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A bumper crop of concrete
The green fields of Punjab have been ‘grabbed’ by the govt, which has cleared over 50 mega housing projects in the state, says
Maneesh Chhibber
Punjab is fast becoming a land of mega housing projects. With the Congress government in the state having already cleared over 50 proposals for setting up of mega housing projects across the state, the going has never been so good. This specially holds true for big companies, especially those intending to make a killing buying agriculture land for a song, developing it and then selling it in bits and pieces to those who dream of having a house in a good locality. Go anywhere in Punjab and chances are that one will see housing projects coming up on vast chunks of land on the outskirts of the major cities and towns. Be it Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala, or Mohali, housing projects by private players are coming up fast. In Amritsar alone, there are at least seven major companies that have received the go-ahead from the state government for setting up mega housing projects. Mr P.K. Garg of the Vaastu Group, a Chandigarh-based architecture firm that has designed many housing projects across Punjab, says, “The demand for housing is growing with each passing month. Look at the number of people coming to the region for better job opportunities. If properly executed and hard-sold, all companies will reap rich dividends from their projects.” That the plots and flats in most of these mega projects will be out of the reach of the common man is beside the point. In Mohali, a company owned by a leading businessman, is selling land for a minimum of Rs 12,000 per square yard. Yet another company is offering land at Rs 15,000 per square yard in another area of Mohali. However, the private players are convinced that there is nothing wrong with the prices, asserting that it is a buyer’s market and people have ample money to be able to afford such costly land. “Where are people going to find such good land, in such perfect location? The price we are asking for is not so exorbitant,” asserts a property dealer of Mohali who is accepting bookings on behalf of one such housing project. However, the recent diktat of the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to the Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled states not to forcibly acquire farmers’ land for mega projects could prove to be a spoiler to this party of big builders. Sources say that in a majority of cases, the private players, who have been permitted to buy land from farmers and develop mega housing projects, have not been able to buy the mandatory 100 acres needed to get the project classified as mega project. As per the policy of the Punjab Government, all companies who have been cleared for a mega project should be able to buy at least 90 per cent of the total land required. The government has also announced that in case a company fails to acquire a minimum 100 acres of land directly from the farmers, then the government would compulsorily acquire the remaining 10 per cent on behalf of the company. It is this clause that has raised the hackles of the farmers. Farmers assert the government has not done the right thing by offering such a concession to the companies. “If a company is getting the numerous concessions that are being extended to all mega projects, why should the government acquire land for them? Let the company offer more money directly to the farmers and get the land. What will ultimately happen is that these companies will approach the government, which will acquire land under the Land Acquisition Act. Then the same land would be given to the companies at throwaway prices,” asserts a farmer. However, despite the concern expressed by the Prime Minister and Mrs Sonia Gandhi, there are enough indications to the effect that the Punjab Government would fulfil its promise to the companies that in case they fell short of the needed land, the government would acquire land on their behalf. “There is not going to be a backing down in this respect. What has been promised will certainly be given to the companies,” said a senior government official connected with the business of mega projects. Concurs Mr Garg, “How can the government renege on its promise. While it may adopt a more cautious approach while clearing projects in future, the already-cleared projects have nothing to worry about.”
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Real estate prime mover of economic growth
The realty sector has emerged as a major employer and is projected to add 2.5 million jobs by 2010, claims
Manoj Kumar
With the exponential growth in housing and commercial construction activity across the country, especially in consumer-centric north Indian market, the real estate is fast emerging as a prime mover of growth of the economy. It is not only the banking sector, which is reaping growth in credit demand for housing, but other related sectors as well including steel, cement, furniture, housing insurance etc. are also feeling a positive impact on growth. According to the Investment Commission of India headed by Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata: “Real estate and construction is today among the rapidly growing sectors, touching an annual revenue of $ 12 billion. The real estate market is projected to grow up to $ 50 billion by 2010, expecting an annual growth of 30 per cent in next five years.” In fact, the industry is expecting to construct over two crore housing units in the next five years. In view of the industrial chamber, Assocham, real estate alone will create 2.5 million jobs by 2010. Assocham president Anil Agarwal said: “Since the real estate, infrastructure and economy as a whole is on accelerated path, these sectors will undoubtedly take on the depression that the economists might predict for the economy.” Banking, cement and steel are the booming sectors and will witness maximum capacity utilisation in the next 4 to 5 years as the boom in these sectors will not only stay but will witness an upward movement, said senior vice-president Assocham Venugopal N. Dhoot. The industry experts are enthused over the fact that with a craze among the young couples to have their own dwelling units, they are putting in more hard work in their jobs leading to improvement in productivity of the economy. A large number of couples working in the IT and marketing sectors in the national capital region and other towns have bought flats, thus providing employment to thousands of property dealers, financiers and construction workers. The state governments have also benefited substantially from the increased activity in the housing sector, as they are getting 8 to 15 per cent stamp duty on the property deeds, besides charging VAT on inputs like cement, steel and transportation fuel. The Central Government is also earning thousands of crores annually in income and corporate tax thanks to the growing housing sector. In fact, it is not only the metros and tier-II cities like Ludhiana, Panipat, Karnal, Lucknow or Shimla in the region, which are witnessing construction boom, but the housing activity is visible in almost every village. A recent study by FICCI-Ernst & Young (E&Y) notes that in the commercial office segment, the demand for office space will primarily be driven by the IT and ITeS industry, estimated to require an additional office space of more than 367 Million Sq. Ft up to the year 2012-13. Further, India’s improving image as a regional corporate base for Asian markets and strong growth in emerging sectors such as financial services, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and biotechnology will also boost demand and broaden the occupier base. Offering significant fiscal benefits, SEZs are bound to attract the IT/ITES and other services sector economies to the country, which would boost the demand for grade-A office space. Another catalyst of growth for Indian realty could be the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) and the Mega Cities Fund scheme. In the residential segment, the Asian Development Bank estimates that shortage of residential units in India will escalate to around 22 million units by 2007-08 and by 2030 country will need up to 10 million new housing units per year. The Commonwealth Games in 2010 and commercial retail and entertainment boom will also create additional demand for properties. From the real estate perspective, the biggest deterrent in the growth in this segment could be the delay in further relaxation for FDI in the sector, the study added.
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Smaller cities to witness robust realty growth: E&Y
Several cities with population of 0.5 million to one million will emerge as the most promising market for residential and retail developments in the next three to five years, a report by global research and consultancy firm Ernst and Young said.
Pointing out that the trend has already started to some extent, the report said rising property prices in metros, dearth of relevantly skilled cost effective manpower, comparatively high cost of living, high operational costs would drive the technology sound companies towards Tier-II and Tier-III cities. “We expect huge investments across asset classes in most of the Tier-II and Tier-III cities over the next two to three years,” it said, however, adding that the ongoing rapid real estate development in larger cities would continue to happen. Following the trend, it said, bigger regional developers would aggressively expand and diversify their operations across the country and city-focused developers would venture out into other locations, namely Nagpur, Vizag, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Kochi, Pune, Ahmadabad, Jaipur, Indore and Mysore. E&Y expects several large and established business groups in India would expand exponentially over the next 2 to 3 years and would emerge as market leaders due to their inherent advantages, such as high brand recognition, goodwill, sound financial backing and project management experiences. “Several other leading business groups within India will foray into the real estate segment in the coming years, which will create significant opportunities for global developers, as such Indian groups would most likely opt for strategic alliances with experienced global developers,” it said. Fuelled by international investments, the value of developed property as compared to undeveloped property was expected to rise manifold in the next two to three years, it added. “With deconcentration of development activity, increasing trend of suburbanisation and supply of additional land parcels in some of the metropolitan markets will result in stabilising the rising land prices against the property prices,” it said. Pointing out that consumer acceptability towards household residential properties would increase significantly in the coming years, the report said this trend is expected due to changing landscape of the industry and shifting consumer preferences. “This trend will be more prevalent in metros,” it added. Buoyed by the current buoyant outlook of the real estate sector coupled with favourable government support, the report said, “The emergence of a stronger real estate capital market in India is imminent”. “Further, the introduction of real estate mutual funds in coming months will substantially improve the transparency and liquidity in the sector,” it said.
— PTI
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Jobs galore in realty sector
The stretch of the National Highway from Panipat to the Delhi border houses over 3,000 property dealers who are employing thousands of youngsters, observes
Arun Sharma
With the entry of a large number of companies in this region of Haryana the land prices have shot up here. Also the realty sector has emerged as a major employer as a large number of the local youths got employment by taking up property dealing as a career. In Panipat Ansal API, Stanza, and the TDI had many projects, while in Sonepat district, sharing its borders with the national capital, the activities of housing companies, including Parsvnath, Ansal, TDI, Omax, Eldeco, Maxco, Apex, and Rangoli during the last three years have gained momentum. These companies have purchased prime agriculture land at rates ranging between Rs 40 lakh to Rs 70 lakh per acre. However, now the land prices have soared up to Rs 2 crore per acre in some pockets adjoining the Delhi border. There were more than 3,000 property dealers active in the two districts of Sonepat and Panipat, claimed Mr Jitender Papreja, a leading property dealer of Panipat. Though many of them are part timers and surface in the market only when the buyers are in plenty. But due to the lucrative income a majority of dealers in the region have taken to a full-time career due to a boom in the real estate during the last three years, added Mr Papreja. Most of the real estate agents have employed at least one assistant and one office keeper resulting in generation of thousands of jobs in the region. Munshi Kashap of Matalauda village in Panipat district and Sushil Kumar of Kavi village were unemployed earlier have found jobs in this sector. Many others have left other jobs and taken to this profession full time, said Mr Daulat Ram, an old player in this field. Some of the landowners, who sold their lands, have also turned to this trade, claimed Mr Ram adding that even some farmers in the region have started trying their hand at this business. “In this business if you gained reputation in the market there is no dearth of clients and money, informed Rajender, a resident of Rasoi village in Sonepat district who had started dealing in real estate after selling his land to a coloniser two years ago. Similarly Narender from Matlauda, after completing his schooling, joined a property dealer at Panipat and was happy with the returns he was getting. However, the trade has remained unorganized even as it involves thousands of crores, said Mr Rajinder Singh, another property dealer based at Sonepat. There were no rules and regulation and the dealers were not answerable to any authority as most of the deals were not shown in records of the dealers, rued Rajesh, a resident of Raipur village in Sonepat district, adding that the dealers were not held responsible for any litigation whenever any of the party had to face some legal problems after the deals were struck.
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Compensation on acquisition is taxable
by S.C. Vasudeva Q. I owned about 10 acre of land near Karnal on the National Highway. The government has expressed desire to acquire the said land. The compensation fixed by the government is not in accordance with the prevailing market rates and I am intending to go to court for the purpose of the enhancement of compensation. Meanwhile, as per the directions of the competent authority I have been paid a sum of Rs 25 lakh. Is the said amount taxable? — Brijkishore A. In accordance with the provisions of Section 45(5) of the Act, the capital gain will have to be computed with reference to the compensation awarded in the first instance or, as the case may be, the consideration determined or approved in the first instance by the Central Government or the Reserve Bank of India. The same will be taxable as income under the head "capital gains" in the previous year in which such compensation or part thereof is received in the first instance. The amount by which the compensation or consideration is enhanced shall be deemed to be income chargeable as income under head capital gain in the year in which such enhanced compensation has been received by the assessee. In case of any reduction in the compensation or enhanced compensation by the court, the capital gain is required to be recomputed in the year in which such reduction takes place. The tax on the amount of compensation received by you will have to be computed in accordance with the above said provision. Settlement dues
Q. I am occupying a house in that part of the city, which has become a centre of commercial activity. The tenancy, in respect of the house, was taken about 25 years back and the rent of a fairly large-sized house having three bedrooms and a large-sized garden is quite meagre considering the prevailing prices. The landlord has been asking me to vacate the house but has not so far succeeded even in the courts. He is keen to make an out-of-court settlement and pay me a sum of Rs 40 lakh for vacating the premises. Is the amount so received taxable under the provisions of the Act? —
Anoop Saxena A. Yes, the amount would be taxable in view of the amended provisions of Section 55 of the Income-tax Act 1961 (The Act) and the cost of tenancy rights would be taken as nil. The amount of consideration received would be taxed as a long-term capital gain in your case.
Tax on agricultural land
Q. I am owner of a land, which was being used earlier for agricultural purposes. The land is still assessed to land revenue. However, agricultural operation has not been carried on the said land for the last few years on account of various reasons. If I sell such land would the capital gains thereof be exempted, as I understand that capital gain on the sale of agricultural land is not taxable. —
Anupam Saxena A. The test to be applied for the purpose of determining whether a particular land is agricultural land or not, is to first ascertain what is the use to which the land is being actually put. If it is being used for agricultural purposes or even if the agricultural use has ceased but it is apparent that the land is meant to be used for agricultural purposes, it would be an agricultural land. Therefore, in order to treat a particular land as agricultural land in India, where the land is not being actually put to any use, it is essential to ascertain whether the land is capable of being used for agricultural purpose having regard to various factors and the physical characteristics of the land so that it can be regarded as an agricultural land (56 ITR 608) (Gujarat). The decision in your case would thus depend upon all facts relating to the land in question. I may add that you will also have to ascertain whether the land owned by you is within the specified area of the city limits or is outside that area. The exemption from capital gain would be available only if the agricultural land is situated outside such limits.
Annual value of non-occupied property
Q. I am in service and presently posted at Chandigarh. Prior to taking up the present job I was stationed at Patiala where I had constructed my own residential house, which I am not able to occupy on account of my posting at Chandigarh. The house is lying vacant and is not being used for any purpose. I am living in Chandigarh in an accommodation provided by the company. What should be taken as the annual value of the property, which is not occupied by me on account of my service in a different city? — Satwik Kumar A. Section 23(2)(b) of the Act provides a relief in a case like yours. According to the provisions of the said section the income from property is treated almost at par with income from a self-occupied property. The conditions to met for this purpose are: (a) The assessee owns a house property, which cannot actually be occupied by him by reason of the fact that owing to his employment, business or profession, carried on at any other place. (b) He has to reside at that other place in a building not owned by him. (c) The property mentioned at (a) (or part thereof) is not actually let out during whole (or any part of the previous year). (d) The owner derives no other benefit from the above property. In case you satisfy the above conditions, the annual value of property at Patiala would be taken as nil.
Capital gain in lock-in period
Q I had purchased a residential house from the capital gain earned on the sale of a residential house. I had earned a sum of about 40 lakh by selling such house. I have invested the said amount in purchase of a residential house for a sum of Rs 50 lakh. Vastu experts have advised me that the house is not designed in accordance with the Vastu traditions. I intend selling the said house within the lock-in period of three years. Please let me know the consequences thereof. — Aman Deep Singh A. If the new residential house is transferred within a period of three years from the date of its acquisition, the amount of exemption given earlier would be withdrawn. In such a case the capital gain would be computed as under:
Sale consideration of the new A
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HUDA’s Faridabad scheme draws investors from afar
The real estate market in this industrial township has been going strong. The auspicious period of Navratras has given another fillip to people interested in buying land. The number of realty investors has grown sharply. A huge response to the residential plots offered by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), for which the last date of application has been extended to September 30, has proven this fact.
While several lakh applicants have applied for 3, 610 odd freehold plots here, it is learnt that more than half of the applicants are from other parts of the district or the state. This has been the largest ratio of the applicants’ vis- a vis number of plots offered by HUDA in the district so far. It is interesting to note that several of the plots offered by HUDA in various sectors here are those which had been either been surrendered by the plot holders or had been resumed by the authorities for non-payment of dues. “There had been many applicants who have applied fresh after surrendering the earlier plots or who had failed to show any interest in the sectors a couple of years back, due to poor demand in the land market,” claims a property agent here. He said though there had been a slight lull in the demand of new plots in residential sectors here when the HUDA had first announced the scheme in first week of July this year, but the interest shown by people living in other cities or other states had fuelled the demand. It had been pushed further by the financing scheme announced by various banks. “There had been a huge rush of applicants applying through the banks, as it was easy to apply as the applicant was asked to pay a marginal sum and the banks had been financing the 90 to 100 per cent of the application money,’ claimed an employee of the branch of a public sector bank here. He said the premium enjoyed by the people who were allotted plots in the earlier draw held at other places like Palwal town had made others gamble for the draw for Faridabad plots. Though the exact number of applicants for HUDA plots here would be known after the closing of the booking, it is reported that the total number of application forms printed and released by the HUDA office at Panchkula could be several lakhs as the application forms were directly sent to the bank branches by the head office. While it is reported that majority of the plots in Sectors like 62, 64 and 65 have been made available for the first time, but the demand for plots in the area where these sectors have been located had been zero in the past, claims a real estate agent based in sector- 10 here. He said the government had floated flats in Sector 62 and 64 earlier also, but hardly anybody had exhibited the interests due to the off location, as there was no direct approach to these sectors from the National Highway No. 2 or the Mathura road. The rise in the real estate prices in the past 18 months had also helped the rates of plots in these sectors to go up. Also there were reports that construction of an express highway connecting Palwal and Noida had been on the anvil. Moreover, the purchase of land by the builders in big way in the region across the Agra and Gurgaon kanal had further spurted the growth in this sector. According to real estate experts, the land prices in the region had grown at least 10 times in less than two years. The rates of HUDA plots at Palwal town, which is about 35 km from here, have also shown three to four times growth in the past one year. A large number of investors have been from other districts or other states. The state government’s announcement to develop Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other industrial and economic infrastructure in the region had also fuelled the growth, said an official here. He said the ongoing sealing of commercial establishments in the neighbouring Delhi may have also prompted the investors to come to towns like Faridabad and Palwal that had been quite close to the national capital and located on the National Highway.
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A slice of Venice in Bangalore
Developers promise a touch of foreign ambience, notes
Jangveer Singh
This way to Venice, announce a series of signboards on the Doddaballapur road on the outskirts of the city. The road leads to a long 21-acre plot adjacent to a row of one-room tenements and small shops, typical of any rural property transforming itself into an urban sprawl. Hardly a vision of Venice, you feel but Purvankara Developers would have you think otherwise. The developers have promised to create a vision of Venice in their gated community, which will have a row of multi-storeyed flats, a long canal with arching bridges and gondolas to complete the picture. The project has been appropriately named Venezia. A little way another group of builders, Prestige, has decided to lure prospective flat hunters to invest in a property in Jalahalli, again on the outskirts of the city, by promising them a group of flats which will recreate the magic of Kensington in London. The project has been named Kensington Gardens. The property is being built opposite a cluster of two-room government houses. This theme, of promising an ambience and more, can be seen in a number of properties coming up in Bangalore. In the Whitefield area, which is known for its upcoming IT industry and high rise software parks, another group — Value Designbuild, has come up with just the snob value housing idea which separates those who have ‘arrived’ from the hoi polloi. The project, named Nusa Dua (meaning twin islands), recreates a vision of Bali amongst the smog of traffic snarls of Bangalore. The aim behind such kind of theme based designs is to offer an exclusive address which is superior in terms of quality and build as well as aesthetic appeal, says Koshy Verghese of Value Designbuild. He says the company had engaged a Singapore designer to take up the project and that the design team had visited Bali to research on features which could be incorporated into the project. “We have done that without going overboard,” he says. In line with the Balinese theme, the developers have created a number of small water bodies in Nusa Dua which serve a number of row houses which are coming up in the property giving each of them a feeling of island like existence. In the case of Purvankara Venezia, the company is offering flats in 16 high-rise buildings. The complex will have large open spaces and include cobbled pathways and a spacious Venezian plaza. Kensington Gardens will have apartments and penthouses, with fluted columns and sloped roofs situated amongst a cluster of gardens spread out all over the property. Though theme based designs add to the snob value of a property, the jury is still out as to whether it helps the developers in roping in clients. S Srinivas, a developer, says theme-based housing does bring together a like-minded group of residents who invest in an ambience rather than just a group of flats. However this ambience comes at a cost, says Inderneel Singh, a Toyota parts manufacturer, currently on the look out for the right flat. “In my experience themes cost money to develop and even more money to maintain. This means high monthly maintenance charges from flat owners. These charges are already crossing the Rs 2,500 figure for a two-bedroom flat in certain localities. If this trend continues people will be paying monthly maintenances charges of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per month for three-bedroom flats in the city,” he adds. Design Consultant Rekha S says though theme-based designs attract curiosity they must fit into Indian conditions to allow investors to make an intelligent choice. That means small water bodies in the middle of row houses costing more than Rs 1.5 crore each at Nusa Dua are okay keeping in view the economic status of the owners. “However why do you need something as fantastic as a canal and gondolas to add status to a property which has multi-storeyed flats catering to the middle class on the outskirts of the city? The people living in the apartments may well be slogging it out for 12 hours day jobs and have no time to take in the specially created expensive ambience”. But then money is power and an address in Kensington towers sets you apart. As long as real estate continues to boom and people aspire to live a life of their dreams, theme bases housing may well continue to thrive.
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Decongest-Shimla plan on anvil
In order to facilitate a planned spillover and diffusion of new health, educational and tourism-related projects to the outskirts of the town, the Shimla Capital City Regional Plan is being finalised by the Town and Country Planning Department.
Being in the final stages, the plan will shortly be placed before the state Cabinet for approval. This will be done once public objections and suggestions have been heard. The regional plan will not just ensure the proper dispersal of the new projects in the three components of tourism, health and education but will also help decongest the Queen of Hills. The boundaries of the regional plan, having 30 km ground distance, will extend from Shalaghat to Jubbarhatti, Kiarighat, Matiana, Junga and Tattapani. Though there will be no earmarked areas for setting up of educational, health or tourism projects but the Kufri side is ideally suited for the hotel industry while Vaknaghat is fast emerging as an
education hub. In fact, it is being expected that big health resorts and spas, which require expansive land, would come up in these areas. With the thrust being on eco-friendly growth, areas having more than 45 degrees slope will be set aside for plantation. “With Shimla being known for its famous residential schools, anyone keen on setting up a new institution or expanding the ones already existing in Shimla can move to these areas, facilitating smooth dispersion from the overcrowded and saturated capital city,” said a senior official. With several proposals for setting up of big tourism and education projects in Himachal being put up before the government, efforts are on to ensure that areas outside Shimla are developed. “With the coming up of a self-sustaining institute in a new area, the place will automatically grow into a township over a period of time,” point out planners. Moreover, there is no scope for coming up of new institutes and complexes in Shimla as decongestion of the over-saturated areas is already being mooted. In order to ensure proper transportation linkages, a second bypass, connecting Jubbarhatti-Ghandal-Vaknaghat and Basantpur, will be constructed along with several radial routes along the spurs. There is also a proposal to construct tunnels on this outer circular grid. However, the regional plan will be different from the concept of counter magnets which has six components of industry, multiplexes, transport complexes, health, education and tourism. The department has already prepared a plan for counter-magnet extending from Sabathu right up to the tunnel, short of Kangra town.
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Home decor and furnishing segments hold promise
People go on a shopping binge to make their homes look good, notes Shveta Pathak Market players in the home decor and furnishing segments are expecting a steep rise in demand. With this, not only national level, but even local players are venturing into the business in a big way. “We realised that consumers are getting increasingly conscious of not only style in home decor and furnishings but also on variety. Demand for products on a par with international level in style and quality is increasing, which is why we opened this outlet where consumers get national and international brands in home furnishings and decor,” Surinder Pal Singh, Managing Director, Naveen Bharat Furnishings Private Limited, says. Increasing emphasis on architecture and awareness regarding home decor in recent years has resulted in people from this region shopping in metropolitan cities or overseas to obtain latest in designs. “Earlier the city was devoid of any such outlets where one could get a large variety under one roof. However, with more such outlets opening, it has become easier to make a selection,” says Shalini Singh, a homemaker. Besides local players, companies like Maspar, too, have opened outlets in the city. “Two decades ago when I toyed with the idea there were not many takers, but it has been quite well received by people,” says Rajesh Mahajan, Managing Director, Maspar. The big outlets in this segment welcome consumers with their ‘coordinated home furnishings’. It makes selection easier for people. On the growing organised segment, he said: “Even as it is the unorganised segment that dominates this industry, the share of organised segment, too, is growing. Prime reason for it is quality assurance, large variety and convenience.” With home decor being increasingly focussed upon, the organised sector is bound to grow manifolds and consumers come not only from upper income groups but from middle-income group as well, he adds. Buoyant on potential that this region holds, companies like Elvy Lifestyle, that offer home decor and design accessories, and sell through mail order and also on the Internet, announced their entry into this region. The company’s product portfolio includes coordinated bed and rug collection, bath collection, kids room accessories, men’s gift collection products in leather, solver plated, artefacts in ceramics, porcelain, glass and wood etc. “We realised that people desiring to decorate their houses and procure accessories, have to hunt for them from various places of from abroad. With us, one can get coordinated stuff, says Lovy Khosla, Managing Director of the company.
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India open to more FDI in real estate: Reddy
India is open to more foreign investment in the real estate sector, however, there is a need for transparency in the industry for attracting more FDI, Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy has said.
Speaking at a FICCI-organised real estate summit in Mumbai he said that by 2025, 40 per cent of people in the country would be living in urban India as compared to the current level of 13 per cent.
Urbanisation in India is inevitable and extremely desirable. More than 30 per cent of the country’s GDP comes from the urban sector and he hoped that the growth rates in the sector will keep shooting up for many years.
Reddy also said that the government would seriously consider the matter of allowing foreign players to tap capital market pre-IPO.
— PTI
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Realty may slump in short-term,
says GIC chief
Global real estate major GIC Real Estate has said given the cyclical nature of the real estate industry, there may be a slight downturn in the Indian real estate market in the short-term.
Speaking at a FICCI-organised real estate summit in Mumbai, the GIC Real Estate’s president Seek Ngee Huat said that the real estate sector in India was now on a higher growth trajectory due to its economic growth and the growth among the middle class. Due to its large and growing population, increasing urbanisation, rapidly rising incomes in India, there will be a strong demand for housing. India figures as a great potential market for investors, he said. GIC Real Estate, which has presence over 30 countries, has recently invested in housing projects with established developers in Mumbai, Pune and Chennai. Turning to the international scenario, he said, there has been an unprecedented wave of foreign institutional investor capital moving into Asia, both in the more developed markets like Japan and Korea as well as the emerging markets like, China, India and Thailand.
— PTI |
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