array of shades like fuchsia, yellow, green, or red are also in vogue and give scintillating looks to your room.,” says Bindra and adds that woven silk fabric can be used for curtains for drawing room for that elegant yet simple look. And for your living room, painted raw silk curtains can match your mood and interiors”. Poonam Kwatra, textile artist, NIFT, says, “For summers cool, natural, vegetable and mineral colours give a cool and a soft charm to your home. Icy blue, misty yellow, olive green and muted yellow colours are trendy picks of the season to beat the heat. Kwatra says other adornments like traditional embroidery; patch-work can give a touch of richness to the décor. “Modern paintings, pictorial designs, graphics on cotton curtains too accentuate the trendy look,” she said. For all those high on tradition block printed cotton drapes are the obvious choice. These add to the traditional ethnic feel. Kwatra added that block prints could be used on the curtains for an appealing look to your room. Puneet, senior merchandiser, FabIndia-9, says for summers, curtains of pastel colours with block prints are selling like hot cakes. “Block prints comprising floral prints, bootis, paisley on chanderi, organdy, mulmul and cotton gives a good choice to the customers looking for stylish summer curtains,” she says. The range of these curtains is from Rs 290 to Rs 1,000. “Organdy curtains with zari border and woven bootis are used for transparency. They are used in certain areas of your house, where privacy is not required,” says Puneet. While Bindra says blocks using Mughal era are touching the hearts of millions. So, think different and experiment.
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Brocades can be used as dividers.
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How green is my terrace
Let your ‘green’ spirits soar and bloom in terrace gardens with these tips from
Satish Narula
The changing lifestyle and vertical growth of dwelling units has forced those living on the upper storeys to remain content with just a distant view of greenery. But those with a penchant for ‘green’ will create a garden anywhere and having a house on top floor too fails to dampen their spirits as they create an oasis even in the midst of concrete. These enthusiasts can ultimately graduate from the pot-and-basket culture to developing full-fledged gardens on terraces. Such gardens may include all those elements like a water fall to a fountain, a pool or a sprawling lawn etc that one usually associates with normal gardens. The genuine fear amongst those living on the upper floors is the ‘leakage’ factor and the kind of load that such a garden may put on the roof. Well yes, one has to take care of these aspects. But then there are various methods to check leakage, e.g by painting the roof with waterproof chemicals that provide cent per cent impermeable layer. One can also use thick poly-sheet as a supplement. Any architect will tell you about the load-bearing capacity of the roof and one can proceed accordingly. To develop a blooming and vibrant terrace garden some points have to be kept in mind: The medium which puts the entire burden on the roof should be light and moisture conserving. About eight inches of soil is sufficient to support a grassy lawn. The lawn mixture could be made from light material like a part of soil, sand, shreds of coco peat, vermicompost, moss grass etc. At the time of laying a lawn, one could add super phosphate too in the mixture as it gives strength to the roots and keeps the grass green. The pot and basket mixture could also be made out of such materials. While planning such a garden, one should go in for miniature garden concept and include features that enhance the effect of space. The lawn could be bordered with edges created with golden or variegated Duranta. Care should, however, be taken to keep it very low headed, not more than six inches high. For this, you will have to give repeated clippings. This will make the edge compact and fresh. While planting ‘trees’ one could cleverly use undulations to hide pots in which planting could be done. When planted on ground, there is, however, a need to give a periodical check for root spreading and clipping. Some of the variegated ornamental Ficus species could be used. The shallow-rooted species like plumeria and kaner could also be used for planting in pots as these are very tough. Besides, these give good fragrant flowers too. The best effect from such gardens could be drawn by growing the annuals and bulbs. You can go in for any such planting that you think of growing in the ground. Since they are short lived, their roots grow superficially and the plants are replaced within a few months. While keeping pots, do not forget to put plates at the bottom to take care of excess flow of water. The writer is a senior horticulturist with PAU at Chandigarh and can be contacted at
satishnarula@yahoo.co.in
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Chennai’s French affair
True Parisienne living has just rolled into South India. To begin with the VGN group, that has been in real estate business for the past six decades, has launched exclusive residential mixed size apartments — ‘La Parisienne’ , strategically located and designed for quality living in west Chennai.
VGN’s La Parisienne is situated in Mogappair in Chennai and incorporates vintage French architecture intertwined with modern amenities to create the finest living experience this side of France. The ‘La Parisienne’ portfolio encompasses three acres of landscaped property that includes an astounding ‘Courtyard’ spread across 19, 200 sq ft which will include a swimming pool, lawn, multipurpose hall and a mini theatre. It will also have regular upscale township facilities like jogging track, gym, sauna, jacuzzi and steam bath. Pratish, a young MBA from abroad and director VGN group, said La Parisenne promises to create the finest living experience with its magnificent French architecture seamlessly blending with modern amenities. He said warm interiors coupled with cool layouts would ensure that La Parisienne becomes a landmark project on the skyline of Chennai. La Parisienne is poised to be a sell out with its aesthetic beauty and quality infrastructure architected by renowned architect, Subba Rao. “VGN has emerged as a trusted brand in the real estate industry having laid the foundation for some of the most innovative and extravagant projects in Tamil Nadu,” he claimed. Though the group is primarily based in south India but to give it a pan India look it has hired Bollywood soap opera actress Mandira Bedi as its brand ambassador. Said Pratish, “Mandira personifies today’s successful woman and she has a positive style appeal with the people. Today, consumers are willing to invest in a living to suit their modern lifestyle. We hope that Mandira being a style and sports icon would be able to make a relevant connect with prospective consumers to get their attention towards VGN”. The project consists of 950 sq. ft. to 1600 sq. ft. two and three bedroom apartments occupying six blocks. Each block is named after famous French landmarks — L’Ouvre, L’Opera, Montmartre, Eiffel, Notre Dame and St. Germain and provides a similar opulent French experience. VGN has invested Rs 70 crore in the La Parisienne project and the cost would be Rs 3100 per sq.ft. La Parisienne Apartments will have a total number of 176 flats divided into six blocks. Other than eight duplex apartments, there will be 112 three bed-roomed flats and 56 two bed-roomed flats with each unit area ranging from 930 to 1670 sq ft. La Parisienne has the elegant trappings of French style architecture complete with columns, French windows, leading onto splendid balconies, streaming bougainvillea landscaping, champs Ely sees-style fountains and a pretty pebble walk that’s as soothing to the soul as it will be to your feet. It also has a children’s play area, health club, swimming pool and other premium amenities. The VGN group also has plans to construct similar French style projects in other cities of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and also in Bangalore and Hyderabad.
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Foreigners on a shopping spree in US
Armed with a Canadian dollar that has gained 25 per cent against the greenback in the last two years, he is expecting a big bargain. “We’re hoping to get an apartment worth about a million (US dollars) that I can purchase for about 20 per cent less,” he said by phone from his home in Unionville, Ontario, as he faced digging out from a snowstorm. “The Canadian dollar is on par and the Florida market has dropped 20 to 30 per cent, so you get a lot of bang for your buck,” he added. Realtors, analysts and buyers say the strength of the Canadian dollar, the euro and other foreign currencies, on top of a falling real estate market, is making the United States an enticing place for foreigners looking to buy property. In fact, they say, the combination of the weak dollar and the allure of Miami as a cosmopolitan, multilingual city may be helping to prop up a faltering, overbuilt condo market that had been expected to crash but has seen, to date, only a small drop in prices compared to other Florida cities. In a study by the National Association of Realtors last year, Florida was the top destination for foreign buyers, accounting for 26 per cent of all transactions, ahead of California at 16, Texas at 10 and Arizona at 6 per cent. More than 7 per cent of all Florida homes were sold to foreigners, the study found, and 65 per cent of realtors said they had brokered at least one foreign deal. Online property auction site FastHomeAuction.com in December reported a record number of foreign visitors, citing the weakness of the dollar as a key contributor. Jan de Vetten, a Dutch toy trader who has built a side business helping friends and business associates buy Florida homes, said in some cases they are getting properties at half price. “They negotiate typically 25 to 30 per cent off the asking price and the euro is almost a dollar and a half now, so they probably have another 10 to 15 per cent in value,” he said. Foreign buying was also reported brisk in Arizona, New York and elsewhere. In New York, Manhattan’s average sales price soared to a record $1,439,909 in the fourth quarter last year as foreigners pushed up demand.
— Reuters
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TAX tips By S.C. Vasudeva Q. Me and my wife are doctors in private practice. My parents are no more and two of my elder brothers are settled in the USA and one brother and three sisters are in India. I have a daughter and a son, both major. My son has just started earning. With the advice of one of my friends, I had opened a HUF account with Rs 11,000, with myself as karta. Me and my wife have 12 kanals of agricultural land, some shares of reliance and L&T purchased about 20 years back. Kindly guide me how to proceed further in respect of maintaining the account and what are the best options to raise the capital. Regarding capital gain, please clarify the following points. I was allotted a plot by HUDA in 1985 for which I paid Rs 1,02,625 from 1985 to 1992 and Rs 86,900 as extension fee. I sold this plot in July 2006 for Rs 11,66,500 and bought another plot in the same month at a new site for Rs 11,00,000 +Rs 96000 as registration fee etc. Am I liable to pay capital gains tax and if yes then how much and how can I save this? What will be the status if I sell off this now and purchase another plot/house/or make other investments in lieu of that? Can the capital gain tax be saved? — Ravi Arora A. The answers to your queries are as under: (i) Opening an HUF account does not mean that an HUF has come into existence. In accordance with the provisions of Section 64 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (The Act) where the property of an individual is converted by the individual in two properties belonging to the family through the act of impressing such separate property with the character of property belonging to the family otherwise than for adequate consideration, the income derived from the converted property shall be deemed to arise to the individual and not to the family. Therefore any income arising from the deposit of Rs 11,000 will be taxed in your hands. (ii) It is presumed that 12 kanals of agricultural land and shares etc. purchased by you and your wife about 20 years back have been acquired from your and your wife’s own resources. Any income arising from such investments shall have to be treated as individual income of your wife and yourself in proportion in which investment was made by both of you. You should maintain complete details of agricultural income and income arising from shares so that a correct return of income can be filed by both of you in time. (iii)You would be liable to pay capital gains tax unless you acquire a residential house within two years of the date of transfer of plot or construct a residential house within three years of date of such transfer. Further, in this case if the amount of net consideration arising on the sale of the plot is not appropriated towards the purchase or construction of the house before the date of filing of the return for the assessment year in which the sale of plot has taken place, you will have to deposit such net consideration in a bank account under Capital Gains Scheme Account. The amount deposited in such account can be utilised for the purchase or construction of the residential house within the aforesaid specified period. The term “net consideration” means the full value of consideration received on the transfer of the plot as reduced by any expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively in connection with such sale. On the basis of figures given in the query the capital gain on the above transaction would work out at Rs 1,16,139.49. Since you have not indicated the exact financial year in which the payment for acquisition of plot has been paid by you, the cost inflation index for financial year 1985-86 has been considered. iv) The capital gain can be saved on the sale of newly acquired plot only if the same is sold after a period of three years from the date of acquisition of the new plot. Such capital gain would be a long term capital gain which can be saved by either making an investment in the acquisition/construction of a residential house within the periods specified herein above or acquiring capital gains tax saving bonds within a period of six months of the date of transfer of the new plot. Agricultural land and tax exemption
Q. In one of your replies, some time ago, you had mentioned that agricultural land situated in rural area beyond any notified limit is considered as a ‘non-capital asset’ under Section 2(14). It is, therefore, exempt from capital gains. However, one of the guidebooks says that the exemption under Section 54 B is available to individuals only and not to such transfer of HUF land. Furthermore, to save tax new agricultural land must be bought within a period of two years after the date of transfer. Is it that this conditional exemption is for such HUF agricultural lands that come within the ambit of capital asset being in a notified area or urban area, or is also generally applicable to rural agricultural lands owned by HUFs ? Kindly advise to enable us take further steps to save taxation. — Surinder Singh Dhillon, Chandigarh A.
The exemption under Section 2(14) of the Act is available because such an agricultural land is not considered to be a capital asset for the purposes of taxability under the Act. This exemption is applicable to all the assessees. However, the exemption under Section 54 B of the Act is available if an assessee transfers the agricultural land which was being used by the assessee or a parent of his for agricultural purposes and the assessee purchases within a period of two years of the transfer another land for being used for agricultural purposes. Then the capital gain arising on the transfer of the agricultural land is not chargeable to Income-tax. This exemption is available to individuals only as there cannot be a use of such agricultural land by parent of an HUF or any other
assessee.
Remitting sale proceeds to USA
Q. I am a resident based in the USA for the past six-seven years. During my stay in India I purchased a house which I intend selling as I may not be returning to India. The property was purchased for about Rs 25 lakh in 2001 and the sale price is likely to be Rs 50 lakh. Can I sell the property and remit the amount of sale proceeds to USA. Abhinav Chopra, via e-mail A
Yes, you can sell the property. As the property has been held for more than three years, you will be liable to pay tax on long-term capital gain arising on sale after deducting the indexed cost from the full value of consideration. The cost of inflation index for the financial year 2001-02 was 426. The indexed rate applicable for the financial year 2007-08 is 551. The cost of Rs 25 lakh would be multiplied by 551 and divided by 426 so as to arrive at the indexed cost. The balance amount i.e. sale price minus indexed cost would be the capital gain arising on the sale on which long-term capital gain tax at a flat rate of 20.6 per cent would be payable. Master Circular of the Reserve Bank of India permits an NRI or a PIO to remit $ 1 million per calendar year for bonafide purposes out of the sale proceeds of assets held in NRO account. These assets should have been acquired in rupee resources when he was in India. The sale proceeds of immovable property are thus eligible for remittance. The remittance can be effected when it is sought to made for bonafide purposes to the satisfaction of the authorised dealer. You will have to file an undertaking and a certificate by a chartered account in the prescribed format to the authorised dealer for the purposes of remission.
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Top players want Orissa govt’s help in acquiring land
Top real estate companies, which plan to set up mega housing projects in Orissa want the state government to acquire land and auction it to promoters. Large realty firms like
DLF, Unitech and others, are interested in setting up projects in
Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Berhampur, Puri and Rourkela but are unable to secure required area of land.
“The companies want over 100 acres to set up big housing projects, but they are not getting such big tracts of land,” General Secretary of CREDAI
(Orissa) D.N Tripathy said. “The big real estate players, now want that the Orissa government should acquire land and auction it to them for setting up big housing projects in the state,” he said, adding that the companies were ready to pay any price for this. The real estate players also want the government to relax norms for height for constructing malls. The realty market in Orissa is booming with big players investing around Rs 2,500 crore in the state. The boom means more employment opportunities for people of the state along with rise in the sale of raw materials cement, bricks, sand, electrical goods besides other things, leading to overall growth of
Orissa, he said. — PTI
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Realty bytes
New Delhi: The realty sector is projected to witness the highest salary rise in 2008 in India, even ahead of retail and telecommunications industries, says a survey. The real estate is expected to record a salary hike of 25 per cent this year, though marginally less than 25.2 per cent seen in 2007. According to “Salary Increase Survey 2007-08” conducted by consulting firm Hewitt Associates, telecommunications and energy sectors would have an increase of 17.6 per cent and 17.5 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, India is estimated to have an average salary hike of 15.2 per cent in 2008, the highest for any country.
— PTI
World City at Ghaziabad
New
Delhi: The Aditya group has launched its ambitious lifestyle project Aditya World City at Ghaziabad. According to Adiya Agarwal, director of Aditya World City, the project will bring forth a self-sufficient city with abundance of lifestyle elements. It has planned earmarking of space for residential, commercial, and corporate and utilities like banks, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, parks etc. Wide range of facilities/services include yoga centre, health club, jogging track, multiplex and shopping centre.
— TNS
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Buzz on Bourses
New Delhi:
Billionaire businessman K.P Singh-promoted DLF Assets Ltd is looking to raise about Rs 2,000 crore through pre-IPO placements by month-end to fund various projects, but may delay its public offer in Singapore due to turbulent stock market conditions across the world. DLF Assets, which has been set up to acquire completed commercial projects of India’s most-valued realty firm DLF, is in the process of completing the pre-IPO placement, market sources said. However, the company might delay its public offer in Singapore because of volatility in the stock markets across the world. The sources said the IPO process would be completed when the market improves. It has already received the regulatory approvals from Singapore authorities for the IPO of DLF Offices Trust, a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) of DLF Assets, and has plans to raise about $1.5 billion. When contacted, a DLF spokesperson declined to comment. Last year, DLF Assets had raised $ 400 million and $ 200 million from global investing firm D E Shaw and a fund sponsored by investment banking firm Lehman Brothers, respectively. DLF vice-chairman Rajeev Singh had said in January that the DLF Office Trust would hopefully get listed before the middle of this year. DLF has got the approval from its board of directors to invest up to $ 750 million in the Singapore public offer.
— PTI
Indiareit co to raise $ 700-800 m offshore fund
Mumbai:
Indiareit Fund Advisors Pvt Ltd, a boutique real estate venture capital fund promoted by the Piramal Group, will be soon launching an offshore fund of corpus $ 700-800 million, a top company official said. “We will soon launch the international fund of $ 700-800 million. We already have a commitment of $ 250 million and expect to launch it after all necessary approvals by April,” Piramal Group Chairman Ajay Piramal told reporters.
— PTI
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The tinsel town is known to set trends be it fashion or home decor. The latest to catch the fancy of lovers of novelty is the hand-painted curtains seen in ‘saawariya’. though the movie was not a big hit, the painted organza curtains shown in the movie have triggereda a desire in the hearts of millions to go in for painted organza curtains to add romantic touch to their rooms. Painted curtains give an artistic feel and a touch of richness to any room be it the living room, bedroom or kids room.
She says organza curtains are excellent for weaving a sheer and soothing effect in summers. And hand painting not only adds an exclusive and customised touch but these curtains with peacocks, humming birds and flowers painted in vibrant colours also lend serenity to the whole decor.
Miami: