February 2015 by Observer Dawn

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Briefing

Cover Story

Desk News

Economy

Hundreds of Primary G S T on a Roll: Hope It Doesn't Miss the Deadline Again Students Join Besides making it easier to do business, the introduc`Minithon’ tion of GST will usher in greater transparency ... Ahead of Mumbai Marathon, hundreds of children in the primary classes joined a `minithon’ to spread the...

Dilip Kumar is the Greatest Actor Indian “Cinema Has Produced”

Aﬀordable Housing Will Be the Buzzword

Opinion

Cinema

A face-to-face with Mrs Uday Tara Nayar, former editor of film weekly, Screen...

40 Automobile This 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti

As a major chunk of the Indian population lives on average incomes, real estate firms have started ...

Letter From the Editor

Kickstart With A New Vigour s far as India's development narrative is concerned, it is poised to align with new perspective as a stable government at the Centre appears to unclog several bottlenecks with its long standing legislation and policy initiatives. Now, investment climate looks better and economists believe that coming months will see a spurt in domestic and foreign investors who have been pursuing cautious approach in opening their purse. There are optimistic signs that lead us to believe that market sentiment looks better on all parameters that matter the most. There are more projects under implementation and more new projects have been announced. Significantly, there has been a decline in stalled projects and projects which were stuck are being revived. The revival of projects shows that the ongoing efforts of the Narendra Modi government seem to be working. As more new projects will be getting off the ground, it will result in full-blown investment revival. However, the new industrial outlook survey that the RBI released this week shows that manufacturing companies continue to be cautious. India cannot have a sustainable growth revival unless there is a significant improvement in the investment cycle. What is needed is robust investment in new factories, power plants and infrastructure projects. The Modi government is attempting to clear a clogged investment pipeline. Needless to say, such actions will release the much-needed capital that has been unable to create cash flows. An IMF study revealed that the investment collapse after 2011 was the price that India paid for a high degree of policy uncertainty. The corporate sector must share some responsibility for holding back investments. Some economists are batting for an increase in public investment to make up for weak private sector investment. It is not quite clear how the finance ministry wants to do this as it is more concerned with reining in fiscal deficit. As is mentioned in the Special Story section of this issue, in recent time, government brought in some bold initiatives like giving nod to implementation of REITs, relaxation in FDI norms in construction of housing and tweaking some provisions in the Land Acquisition Bill. But it deferred a decision on setting up a regulator for the real estate sector. Moreover, the emphasis on Smart Cities, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Housing for Allâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and environment ministryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clearance for several big ticket projects on caseto-case basis have revived interests among the stakeholders. Once both public and private sectors put in their investments, result will be for everybody to see. Most importantly, as things stand today, the Modi government is less constrained and in a good position to rebuild the nation.

The Modi government is attempting to clear a clogged investment pipeline. Needless to say, such actions will release the muchneeded capital that has been unable to create cash flows.

Connect with Hariom Tyagi Hariom Tyagi

Editor, Observer Dawn

@harityagi2003 @harityagi2003 @harityagi2003 @harityagi2003 February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Desk News

Hundreds of Primary Students Join `Minithon’

head of Mumbai Marathon, hundreds of children in the primary classes joined a `minithon’ to spread the message of `fitness through fun’, at Chembur in the City today. Organised by Vivekanand Education Society (VES) DBC Primary School, the exciting event saw the students of Class III and IV running with passion and a competition spirit, while hundreds of parents formed a human chain on both sides of the road to cheer their wards. This was the second edition of the minithon, held to educate the students about the need for being fit. “As part of the education itself, we have been imparting the lessons to our students about physical fitness and also generating deep interest for sports among them. Ahead of the minithon, we train the students and teach them about healthy eating habits and role of excise in daily life,” said school principal Shobha Sethi. The students, who ran in batches, had been practising for the last two months just like professional runners under the guidance of PT teachers since the school is giving very much importance also to sports. The winners were given certificates. “It was exciting and fun. We want to be fit and I want to participate in such runs in other places around also. We were training every day for last two months,” said one of the participants.n

Entrepreneurship Takes Centre Stage at VESIM

wo days after Wing Commander Puja Thakur marched up to the most powerful man in the world in New Delhi, it is natural that she gets a mention in every session on women, even if it is about entrepreneurship and it is in a campus in Mumbai. But hundreds of future managers, including young girl students, were more awestruck when a group of successful women entrepreneurs, led by Nykaa.com founder Falguni Nayar came to their campus to share their true life stories, at Vivekanand Education Society’s Institute of Management Studies and Research (VESIMSR) at Chembur on Tuesday. Though many did praise Puja as symbol of women empowerment in India, the students were more inspired by the success stories in entrepreneurship and thoughts from TCS official

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

Ms Madhumita Dasgupta, founder of NBM International Ms. Manisha Mehta, general manager of ACG World Wide Group Ms. Patricia Shetty and young entrepreneur Ms. Prashanti Tiwari, apart from Ms Nayar. Talking on `creating an inclusive work place’, the speakers shared their good and not-so-good times while finding the formulae of success. They also gave tips to the youngsters who don't know yet about the mountains they still have to climb. Stressing the need for building skills for the future, they touched in detail on the concerns like woman juggling many priorities, responsibilities, relationships and pressures while trying to balance career and family. Dr Satish Modh, the institute director, cited glaring difference between boys and girls, “Seva, Tyaga and Samarpan come naturally to girls/women and there is a need to create a workplace environment where these values flourish. n

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Desk News

Earth Group Launches Prestigious Project SKYGATE in Gurgaon

he days when commercial projects were synonymous with the words dull and dry are in the distant past. Today, development of commercial property is a unique challenge for real estate developers. “Earth Skygate” the commercial project from Earth Group in collaboration with AMB Group is a unique combination of entertainment, supermarket, street shopping, cinemas, restaurants, health club, outdoor performance area and many more. Earth Group the fastest growing real estate group; they have pioneered some ground breaking projects in the commercial space. Their new project Earth Skygate is a large mixed format project with entertainment and office spread over 10.4 acres in Sector 88, Gurgaon. It is situated at the junction of 400 ft. and 200 ft. roads and prominently located on Northern Peripheral Road, It is just a fifteen minute drive from the airport and few minutes away from the heart of Gurgaon. It is a project which anyone can dream of, it will be one of the best high-end commercial projects to be launched in the entire North India in coming years. It will be the most happening destination to be seen by the people of Delhi/NCR. It will have many wow factors like thematic style eating joints and theme entertainment from Sanderson Group depicting their ancient culture innovations and their discoveries, all

conceptualized in a format which can be only found in the developed countries. The project will definitely be the Jewel In-the-Crown of Earth and give a new meaning to shopping and entertainment experience.n

ShopPirate.in Launches Android Coupons App

hoppirate.in recently announced another hallmark on its wall of fame. After creating waves in the web arena, this online couponing merchant is all set to tap into the mobile commerce market. And working in this direction, the coupon and deals site has recently announced the launch of its Android application. Shop Pirate Coupons Android appis available for free download on the Google Play store, making deals and coupons accessible for on-the-go shoppers. The online couponing portal announced its application to have already crossed 1 Lac downloads on iOS and Windows platforms, and they are expecting a similar response from Android users as well. Speaking about this development, Ms. Kulpreet Kaur, Co-founder Shop Pirate said, “Mobile shopping is witnessing an upsurge in India with 10.5%of the population surfing web using their smart phones and other

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

mobile devices. Thus the need of the hour was to direct our focus on making the mobile shoppers content. Besides, Android is the most used OS. Today, almost 22.34 million or 1/3rd of the smart phone users in India are using Android as the operating software. Not targeting such a huge segment of prospect consumers wouldn’t be counted as a smart decision. Thus, the team decided to launch an Android app which can make shopping on the go easy and help buyers save on time as well as money.” Designed to be an end-toend shopping solution for users, the Android application is expected to deliver excellent results in terms of performance and scalability. The design is also highly interactive and user-centric. Adding to this, Kulpreet says, “We understand the value of time and money, and want our shoppers to save as much of it as they can. Features and functions are just a part, we aim to create a wholesome experience for the users.” n

Desk News

Central Park wins Brands Academy Real Estate Awards entral Park, the multi sectorial real estate developers known for inventive and proficient designs today announced that it has been awarded the Ultra Luxury Condominium Project of the Year (Delhi-NCR) in the reputed Brands Academy Real Estate Awards 2015 with NDTV Good Times in New Delhi on Saturday 31st Jan 2015. The award was facilitate by the renowned & influenced personalities from the political and media industry. Mr. Amar Singh, Member of Parliament (MP) & Mr. Vir Sanghvi, Food Columnist & Media Advisor of Hindustan Times Publication presented the award to Mr. Shiv Bakshi, Director, Central Park at the ceremony. The elite award was to identify and honour the company Central Park and to its professionals who have envisioned and created marvels in the real estate industry. It's was a gesture to celebrate the projects delivered on the standards of quality, customer satisfaction and efficiency. Mr. Shiv Bakshi, Director, Central Park said, “This award not just

recognized Central Park as one of the many customer-focused organisations but also reinforced our commitment to strive as the best amidst the rest in our category and geography when it comes to customer satisfaction and delight. We are thankful to all for acknowledging our work and honouring us by giving one of India’s most reputed awards under the Ultra Luxury Condominium Project of the Year (Delhi-NCR). We would like to take this opportunity to show gratitude towards our stakeholders and the team behind this achievement”. About Central Park: Central Park is the fastest growing real estate brand having over 6.95mn square feet of existing development and another 11.47 mn square feet of planned projects across hospitality, leisure, recreation, commercial and upscale residential developments in some of the most prime locations in Gurgaon, Delhi NCR and Goa. With the launch of 47.5 acres of Central Park Resorts on Sohna Road, Gurgaon, Central Park aims at establishing an unprecedented domain where ‘Luxury real estate meets unmatched hospitality’; thereby establishing a new relationship with its patrons. n

name to reckon with in dairy products, real estate and health care sectors, one of the leading Indian conglomerates Paras Group has forayed into the reigning education sector. Under the venture, the group is all set to open the first campus of 'The Paras World School India' or TPWSI in Gurgaon sub city which will impart education as per newly introduced CBSE-International curriculum. The group has earmarked an initial corpus of Rs. 100 crore for the venture and has plans to open more such schools under the same brand TPWSI in North India in next five years. The Group will build, manage and run all the schools on its own for the next five years and may go with the franchisees model thereafter. It has plans to open schools abroad too at the appropriate time. All these schools will impart school-level education under a highly specialised curriculum. This will ad-

dress the aspirations of parents who want international-level education for their children under a curriculum that is in line with global trends and current pedagogical patterns. With strong focus on updation of curriculum in line with demand of time, the teachers will receive backend research support from the R&D staff and to make curriculum truly international. The curriculum philosophy of first school in Gurgaon will be based on Harvard's Project 'Making Learning Visible' conducted by Mara Krechevsky and Howard Gardner at the Harvard Graduate School of Learning. To ensure the overall development of children, the schools will have the co-curricular programs as per international standards cultivating physical and cultural finesse by providing facilities for performing arts, various sports, an environment club, robotics club, debate society, science club and editorial board. n

Paras Group Forays Into Education Sector

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

Desk News

InvestCare Launches ‘A Tryst with Money’ by Samar Vijay n air of excitement was evident at Shri Sathya Sai International Centre where ‘A Tryst with Money’, much awaited book by acclaimed financial expert Mr Samar Vijay, was released amongst the renowned guests and respected dignitaries. The audience witnessed this book release by guest of honor Dr Chandan Mitra, who himself is a famous writer and honorable MP of Rajya Sabha and owner-editor of The Pioneer. The special guests that graced the occasion were Mr. Viresh Mathur, IRS (Retd), Ex-Director General of Income Tax, Mr Ajit Mishra, Managing Director, InvestCare, Mr. Ajit Sinha, InvestCare, along with other esteemed guests. The book launch was followed a concert by Indo-Norway Group. This celebration of music mesmerized the audience with amalgamation of Indian raga based melodies

with the energetic spirit of Nordic Jazz. Dr. Chandan Mitra was all praised for Mr. Samar Vijay and he shared his views as sharing his excitement and experiences, Mr. Samar Vijay, shared, “It’s a moment of pride for me that I am launching my first book and that too by Dr Chandan Mitra, who I respect a lot as an author. Finance is a complicated word for a common man, who find it difficult to understand and when I was confronted with this issue, I knew what I wanted to write for. I enjoy writing about Finance and through my findings and experiences I wanted readers also to enjoy and feel equally excited about it. Like how money has moved from one era to another and changed the whole experience of this world, which are expressed in my book with examples inspired from common incidents of life. I am sure that readers will feel the same connect and find my story as their Tryst with Money alongwith learning more about Money. n

Possession at DLF New Town Heights, Gurgaon

ne of the most talked-about premium properties, ‘New Town Heights’ from the realty major, DLF is all set to give its customers a first-class address in the heart of DLF Garden City, Gurgaon. 2000 plus families have taken up possession of their homes and the rest are in the process of completing the handover formalities. The deluxe clubhouses in sec 86, 90 & 91 are fully operational which bestow its residents with an amazing experience. Abounding with sound infrastructure and superior connectivity, DLF Garden City will redefine the lifestyle of its residents. Other projects at DLF Gardencity -Primus, Regal Gardens, Skycourt and The Ultima are witnessing brisk construction activity. New Gurgaon comprises a total of over 48,000 homes in the area, out of which approx 30,000 homes are under construction. Over 2000 plus families in DLF Gardencity have already taken up their

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

ownership. Garden City’s site boasts of a 60 to 75 meterwide sector roads with additional 12-meter service roads on either side. The upcoming Galleria 91 will take care of all the day-to-day retail needs of Gardencity’s residents. The vicinity also includes a branch of Modern School coming up on a 7-acre land, while a college is also being planned on a 15-acre site. According to Mr. Vikram O. Datta, VPMarketing, DLF Home Developers Ltd, “Our project, DLF Garden City was conceptualized to provide a rich blend of luxury with verdant expanses. We are Customer-oriented and understand that it is essential for us to timely deliver the projects to our buyers. Our motto is not only to complete the project but also to deliver it to our valuable customers on time.” After taking up the possession the customers are delighted to see the various Infra advantages including an easy access to IGI Airport, Dwarka & south and west Delhi which will drastically reduce the travel time from Delhi-Gurgaon. n

Desk News

Possession of ‘Morpheus Greens’ Begins

orpheus Group’ has announced the possession of its residential project ‘Morpheus Greens’ located at sector 78 Noida. The project itself is a highlight of the region with stunning location advantage and various amenities in offer. Morpheus Greens offers you high standards of living environment with ultra-modern yet courteous luxury homes, nestled in the lap of nature, and neighbouring a staggering reserved greens at an iconic address set to become the new destination for super luxury lifestyle. Magnificent balconies overlooking spectacular greenery, lush landscaping and open water features. Equipped with 2 tier security with centralized

CCTV surveillance, Wi-Fi enabled complex, 100% power back up for elevators & common areas, power backup of 1.5KVA for each apartment, uninterrupted water supply, firefighting system as per latest norms, pool, club, jogging track, convenient shopping within complex, energy efficient housing project, provision for rain water harvesting and provision for PNG supply thereby creating a truly remarkable piece of art and mind to cater to all the needs of the residents. Feeling happy and satisfied, Mr. Prithvi Raj Kasana, MD, Morpheus Group said “After years of thorough dedication and hard work, I am pleased to announce that we are going to offer the first phase of possession of Morpheus Greens. My heartiest thanks to the entire Morpheus family whose years of flawless efforts have finally started to payoff ”. n

GROHE Brings Luxury & Designs to Bathing Space

ROHE introduces structural sophistication and uncompromising functionality with the launch of the Eurodisc Joystick. The super-slim, wall-mounted washbasin mixer offers smooth and long-lasting fingertip control. The sleek finish and award-winning design of the product makes it the perfect amalgamation of form and function. The precise controls and infinite adjustability of the Eurodisc Joystick offer complete comfort of usage. Its sculptured lines and confident stance reflect modernity and dynamism. The contemporary design is the most important and distinguishing feature of this faucet. The minimalist lever resonates with the

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

GROHE brand DNA and offers superior ergonomics. The carefully-considered proportions ensure that the aesthetic is defined yet robust.The glossy moon white finishing combined with chrome elements is as splendid a choice as the chrome variant. Both make up a perfect match for any bathroom. Other details of this sculptured designer piece also bear the unmistakable signature of the GROHE Design Studio. This design has already won recognition at the renowned Red Dot Award: Product Design. The unique Eurodisc Joystick is a one-of-a-kind bathroom faucet that marries together design, affordability and luxury. It adorns any bathing space with a classic touch. Bring great looks and pure pleasure into your bathroom with this unparalleled epitome of aesthetics and functional excellence. n

Dilip Kumar is the Greatest Actor Indian Cinema

“Cinema Has Produced” A face-to-face with Mrs Uday Tara Nayar, former editor of film weekly, Screen, and the biographer of the legendary actor, Dilip Kumar.

daya Tara Nayar is a veteran film journalist. She started her career working with The Indian Express Group. She edited the weekly, Screen, for many years and took its circulation from modest sixty thousand to one lakh twenty thousand in just a few months. She has written the autobiography of Dilip Kumar titled, The Substance and the Shadow, which became an instant bestseller. She is a great reservoir of experience and knowledge and lived a true and very humble life as a film journalist. One fine evening at her Mumbai residence, she talked extensively with the writer, Mohammad Aleem.

Here are the excerpts:

How do you judge your career as a film journalist?

I chose this career because of my uncle, Mr. S SPillai, the younger brother of my father. He was the editor of Screen, a very popular film weekly. One day, he said that there is a vacancy in The Indian Express for an apprentice. You should join there till your result comes out. I went to the Express office which was at Sassoon Dock. The Indian Express editor, Mr Frank Moraes gave me a test which I passed. To become a full time sub editor cum reporter in Indian Express there was a hurdle. Night duty was compulsory and there was no exemption for women. My par-

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ents were very orthodox and conservative. It was in 1967. They said you can’t do night duty. Then, I went to the editor and told him that my parents were insistent that I should leave the job. He said:“I don’t think you should leave the job. You have the potential to become a good journalist. I will put you in Screen. Screen doesn’t have a night duty. He then called my uncle and told him that there is a bright journalist, sitting just in front of me. I want to send her to you. He said don’t send her to me because she is my niece and I don’t like the idea of having a family member in my staff. Mr Moraes said: “Take her. She is bright. She has a good future”. I went to my uncle’s cabin grinning like a monkey. My uncle told me, don’t behave like my niece in this office. Whatever problems you have, you will have to solve it yourself. Don’t come crying to me with anything. I said, fine. Let me give it a try. Till that time, I had not seen any films as a film student or film buff. I used to watch only Hindu mythological movies with my mother. So, I had no great knowledge about other Hindi films. My uncle, of course, knew I had no knowledge of films. He said don’t worry; you will get the knowledge by and by. So, I started working in 1967 in Screen and gradually my interest grew in cinema. I used to go to cover the shooting of different

films. Veteran actor and filmmaker, Raj Kapoor was very good to me. He was a good friend of my uncle. He was shooting his film, Mera Nam Joker. My uncle told him this girl doesn’t know anything about you, so you have to tell her everything about your film. Raj Kapoor used to tell me what shots he was going to take and show me the lights that were being used. He would point to a light and say “this light is called Baby, this light is called Lilly”. It made me giggle, and he would say, be serious my girl, your uncle wants you to become a serious journalist. Then, he would say “now watch me take my shot”. All the processes he explained to me. Then my uncle sent me to Hrishikesh Mukherjee to sit with him in the editing room. Hrishida told me you must see as many films as you can. Your education is now going to be films only. You must watch all kinds of films. Then you can become a proper journalist. So, I started watching films very seriously, Indian or foreign, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, anything. It helped me to understand the medium immensely. And also, when I was interacting with the people of the industry, whether it was a cinematographer or art director, anybody, I would ask questions just to understand their work. I wanted to knowhow they were contributing to the films. My uncle told me; I want you to understand something. If you read the reviews of films you will see that a reviewer can dismiss a film in one line as a mediocre film when the filmmaker has spent one whole year making that film. So many people have put their own efforts into it. I don’t want you to do that. If you state that a film is bad you must justify your statement by pointing out what are the shortcomings and which departments have fallen short of expectations. To do that you need to have in depth understanding. As a result, I took the trouble of understanding the creative components of the medium very well. When I wrote reviews I kept his words in my mind.

It also raises a very pertinent question, if you had not joined Screen; you could have become a journalist in some other fields also.

No, I don’t think so. If I had not joined Screen, the other best alternative for me was to go for IAS. I became very passionate about films only once I joined Screen. After meeting people of the industry, I began to realize that it was a different world altogether. People of this world are very different from the outside world. In fact, if I had gone for the IAS, I would have not got the kind of experience I have now.

You have now a lot of experiences as a journalist. How do you see your growth as a journalist? Are you satisfied with your work or not?

I started from zero, from the bottom of the ladder, but my hard work and consistent effort paid a good dividend. It helped me to come to the position of the editor of Screen. I not only edited the English Screen, but Hindi Screen also. It was called Express Screen. I also edited Screen’s Trade Weekly. So my workload was heavy. My office gave me a flat at Cuff Parade. It made my work easier because I became free from the worry of traveling. The Indian Express Management was very good to me.

What makes a person a good journalist?

Only thing required foremost is hard work, patience, and this is especially required in this particular field because no star will give you time for the interview so easily. You will have to wait because they have their own problems. There are many actors who are initially difficult to understand. So, you will have to deal with them in a particular manner also to get work done. For example, in my time, there was Raj Kumar who was a huge film star. He was well known for his eccentric behaviour. My editor, B K Karanjia gave me an assignment to record his interview. I called him to take the appointment. But he told me to call him the next day at 11 A.M. I called him again and got the same answer. And it went on like this for many days. Finally, I went to my editor and said that he was just delaying giving me an appointment and perhaps he did not want to be interviewed. Finally, on Mr Karanjia’s insistence, he gave me the time for the interview. I went and talked with him at length about his work and the other things associated with his life. Finally, when I finished, he asked me how I was going to write the interview because I had not taken any notes. Remember, in those days, there was no tape recorder available so easily. We relied heavily on the notes jotted down. But, when the interview was published, he was surprised. He called me at my house. First, I got scared. But he very politely congratulated me and said that I had done a commendable job and would like to have a coffee with me at Oberoi. I went to meet him and he told me jokingly,“you must have hidden a tape recorder somewhere in your head. I had to find out.” The interviews I did in those times were done without any tape recorder or notes. God has really always been very kind to me.

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Cinema God has gifted me with the power to retain the information verbatim. Even, Dilip Kumar Sahib used to tell me the same thing when I started work on the biography. He used to be surprised by the way I reproduced his conversations with me verbatim. He too suspected I had a recorder hidden somewhere.

What changes and challenges do you see as a journalist today?

Today there is only sensationalism, nothing else. The emphasis is on spicy stuff. Everything has to be spicy. No facts are verified. There is no authenticity and credibility, all that has gone out of the window. Now, it is only who is meeting who and who is going to get married with whom. Who is going where and for what? Take Karva Chauth, for instance. Even in the past the ladies of the industry were keeping the fast, but they used to do it quietly in their houses. Now, they publicise it all by getting photographed in the clothes specially designed for that. The stars too like the invasion of their private lives when it suits them.

What is the reason behind it?

Reason I think is survival. It is not easy now for print publications to survive because of the proliferation of the media. There are some journalists who write very seriously.

You are in the news for writing the biography of the thespian actor, Dilip Kumar. How that work came to you and what was your experiences?

I was very close to Dilip Sahib because my uncle Pillai Sahab and he were good friends. His wife, Saira Banu had been persuading him to write his autobiography. But he was evading and avoiding it. One day, he read something which somebody had written about him. He said what was written was utter rubbish. Saira Banu then reminded him, “that is the reason why I am requesting you to write your own book.” He said; “I can’t sit and write. Somebody will have to write it. I was in the room and Saira told him: “that somebody is right here.” Then, he looked towards me and said: “you will write it”. He used to like the editorials I wrote in Screen and he was confident I could do justice to his narration. First, I thought that he was joking. But he said; “I am serious. You do it.” He was comfortable with me because I was like a member of the family. I was close to him for many years. Then, we started working on the book. Sometimes, he allowed me to record the conversations and sometimes he did not. But, it went on. I had started work in 2004 and got it completed in 2014. It took so much time because if he was not in good mood, sometimes, he would not

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talk. Then, suddenly, if he was in mood, he would call me. I always went by his mood and willingness to talk. He would change the topic quickly, at times. He would talk about Bombay Talkies and the next instant he would switch over to his native place, Peshawar and suddenly switch over to his meeting with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. There was no sequence. He would just talk and I listened intently. It took me a year to put it into a proper sequence and weave it all into a story. The wisdom he had was great; whether it was cinema or the world in general. It was amazing. I would just sit and listen to him. He mostly spoke in English, but sometimes, he used Urdu also. He has a great knowledge of Urdu poetry and literature. But, most of the time, it was difficult for me to grasp that beautiful language. But, there was one of his relatives who used to translate those conversations in English for me. Urdu is such a lovely and very expressive language. If he recited a couplet in Urdu, he would translate it into English and he would tell me that the English version was only half as good as the original.

Tell me something about him as an artist and as a human being?

As an artist I can’t say anything that has not been said already. He is the greatest actor Indian cinema has produced. He has earned that position in the industry through hard work and deep devotion. I understood it well when he was talking to me. It was very difficult for him because he had to learn everything by himself. There was no icon he looked up to. It all evolved with his efforts. He had great patience and dedication. Today’s actors have many facilities. They can use a monitor to check the shots. Mughl-E-Azam was reshot many times to achieve perfection. It took ten years to complete. He told me that playing Salim was very difficult for him because there was not much authentic information about him. He used to sit and think how did Salim walk, how did he sit, how did he look at Anarkali. All these things he had to imagine by himself. K Asif only told him: “behave like yourself. You are like a prince”. In the meantime, he started Ganga Jamuna. In that film, he was playing a rustic character. It was quite difficult to handle two opposite kinds of films. But, his greatness was that he was perfect in both roles. I do feel that Dilip Kumar as a person is far superior to the actor, Dilip Kumar. He is such a wonderful man. He is so humble. You will never feel that you are sitting and talking with a legend. Many a times, I have gone out with him. During the holy month of Ramadan, after Maghrib prayer, he would take his family in his car to give a treat there. I was often asked to accompany them. The way he would react to the people coming to meet him was a thing to watch. He would meet all sorts of peo-

ple s o warmly and lovingly. One day, he told me:“you know when a man from the street comes to me and holds my hand and tells me that he loved my work that is my real award. And other awards which come to me are just a trophy to me. I receive them in all humility, make a speech and I go away. This is the real award I cherish and keep in my heart”. He is very down to earth. Which superstar nowadays will allow a stranger come up to him and hold his hand? Today’s stars have bouncers and bodyguards to keep people away. Even, in Dilip Kumar’s time other stars behaved differently. They used to maintain a distance with the people. A stranger could not go to Dev Anand and hold his hand. But, Dilip Sahib always felt free to talk to anyone. He felt that they were the people who made him the super star, Dilip Kumar. He has never refused an autograph. He has never worn dark glasses. He believes in making eye contact with people.

What makes you more happy and contented working as a journalist or writer?

Now, I have tasted the happiness that comes from writing a serious kind of book. Many people called and told me that this book, the autobiography of Dilip Kumar, reads like a novel. The descriptions and the flow are so good. You have beautifully written it. I feel encouraged to start writing short stories.

I have read somewhere that you are working nowadays on a short story book. What prompted you to write short stories?

I do feel now that I can write it. I learned from Dilip Kumar Sahib during that period of writing his biography how to develop a plot. He used to write most of the scripts himself. When other people wrote for him he used to make necessary corrections. He would work hard to refine and give more flesh to the characters, including other characters played by other actors. It was called interference, but it was for the larger benefit of the films and the actors working with him. It was not interference. Now, I am working on a collection of stories, all based in my native place, Kerala and Madras where I grew up. That is very exciting for me now. One of my sisters was married to a Muslim. She passed away last month. She had embraced Islam as her religion and her name was Fatima. She used to live in Chennai. She was very dear to me. My side of the family did not attend the funeral because we did not know what to do at that time. She was buried according to Islamic rituals. I am writing a story on her life and the turbulent times in the early fifties when she boldly married my

brother-in-law. But, she had a wonderful life. She had a great fulfilment with her family. She was respected and loved by them. And she also loved and respected them. It is a terrific story.

Tell something about your family background?

I am fifth among the five children of my father, Ayyappa Pillai who was a civil servant. My mother was a simple housewife. I have three sisters with one elder brother. I grew mostly in Mumbai, because, I had moved here. My uncle, Mr. Pillai brought me here. I grew in a very cosmopolitan atmosphere.

You have won many awards for your work also. Tell something about it?

I think those awards and recognitions came to me when I was put at the helm of editing Screen. In those days, when I became editor of Screen, the circulation was around sixty thousand. Mr. Vivek Goenka told me when he appointed me as the editor that he would like to see the circulation of Screen grow from sixty thousand to one lakh twenty thousand in the following months and I took it up seriously as a challenge and began to work hard to attain the target. I included television coverage which was new in those days. Only Doordarshan existed. I also gave ample coverage to the regional cinemas. And all these things helped me in increasing the volume of readership tremendously. Finally, I achieved the target which was set by my chairman for me. These efforts brought many kinds of awards and recognition for me. I have to thank Mr Goenka for it all.

We do hear a lot about paid journalism. What is truth behind it?

Today, people say that newspapers charge for featuring the stars. Many people who don’t deserve to be featured are featured. It has become totally commercial. Why not, everywhere, you have to spend money to get prominence. The publications are uninhibited about making money and people are willing to spend to get recognition. To get out of turn darshan even in a temple, you have to pay. So, what’s the harm? After all, we are living in a marketing driven world. We cannot but be a part of the changing times. n

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Policy

Relaxing the FDI rules :

Will It Bolster the Sagging Real Estate? The move is also expected to help mobilise much needed investment in the realty sector and will augur well for development of smart cities.

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

s expected, the Union Cabinet of the Narendra Modi government approved the proposal to amend the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in construction development sector. It decided to reduce the minimum floor area to 20,000 sq. mt. from the earlier 50,000 sq mt. It also brought down the minimum capital requirement to $5 million from $10 million. The condition of minimum land of 10 hectares has been completely removed. The statement said: "These measures are expected to result in enhanced inflows into the construction development sector... It is likely to attract investments in new areas and encourage development of plots for serviced housing given the shortage of land in and around urban agglomerations as well as the high cost of land. The measure is also expected to result in creation of much needed low cost affordable housing in the country and development of smart cities." For the record, since 2005, 100 percent FDI is allowed in townships, housing and built-up infrastructure and construction developments. However, the government had imposed certain conditions. Now, treating the construction development as its priority, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the nodal agency for all FDI policy, moved fast and notified the decision taken by the Cabinet in November. Clearing the doubt, it said that foreign developers would now be allowed to exit a project only after completion or after completing the basic trunk infrastructure such as roads, water supply, street lighting, drainage and sewage. Earlier they were not allowed

to take out the invested amount before three years from completion of minimum capitalisation. Simply put, 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route can now come in projects that have been completed by way of townships, malls and shopping complexes, and business centres. This was not allowed earlier. For the record, between April 2000 and September 2014, the construction sector received about $24 billion, constituting 10 per cent of the overall FDI into the country during the period. However, since 2012-13, FDI inflow into the sector has slowed drastically. In 2012-13, it fell to $1.3 billion from $3.1 billion the previous year. It again declined to $1.2 billion in 2013-14. According to an estimate, during the first six months of this financial year, only $568 million has flowed into this sector. As expected, realtors, experts and market watchers have welcomed this policy measure. “Relaxation in the development size will benefit Tier II and III cities where large projects typically suffer from poor demand. Further, locations around the Golden Quadrilateral and DMIC can also look at reaping benefits out of this as new FDI will also be attracted to new towns and cities planned in these corridors, “ said Sanjay Dutt, Executive Managing Director, South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield. Dutt explains that there is already an improvement in FDI in construction this year with a number of foreign sovereign and pension funds already committing funds to Indian real estate not only through fund managers, but also through direct agreements with local developers in projects, clearly indicating higher confidence in Indian real estate markets. n

Relaxing the FDI rules: In Sync with Industry’s Expectations

“We are happy with the decision taken by the Government for soothing FDI rules in construction sector. This is a revolutionary step in the real estate sector. This initiative has been cheered by the real estate sector as there will be huge amount of FDI inflow in the industry after the moderation of norms. These enhancements in the real estate can provide an impetus for the growth across various sectors, generating tremendous employment and thereby boost the entire economic outlook for the country.” - Mr. Vinay Jain, CMD, AVJ Group

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Policy “This is a positive move from the Government which will without doubt encourage more such dynamic strategies and will help boost the real estate sector in India. These will enhance the general investor sentiments and expand the inflow of ventures. The reduction of the minimum built-up area to 20,000 sq. metres will give developers more space to work, particularly in urban areas where there is an issue of area deficiency as well as high cost of area. Also, the absolution of the undertakings which submit 30% of their aggregate expense to moderate lodging is a measure which will give an enormous push to the affordable housing sector.” -- Mr. Abhay Kumar, CMD, Griha Pravesh “Government’s decision on relaxation for FDI in the construction sector is one of the most promising decisions of the recent times. This welcome outcome was worth waiting for and will further boost the affordable housing segment in the country. Also, this will ease the burden of lending for banking and non banking institutions, which till date have been bearing the load of capital needs for the real estate sector. With this improved cash flow, developers will now be able to expedite the construction of delayed projects.” -- Mr. Prashant Tiwari, Chairman, Prateek Group & Vice President, CREDAI NCR, Western UP Division “In order to attract more foreign investment in the construction and real estate sector this is a remarkable step. We are thankful to the government for this move. The sector is reeling through an acute funding pressure. The foreign investment in real estate has also gone down in last few years. Hence, this move has sent a positive signal for the real estate sector which will be shown in coming days. The new government too is keen on improving the current sub 5% GDP figures to 8-9% levels. So these all steps will revive the overall economy as well as real estate industry. We are also hoping infra status in near future.” -- Mr. Pradeep Jain, Chairman, Parsvnath Developers “The ease of FDI norms in construction sector is going to benefit both the developers and customers at large by adding, more number of projects and highly developed infrastructure such as roads, highways, sewage, water, power, etc. A 100% FDI approval means more capital can be invested in towns and cities for the development of both residential and commercial spaces. It’s a positive move as government aims to provide home for every citizen by the year 2022. " --Mr. R. K. Arora, Supertech CMD & CREDAI Vice President (Yamuna Expressway). “The reduction of the minimum built-up area to 20,000 sq. metres will give builders more space to operate, especially in urban locations where there is a problem of land shortage as well as high cost of land. Moreover, the exemption of the projects which commit 30% of their total cost to affordable housing is a measure which will give a big thrust to the affordable and mid-income segments. These measures will also support the developers to pursue housing projects which will be the backbone of the Government’s ‘Smart City’ dream. I am confident the sector will now start moving on a fast-growth trajectory. -- Mr. Vineet Relia, MD, SARE Homes ” It is a great move from the government to relax the FDI norms, which will boost up the cashstarved sector. As we know that the sector was going through difficult phase for the last couple of years causing a liquidity deficit leading to delay in completion of projects. With the latest development, small developers will have multiple options for project funding and by reducing minimum buildup area and capital requirement the government has opened FDI doors for smaller players. Easing the entry norms will attract more foreign investors”. -- Mr. Sushant Muttreja, Cosmic Group “Allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in construction sector with reduction in the size of projects eligible for FDI from 50,000 sq metres to 20,000 sqm and lowering the cap on FDI from $5 million to $10 million will encourage developers to complete their projects on time and help to fulfillment the shortage of around 25 million houses in the country of which 96% is in the economically weaker and low income segment.” - Mr. Vikas Sahani, CMD, Property Guru

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

“With the announcement to promote 100% FDI in Construction and Real Estate sector, it will definitely boost investment opportunities. Relaxation of FDI limit in construction and real estate development under the automatic route is a clear road map for inviting investments. Relaxation of limit for minimum investment is an invitation to small players and increased NRI investment. The reduction in built-up area and size of projects will allow mid-sized and smaller developers with good track records better access to FDI and boost affordable housing in the country.” - Mr. Owais Usmani, MD, Presidency Infraheights Pvt. Ltd. “The announcement of FDI in construction and real estate will boost investments in the industry, and made it an attractive sector to both domestic and foreign investors and developers. This step can open several doors to the real estate sector. In relation to township, housing development of projects under mechanical route was the first step towards promoting the participation of the foreign investors in real estate. It can say that further growth in the construction industry looks hopeful.” - Mr. Dujender Bhardwaj, Executive Director, ABCZ Builders

“This decision would definitely provide a relief to the sector and will hopefully result in smooth construction of projects with fresh FDI inflow. Availability of funds will also help developers to carry-on the projects in time and would help them to get an extra route of funding their projects which will boost largely real estate industry.” - Mr. Dhiraj Jain, Director, Mahagun Group

“This is really a welcome step taken by Modi’s government. This move to relax FDI limit will help increase the development of low-cost and affordable housing furthering the government’s vision. This move will be a boon for developers as well as real estate industry. This would also help developers get an extra route of funding their projects and it would award a momentum to Indian real estate industry.” - Mr. Aman Agarwal, Director, KV Developers “We believe affordable housing would be the biggest beneficiary of this step as funding is now allowed in projects sizing 20,000 sq meters as well. It is evident that government intends to fulfil its dream of housing for all by 2022 and these steps are aligned to that. We are happy that government is now considering real estate as an important sector and is coming out with corrective measures. We are hopeful that soon we would be given industry status as well which will further ease out the funding issues.” -Mr. Rohit Raj Modi , Hon. Sec (CREDAI NCR) & Director, Ashiana Group “The significant relaxation in the hitherto applicable terms and conditions in the case of FDI in construction is a tremendous relief to the already subdued scenario in the real estate sector.. Consequently with the influx of the money available to the projects, the progress shall be uninterrupted and shall improve the atmosphere of confidence of the buyer, whose trust has somehow shaken in the industry.” -Mr. Rajesh Goyal, MD, RG Group. “The relaxation of terms and conditions in the case of FDI in construction shall help regain the positive market sentiment as the new conditions shall pave the way for the availability of funds to carry-on the projects in time which was otherwise losing ground for one reason or the other. The market shall now become vibrant and full of activity and shall help in realizing the dream of the govt. of providing the affordable housing to the people of the country.” -Mr. Praveen Tyagi , CMD, VVIP February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Silver edge Real Estate

Scaling a New Height

Even as it is diversifying its portfolio in other verticals, Silveredge continues to climb the ladder of success.

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

Mr. Anurag Trivedi

Mr. Yogesh Bhaskar Rao

mong the tier-II cities that play pivotal role in accelerating real estate growth in the country, Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, is now positioned itself as an important epi-centre. Its growth couldn’t have been the same without contribution of real estate companies like Silveredge. Within a brief span, the company evolved from real estate consultancy to a full-fledged realtor bringing in projects and collaborating with big players in an organized and professional manner. The biggest positive point of the company is that it has an International exposure especially in Middle East Asia, the UK, U.S.A and Nigeria. Company’s main objective is the customer satisfaction. A cursory look at the company’s big stride indicates how it has collaborated in delivery of projects developed by the top notches of real estate majors like Omaxe, Ansal, Earth Infrastructure, Tulsiani , Omega etc. Even as it is diversifying its portfolio in other verticals, Silveredge continues to slowly climbing the ladder of success and earning achievements.

Donning the Mantle

However, the main propellers behind Silveredge’s stupendous growth are the three experienced young entrepreneurs, Mr. Vinay Kumar Agarwal, Mr. Anurag Trivedi and Mr.Yogesh Bhaskar Rao. These three directors have worked with the excellent team spirit and as a result Silveredge has become a force to reckon with. Under the dynamic leadership of these entrepreneurs Silveredge continues to fulfill its mission of building unique, modern and high quality living and to provide their customers the best. The Group also carries on corporate and social responsibility by being involved with several social and humanitarian activities.

Mr. Vinay Kumar Agarwal

In real estate, Mr. Vinay Kumar Agarwal is applauded for creating landmark out of virtually nothing. Hailing from a business background, Mr.Agarwal had no. of businesses before coming to real estate industry. With expertise of 18 years in the real estate industry, he played a key role in establishing companies like Omaxe, Ansal etc. Mr. Agarwal is a staunch believer in generating and nurturing management depth. He has been a key proponent in ensuring that Silveredge builds a strong core team, rich in qualification and experience and most importantly beaming with potential and vision. In a company that propagates human values and considers its people capital as its major strength. For more than a decade, 38-year-old Mr. Anurag Trivedi has been at the helm of realty sector. His professional acumen and visionary leadership has made Silveredge a standard for professionalism in the industry. Started his carrier with the Chadha Group, very soon Mr. Trivedi emerged as an important pillar of Ansal API, a household name in real estate. During this period, he won numerous awards and accolades in the field of Real estate. He is a firm believer in conducting business with integrity and values .Mr. Trivedi has been addressing the issues across industry forums and panels which have garnered positive responses from a large section of the industry. With 11 years of hands-on experience in the retail and real estate industry, Mr. Yogesh Bhaskar Rao steers Silveredge group with business acumen and foresight, placing the highest priority on ethical business principles and practices. Mr. Rao has demonstrated the ability to conceive aesthetically appealing and yet wholly saleable real estate products. He played a key role in establishing Sahara India Housing before coming to Ansal. Thanks to his assiduous effort, Silveredge which he spearheads has today grown into a diversified conglomerate encompassing property development, property management and retail. n

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Cover Story

Real Estate Sector is Optimistic

with the Budget 2015-16

All eyes will be on Mr. Jaitley to see what he has in store for the sector this budget session.

eal estate sector is considered as the mainstay of the Indian economy and correctly so; as it contributes to 6.5 percent of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gross domestic product (GDP) and employs over 50 million people making it as the second biggest employer in the country, after agriculture sector. Over the past few of decades, the sector has developed leaps and bounds and has attracted close to $25 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI). This number is expected to grow to $180 billion by year 2020. Last year saw a silence in the real estate sector with investors looking for other opportunities to invest into. High interest rates,

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

escalating property prices, rising cost of construction attached with economic slowdown and high inflation rate had pushed away the buyers. NCR was worst aďŹ&#x20AC;ected by this, narrowly trailed by Mumbai and Chennai. Jaipur emerged as the strongest over the past few years with some micro markets recording an appreciation of almost 65 percent year over year basis. Bangalore has also mounted strong chiefly because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an end user driven market. This year started on a positive note as most builders believe that buyers are back and a surprise rate cut move by RBI. With a change of guard at the centre and a buoyant attitude amongst buyers, all eyes will be on Mr. Jaitley to see what he has in store

for the sector this budget session, as this will be the first comprehensive budget of this government.

What this sector desires?

l Industry Status –How does attainment of industry status help? Amongst various other reasons, it’ll give developers access to funds at reduced interest rates and diminished insurance thereby creating housing more aﬀordable. l Elimination of multiple taxes – Presently, home buyers need to pay service tax, VAT as well as stamp duty when buying flats. Government needs to ensure the quick passage of Goods and Service Tax which will help in substituting several taxes and help the consumers. lReal Estate governing body – This is the need of hour. This sector is valued at over $50 billion currently and anticipated to grow to over $200 billion by 2020. There is a big need for an apex body which will address the concerns and look into issues from this sector. Mr. Mahipal Singh Raghav, CMD, MMR Group states that “To begin with, Industry Status has been a request that’s been put forward and ignored many times now. It’s a wonder how a sector that generates so much attention and revenue is still not recognized as an industry. This will give builders access to funds at reduced interest rates and reduced collateral thereby making housing more aﬀordable. Also, currently, home buyers need to pay service tax, VAT as well as stamp duty when purchasing flats. The Government should ensure the quick passage of Goods and Service Tax which will replace numerous taxes and help the consumers. Finally, setting up a Real Estate Governing body is much required. There is a big need for an apex body which will address the concerns and look into issues from this sector”. Mr. Kushagr Ansal, Director, Ansal Housing says “This time we are expecting the RBI to start cutting the interest rates possibly after the budget in first quarter which shall give them extra confidence on handling inflation expectations and stability in currency environment. There is a greater probability of start of rate cut cycle by RBI in the very first quarter this year which will definitely boost a number of sectors and progress corporate earnings from a medium to long term perspective. More-

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Cover Story

The sector should Be Given a Priority "We expect that the interest rate on housing loans should be lowered down by 2-2.5% to give a boom to the real estate sector. Also, giving this sector an industry status had been a long pending issue which should be thought about and given consideration to. The sector should be given a priority while framing the budget. To turn the Government's vision "Housing For All-2022" into realty, the apartments that are under or of 1000 sq. ft. should be exempted from The Income Tax Act 80I (B) because under the vision 90% of the houses are affordable. By doing so, the benefits will be directly transferred to the customers". -- Mr. RK Arora, Chairman, Supertech Limited. "We are expecting the Modi Govt to strongly demonstrate that they are serious about the infrastructure towards roads & transport business. They must increase impetus to the road & transport sectors since this has direct impact on inflation which is the key factor for India to grow @ 7% 8% GDP if it is to be achieved in the year / years ahead. It will take time for this effect to percolate down the common man and therefore strong and decisive steps need to be taken and shown at every level. The impetus to GST, infrastructure and other such efforts which are been spoken about need to be physically now demonstrated across India. If the Modi Govt has to succeed in its efforts in making “Brand India” or “Make in India” a reality – it has to ensure that India is in the Top 10 countries to do business with Ease of Effort & with the least amount of Govt & bureaucratic hurdles. Whilst the Modi Team have said these words several times since they came to office, little has been done to really bring about the change to the business community or the investor community at large." -- Mr. Areef Patel, Vice Chairman, Patel Integrated Logistics “Keeping in mind the PM’s vision of dreaming big for India to be a $20 tn economy, this budget specifically has to take important strides to ensure that the government remains focused for the development of infrastructure sector in the country. What India needs today is an increased investment in the core sectors like Power, Steel, Mining and Construction. Some of the measures, in our view, to boost the sector could be liberal guidelines for single-window clearance for the infrastructure projects and relaxation in the tenure of repayment for the Rupee loans or ECB norms for the long gestation infrastructure projects, including refinancing of their existing loans through higher tenure loans. This will release large chunk of long term funds for next level of growth for many corporates, who have faced mismatch in their earning cycle v/s repayment commitments. Some proactive measures to attract private investments by way

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

over, government is expected to pay attention on the implementation of key reforms like GST and other bills that would ignite the investment cycle that will work in the favour as well”.

What customers need?

l Reduction in home loans rates – Minister for Urban development and housing Mr.Naidu had stated that plummeting home loan interest rates would be his key focus area Financial institutions, developers and home buyers, are deeply anticipating the finance ministry’s nod to this. l Decrease in cost of registration of property – Stamp duty and Registration costs amount to 6 percent in most places, which is quite high. Decreasing the registration cost by a few basis points would greatly reduce the burden over the end customers. Alternative approach would be to adopt a slab based approach to register fee. However, stamp duty mainly comes under the jurisdiction of the state Government, an instruction from the centre to reduce the cost would definitely help. Mr. Deepak Kapoor, Director, Gulshan Homz says“The three most important drivers for the real estate sector this budget will be; RBI’s interest rate cuts, decision on the land acquisition bill and execution of single window clearance system. Whole sector is at least expecting the rates to come down so as to revive the market. There is a lot of demand in the market which is being held hard by the aﬀordability factor and we are pretty hopeful that the RBI will bring about good news for interested buyers”. Mr. Prithvi Raj Kasana, MD, Morpheus Group says “The government must focus on and ensure smooth operation of the budget session this year and try to pass as many bills as possible as the market sentiment will be determined to a large extent by how this session directs the way. Most eyes are set on the reduction of home loan rates so as to provide the required push for the sector and this budget; the chances are very high that the new government might get it done also”. Mr. Rajesh Goyal, MD, RG Group believes that “One of the prominent reasons why people hesitate while buying property

of oﬀering incentives in the form of extension of tax holiday, relief on applicability of MAT during tax holiday are also important. We would also like to see action plan to revive existing projects worth Rs. 2.5tn which are stuck due to various issues.” -- Mr. Mahesh Singhi, Managing Director, Singhi Advisors

is due to the aﬀordability factor. Even though the bank loans are easily available in recent times, owing to the Government policies, the high rates of Interest on these loans and thus huge EMIs cause reluctance among the home buyers. In the upcoming Union Budget we expect the Government to provide some relaxation in the home loan rates. This will help many in realising their dreams of owning a home by making the homes truly aﬀordable”.

What the developers want?

l Decrease the lending rate – Raising capital is a mammoth task for developers. The interest rate for builders from a bank can go as tall as 14 percent and on an average is about 12 percent and in fact; raising capital from other sources is more expensive than this. Reducing this rate of interest for builders will help in decreasing the cost of construction and in turn, bring down the cost. lProlonged approval system – Developers need to get as many as 50 signatures from various Government oﬃcials to get a project rolling. Delay in getting those clearances is one of the prime reasons for delays in projects. Any eﬀort towards reducing this, increasing transparency and rationalizing the process of getting clearances will positively impact the industry. >:Regulating the cost of raw materials – A sudden rise in the cost of construction raw materials has enforced many builders to pause their projects in many parts of South India. The cost of cement has increased by over 25 percent and prices of few other materials have doubled over the last few years. The Government must regulate these prices for at least key raw materials like cement, iron, concrete, etc. by putting upper limits on their prices. Mr. Ashok Gupta, CMD, Ajnara India Ltd. says “As India is gearing up for Make in India, the challenge greatly lies on the manufacturing industry. Over the next few decades, the construction industry will witness a massive growth globally and hence, raw materials such as cement, bricks, steel, concrete, etc. will be used in abundance. Therefore, we need to create a per-

“Suitable amendments should be made in the Income Tax Act for extending beneficial provisions for infrastructure projects to be made applicable to upgradation/extension of existing infrastructure facilities. Also, more boost and aggression is required in the bidding and completion of highway which must be supported by introducing lender friendly provisions. As regards the renewable energy sector greater incentives in the nature of tax exemptions should be oﬀered so as to instill confidence amongst the investors and suitable provisions be made in the relevant contracts to make the sector lender friendly which will definitely provide more impetus to the sector.” --Mr. Rashi Anand Suri, Partner & Head of Infrastructure Practice, SNG & Partners

fect balance between the demand and supply along with appropriate consideration for the environment. This immensely depends upon the costs of the raw materials used during construction process such as cement, iron, etc. This budget, the government needs to regulate the prices of these materials so as to curtail rising property prices”. Mr. Rupesh Gupta, Director, JM Housing says “Markets are keen and waiting eagerly for the Union Budget 2015 to be presented in February. We have a very strong belief that the upcoming budget could be a make or break event; as this would be first full budget from the new government which has spent good enough time at the centre to plan out things. Hopes are high with the Finance Minister indicating start of second-generation reforms going forward. Real estate sector will greatly benefit from this budget if loan rates are decreased by RBI. This will create a positive sentiments wave in the market which will excel the demand greatly. Other important decisions to look into will be the single window clearance system and land acquisition bill”. Mr. Arvinder Singh, MD, Agrante Realty Ltd says “The real estate sector has a long list of expectations; as this sector alone contributes more than 6 percent to the nation’s GDP. Markets are keen and waiting eagerly for the Union Budget 2015 to be presented in February. Biggest challenges for the Government are infrastructure, decreasing the lending rate, reduction in home loan rates across the nation. Further, we expect that the upcoming budget should give developers access to funds at reduced interest rates and eliminate multiple taxes; thereby creating housing more aﬀordable and in turn will help reduce the burden of the customers. Other important decisions to look into will be the single window clearance system and land acquisition bill”. n

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Economy

on a Roll: Hope It Doesn't Miss GST

the Deadline Again

Besides making it easier to do business, the introduction of GST will usher in greater transparency and accountability.

-By Achyut Nath Jha

fter several years of wrangling over the policy, mostly by States, which suspect it to be infringing on its financial autonomy, the government moved a Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha during the Winter Session to roll out Goods and Services Tax (GST).Finally, it set in motion plans

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

to launch this ambitious tax reform from April 1, 2016. Called 'biggest tax reform since 1947' by the Finance Minister Arun Jetley, the Bill incorporates a number of provisions to get the support of states. The GST subsumes a large number of central and state taxes and aims at creating a common market in India. One of the long-pending key economic reforms, it will sub-

Goods and Service Tax

-- By K. N. Thakur, DGM, Finance, NTPC

Finance Minister Arun Jetley sume central excise duties, additional excise duties, service tax, additional customs duty and special additional customs duty, valueadded tax(VAT), sales tax, central sales tax(CST), entertainment tax, octroi, entry tax and luxury tax. Once rolled out, GST will rationalise state and central indirect taxes into a harmonised tax structure. Currently, companies pay multiple taxes at the state and central levels, which raises the prices of their products, making them less competitive. Time spent in filing myriad taxes also deters investors and foreign companies from investing in India. Jaitley told the parliamentary consultative committee attached to his ministry that the switchover to the GST would benefit most states from day one. He also told emphatically that the new tax regime would reduce tax-on-tax and benefit the common man and the country at large since it would bring more transparency and better compliance besides faster GDP growth and revenue collection. Narendra Modi-led NDA government made passage of this bill a top priority. Despite consensus eluding on several occasions, Jaitley reached out to states early, so that the government could table this major legislation in time. However, as passing the bill includes an amendment to the constitution, it needs to be cleared by two-third majority in both houses of parliament. The ruling dispensation has overwhelming majority in the Lok Sabha. It means that hurdle is easy to clear. But it might run into opposition in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP is in a minority. The states' support is crucial as at least half of the state governments need to pass the bill. If the Modi government manages to get this legislation passed, it might also stem the 'disquite' among India Inc that feel Modi has been unexpectedly slow on reforms. Currently, a consumer in India is taxed more than once. He/she has to pay the CST and then comes the state's sales tax, leading to a double burden. In addition, states and union territories levy a sales tax on sale and purchase of goods. The sales tax levied is not

ne of the biggest tax reforms in India, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is all set to integrate State economies and boost overall growth. GST will create a single window to Indian market which in tern will make the economy stronger. Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitely called this as the biggest tax reforms in India in the years to come. The government moved a constitutional amendment bill in the Lok Sabha to roll out GST by taking into the consideration, points of concern raised by states in revenue sharing and other implementing obstacles latest by 1st April, 2016. The implementation of GST will lead to the abolition of multiple indirect taxes such as entry tax, octroi, Central Sales Tax(CST), State-level sales tax, stamp duty, turnover tax, tax on consumption or sale of electricity, taxes on transportation of goods and services, etc thus avoiding multiple layers of taxation that currently exist in India.

What is GST?

Goods and Services Tax(GST) is a comprehensive tax levy on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services at a national level. Through a tax credit mechanism, this tax is collected on value-added goods and services at each stage of sale or purchase in the supply chain. The system allows the set-off of GST paid on the procurement of goods and services against the GST which is payable on the supply of goods or services. However, the end consumer bears this tax as he is the last person in the supply chain. Finance pundits have opinions that GST is likely to improve tax collections and boost India's economic development by breaking tax barriers between States and integrating India through a uniform tax rate.

What are the benefits of GST?

Under GST, the taxation burden will be divided equitably between manufacturing and services, through a lower tax rate by increasing the tax base and minimizing exemptions. It is expected to help build a transparent and corruptionfree tax administration. GST will be is levied only at the destination point, and not at various points. Currently, a manufacturer needs to pay tax when a finished product moves out from a factory, and it is again taxed at the retail outlet when sold. How will it benefit the Centre and the States? It is estimated that India will gain handsomely in a year by implementing the Goods and Services Tax as it would promote exports, raise employment and boost growth. It will divide the tax burden equitably between manufacturing and services. It is based on the concept of Revenue

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Economy

Mr. K. N. Thakur, DGM, Finance, NTPC Neutral Rate which means the rate at which there will not be any loss of collective revenue to state and centre.

What are the benefits of GST for individuals and companies?

In the GST system, both Central and State taxes will be collected at the point of sale. Both components, be it central indirect taxes or state indirect taxes will be charged on the manufacturing cost. This will benefit individuals as prices are likely to come down. Lower prices will lead to more consumption, thereby helping companies. What type of GST is proposed for India? India is planning to implement a dual GST system. Under dual GST, a Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and a State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) will be levied on the taxable value of a transaction. The final decision on the rate will be taken by the GST Council to be constituted after the passage of a constitutional amendment bill. All goods and services, barring a few exceptions, will be brought into the GST base. There will be no distinction between goods and services.

Which other nations have a similar tax structure?

Almost 140 countries have already implemented the GST. Most of the countries have a unified GST system. Brazil and Canada follow a dual system where GST is levied by both the Union and the State governments. France was the first country to introduce GST system in 1954.

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uniform in nature and varies from state to state. Most states also levy tax on entry of goods. The list of taxable goods, classifications and rates are not standardised. Adherence to all these taxes is burdensome, time-wasting and often leads to corruption. Most businesses face commercial and legal hassles in this regard. The end result is that goods cost more and customers naturally seek cheaper alternatives. India already faces competition from other growing economies, such as China. The business sector has been pushing extensively for the GST. It wants a transparent, unambiguous and easy-tocomply-with tax law that will ease the pressure on industry and help growth. According to estimates by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), implementation of GST could boost economic growth by 1 to 2 percentage points, thus greatly benefiting the economy. Business enterprises such as real estate have welcomed FM’s push for GST. Rajesh Goyal, MD RG Group, says, “Introduction of GST to replace the existing multiple tax structure of Centre and State taxes is not only desirable but imperative for a developing economic state. The long standing dream of becoming “one tax nation” hopefully would be realised soon. The existing tax structure is not very consumer friendly as it levies tax on tax. The introduction of GST will simplify the tax system and will lead to dropping the compliance costs; it will also result in uniformity of prices related to good & services across the nation and simultaneously promoting the export of the same.”

Will this be an extra tax?

It will not be an additional tax. GST will include all the indirect taxes like ED, service tax, VAT, entertainment tax, luxury tax etc bunched together into one.

What will be the rate of GST?

At present, services are taxed by the centre at the rate of 12% plus cesses, goods at a standard rate of 12% and cess and concessional rate of 8%..States have standard rate ranging from 12.5% to 14.5% to concessional rate between 46%..The combination of the two comes around 26.5% to 28.5%.Tax experts are trying /suggesting a unified rate both for goods and services to ensure tax compliance.

Will goods and services cost more after this tax comes into force?

The prices are expected to fall in the long term as dealers might pass on the benefits of the reduced tax to consumers. If we go by the temperament of our Finance Minister, it is likely that this long and much awaited tax reform will definitely see the light of the day and will boost the Indian market and economic to the highest level as it has incorporated all the issues raised by states to make it friendly and a win-win situation both for centre and states.

Mr. Manish Agarwal, MD, Satya Group and Secretary, CREDAI NCR, opines, "GST will help smoothen the business process needed for the next growth happening in India. This will help businesses to be more synchronized and efficient. GST is a response to the clogged indirect tax system currently prevalent in the Country. Early adoption will give much needed boost to the economic climate." Real estate expert, Mr. Nikhil Singhal, explains, "If our country has to become the leading economic superpower, GST is vital for that. A reformed tax structure has promoted the economic activities in a big way world over and we should expect the same in India." Realtors like Mr. Aman Nagar, Director, Paras Buildtech , are much concerned about the missing deadlines for GST, saying, "We have been eagerly waiting for the roll out of GST as it is likely to reduce anomalies of tax system to the great extent. The consultative process has taken too long and any further delay will hurt both the state and industry. GST is going to play a crucial role in promoting economic growth and entrepreneurship in the country." Moreover, to make sure the GST is implemented across India, State and central governments will need to build necessary infrastructure. It requires fully computerised commercial tax departments and a unified IT system to monitor and collect the new tax. Government's seriousness about the GST can be gauged from the fact that Work on the infrastructural upgradation began two years ago. But some states moved slowly fearing revenue losses

and loss of discretionary fiscal authority. According to an estimate, Maharashtra earns more than 13,000 crore annually from octroi, and Haryana earns more than 2,000 crore from purchase tax. Naturally, these states have demanded compensation from the central government to stave off revenue loss. States have been demanding that petroleum, alcohol and tobacco be kept out of the purview of GST. States sought compensation from the centre for five years for losses they may incur on account of switching to the GST regime. Taking into account these concerns, Finance Minister reached out to all states to get their support before the bill was cleared. He offered to compensate the states for any loss of revenues for first five years following the implementation of GST. States will receive Rs.11, 000 crore this fiscal towards partial compensation of the losses suffered by them."Despite a difficult and challenging situation, I propose to release about Rs.11, 000 crore this year as a part payment of CST compensation to the states. This will take care of the amount from 2010-11 onwards. The balance amount I will start paying from the next financial year,â&#x20AC;? Jaitley said. This amount is roughly one-third of the dues. Recently some E-commerce firms such as Amazon have run into issues with regulatory authorities. Experts say that the GST will plug gaps in tax laws and resolve such problems. The GST has been hanging in balance for about seven years now. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hope the present dispensation at the centre managed to roll it out from the targeted day i.e. April 1, 2016. n

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Real Estate

Greater Noida (West)

A City Within the City

--- Mr. Shaleen Singh, Director – Goldmine Developers Pvt. Ltd.

reater Noida West (Noida Extension) is one of the key micro markets of Noida Real Estate. Other key micro markets are Noida – Gr. Noida Expressway, Central Noida, Greater Noida, Greater Noida and FNG Corridor. Spread over 3600 hectares it currently contributes more than 40% of New Launch and under construction units in Noida and around 40% to the new home sales in Noida. More than 50% units are of 2BHK, making it an ideal destination for Affordable homes. Investors here pocketed heavy returns post resolution of land acquisition row as the area has witnessed 60% of price escalation in less than 2 years. Still, it continues to be one of the most affordable destinations in Noida though. Proposed roads and metro will increase its connectivity to nearby NCR cities of Delhi including Ghaziabad & Faridabad: Road: Noida-Gr. Noida link road improves connectivity with Central Noida, Ghaziabad link road connects to NH 24, and FNG Corridor will improve the connectivity with Noida Expressway, Yamuna Expressway, Faridabad & Ghaziabad.

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Metro: 7 KM metro line will branch out from proposed sector 62 line at sector 71 and will extend till Greater Noida West. 2 Stations are proposed to be built on the Greater Noida (W) line Gr. Noida (W) will have all major essential amenities i.e. Schools, Malls, Hospitals, Parks, Bus Terminals, and Market Places apart from Offices & other work spaces. Most major players of Delhi/NCR real estate fraternity like Gaursons, Ajnara, Gulshan Homz, Supertech, Panchsheel and Sikka Group etc. are active with their projects in Greater Noida (W) apart from many new entrants to the business offering multiple choices with many USP’s and price band to pick from. A buyer should consider few things before finalizing a deal like the track record of the builder i.e. earlier delivered projects, time taken in the delivery of those projects, construction quality etc. He/she should contact established consultants to get updates about the market, the project, payment plans, loan procedures etc. and then opt for the best deal. n

Automobile

OBSERVER DAWN February 2015

375 MM Scaglietti

This 1954

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Automobile

1954 Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe won the “Best of Show” prize, the most prestigious award at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, held at the famous Carmel golf course in California. The car, which beat off a packed high-class field, was bought for 4 million Lire back in August 1954 by the film director Roberto Rossellini, although it was originally built as a race car, in the traditional red car with a “barchetta” body. It was the twelfth of fifteen 375 MM built and Rossellini drove it on the public roads, including trips to Switzerland with his wife Ingrid Bergman. The 375 MM went back to the factory after an accident that had seriously damaged its front end and was sent on to Carrozzeria Scaglietti in Modena. The repair of the car provided Rossellini and Scaglietti with the opportunity to come up with a new coupe bodywork, featuring a series of innovations, such as the front fenders which anticipated by several years, the lines of the Testa Rossa and silver paintwork which combined to make chassis 0402AM a truly unique model. The car remained in Rome until acquired by a young fan who paid 265 thousand lire for it. After that, the ex-Rossellini 375 MM passed into the hands of well-known French collector Charles Robert. It was then auctioned in 1994 and bought by Californian Mark Ketcham before it ended up with its current owner. The restoration work, which resulted in it winning the Pebble Beach competition took three years to complete, from 1995 to 1998.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

1954 Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe 1.

The fenders are closely related to Scaglietti’s iconic contemporary Testa Rossa racers. Are these possibly vestiges

19 42

of the earlier racing body fitted to this 375 MM chassis? This big scoop, too, might well have been taken from the former body. The high crown of the body recalls earlier 4.5-liter Formula 1 Ferrari shapes. Or Alberto Ascari’s Indianapolis Ferrari. The bubble roof is very much like the 300SL’s but much shorter, without quarter lights, and much less graceful, a surprise for any Italian car. The utility truck-style side window is the least attractive aspect of the body. The backlight wraps around so completely that the C-pillar is no impediment to all-around good visibility. The rising haunches of the rear fenders are the most beautiful part of the bodywork, perfectly integrated into the tail. It is surprising that these two lines are in opposition, both in disposition and in presentation. One would expect an elegant radius at the lower corners of the doors. Typical of Italian racing cars of the period, a lot of chassis mechanisms, or the frame itself, hang out the bottom of the bodywork.

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10.

11. 12. 13. 14.

The horizontal bottom of the grille is more typical of American practice in the period. Placement of the lamps, both driving and signal, is artful, and the little diagonal links from bottom to arc of the tip are elegant. The hard lines parallel to the ground are an unhappy contrast to the well-rounded bubble form of the top. The voluptuous curve of the transverse section blends well with the rounded tail, but not at all with the top of the backlight and side glass. Unlike the sharp-cut doors, the decklid is a beautifully sweeping curve in the purest tradition of Italian carrozzeriere. The downsloping tail is a poor aerodynamic shape, inducing unwelcome lift, not widely understood in the mid’50s.

15.

16. 17. 18. 19.

Beautifully placed, at exactly the right angle for formal harmony, these lamps are perfect in an aesthetic sense. Perhaps they’re not so functional today, but acceptable in 1954. The slightly squared-up wheel opening emphasizes the wheels and tires. Such visual elegance. But wire wheels are heavy and require a lot of care, and are sorely missed in serious performance cars. An anomaly, in that typically Italian practice was to paint anything below the sill line black. Leaving this extraneous “goiter” body color seems a mistake. Don’t these tires look skinny to modern eyes? Yet they have an undeniable elegance. n

15 February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Office

Office Market

Improvement in Demand for Spaces --A C&W report

ccording to Cushman & Wakefield, the top eight cities of India recorded overall net office space absorption of 32.5 msf in 2014. The overall net absorption increased 28% year-on-year (y-o-y). Ahmedabad witnessed the highest increase of 163% in net absorption albeit on a low base. Kolkata saw a decline of 33% in overall net absorption from the previous year while Mumbai and Pune recorded a marginal 6% and 4% decline respectively. Bengaluru outpacing other cities by registering 8.9 msf net absorption during the year, a growth of 87% y-o-y. Delhi-NCR recorded 6.2 msf net absorption followed by Mumbai (4.5 msf) and Hyderabad (4.4 msf). Majority of the absorption in Hyderabad during this year was driven by precommitments from previous years. Supply increased by 9% y-o-y, to a total of 36.6 msf supply in 2014. Out of this, 92% (33.6 msf) was contributed by Grade A developments. Bengaluru recorded the highest supply addition of 9.4 msf, registering a 67% increase in yearly supply. It was followed by Delhi-NCR (8.7 mf) and Mumbai (5.9 msf).

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Mr. Sanjay Dutt, Executive Managing Director, South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield said, “With the election of a stable single party government coming into power by the mid of 2014, overall business sentiments have improved with the office market seeing significant levels activities in the second half of 2014. Many companies began executing their growth strategies with greater confidence leading to improvement in demand for office spaces. We believe that demand for office will remain robust in the next two years as many companies continue to relocate and adopt workplace transformation strategies. Pick-up in hiring and growth in demand for new developments will lead to an overall improvement in absorption volumes. Rentals will continue to remain largely stable due to likely high supply addition expected in 2015, which will in-turn help many markets remain occupier favourable in the short term.” Sanjay further continued, “2014 saw a significant increase in the number of large deals with office spaces over 200,000 sf contributing to approximately 50% of the total Grade A office leas-

ing. We expect to see more such of larger space deals in the New Year with many global and national companies looking at expansion and relocation spaces. We are also expecting to see similar or even larger deal. We estimate the office Grade A net absorption to be approximately 37 msf by end of 2015.”

Ahmedabad

Overall net absorption in Ahmedabad was nearly 2.5 times more than the previous year and was noted at 1.5 msf in 2014; also exceeded one msf for the first time in the past five years. Net absorption increased significantly in 2014, due to a growing demand for quality Grade A office developments, from companies as well as local entrepreneurs. Total supply was noted at 2.3 msf in 2014, increasing by 23% from the previous year. Grade A spaces had a 90% share in the yearly absorption and saw nearly 2 msf of supply added to the city’s inventory in 2014. The IT-ITeS sector contributed 50% to the leasing activity in 2014, followed by BFSI (31%) and manufacturing (11%). Prahladnagar witnessed 37% of the total net absorption during the year. Gandhinagar and S.G. Highway also contributed around 26% to 2104 absorption. The year also witnessed some relocation from the CBD – C.G. Road to the new commercial hubs of Prahladnagar and S.G.Highway in the western parts of the city. Absorption levels are expected to increase in the next year, but infusion of similar quantum of Grade A supply as 2014 may lead to a slight increase in vacancies. Rentals are expected to maintain status quo in the next year, due to prevailing high vacancies across submarkets.

Bengaluru

Bengaluru led the positive wave in Indian commercial real estate by recording 9.1 msf of Grade A absorption in 2014; highest amongst the top eight cities. The net absorption for Grade A spaces more than doubled in Bengaluru in 2014 and 99% of 9.4 msf supply delivered in 2014 was contributed by Grade A developments. The IT-ITeS sector contributed nearly 81% of the overall leasing in 2014. Peripheral locations emerged as the major commercial hotspots in 2014 with highest contribution to leasing activity (47%). This was followed by the eastern (23%) and suburban (19%) areas. Pre-commitments remained high at 5.3 msf with major commitments from IT-ITeS occupiers in the peripheral locations of Outer Ring Road and Whitefield. Despite high supply addition, y-o-y vacancy levels dropped by nearly 1 percentage point for Grade A developments to 10.3% at the end of 2014. Bengaluru is expected to remain as a key destination for ITITeS companies entering India or trying to expand their footprint with transaction activity likely to remain high in 2015.

Chennai

Chennai witnessed a total net absorption of 2.6 msf in 2014, an increase of 15% from the previous year. Grade A developments had a 92% share (2.4 msf) in the total net absorption. Majority of the Grade A net absorption was concentrated in the suburban market of Rajiv Gandhi Salai (43%) and south-west (18%) locations. Overall net absorption constituted only 66% of the total leasing volume of 4 msf, primarily due to higher quantum of

relocations from CBD, Off-CBD and Peripheral-GST submarkets, despite rampant expansion and consolidations during the year. The IT-ITeS sector remained the major demand driver and contributed 53% to the total leasing activity in 2014. Around 2.1 msf supply was added during the year, recording a 39% y-o-y decline, of which 1.8 msf was contributed by Grade A developments. Peripheral locations along the Rajiv Gandhi Salai (RGS) such as Sholinganallur and Thoraipakkam constituted 38% of the total supply followed by 16-19% contributions each from locations in CBD, Peripheral-GST and south-west submarkets. Net absorption levels are expected to remain nearly stable with a slight upward bias in 2015. Suburban and Peripheral-RGS are likely to witness majority of the absorption in 2015. Further, due to an anticipated decline in supply, overall vacancies are expected to decline by the end of 2015 and consequently, rentals may increase marginally in certain submarkets.

Delhi-NCR

Delhi-NCR recorded an overall net absorption of 6.2 msf, with 5.7 msf contribution from Grade A developments. Net absorption levels increased by nearly 20% from the previous year, with major contribution from DLF Cyber City (17%), Sohna Road (10%) and NH-8 (10%) in Gurgaon. However, despite the improvement in net absorption, overall vacancy increased by 1.8 percentage points for Grade A spaces due to addition of 8.7 msf supply during the year; 17% higher than 2013. 69% of this supply came up in non-CBD locations of Gurgaon, followed by 13% contribution from south-east Delhi. Leasing activity increased by 25% in the year to 7.3 msf. Leasing remained dominant in IT-ITeS (46%), Consulting (8%), Telecom (8%) and BFSI (7%). Gurgaon’s CBD submarket witnessed the highest increase of 6.5% in weighted average rentals from the previous year, due to a robust demand and vacancy reaching sub 5% levels. In 2015, overall vacancy levels may remain high in Delhi-NCR due to high supply addition and comparatively lower net absorption.

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Office

Hyderabad

Hyderabad witnessed 4.4 msf net absorption in 2014, an increase of 50% from 2013. 3.7 msf net absorption was in Grade A developments, which was more than double the previous year. Major increase in Grade A net absorption was due to the significant precommitments for the 4.5 msf Grade A supply in 2014. Grade A vacancies increased by 0.7 percentage points in the year to 14.3%. Madhapur (66%) and Gachibowli (19%) had the highest share in leasing. IT-ITeS occupiers continued to drive the leasing activity with 74% share during the year. 1.3 msf of total pre-commitments were recorded in 2014, majorly driven by occupiers preferring SEZ developments in Madhapur. Net absorption is expected to remain in similar range with a slight upward bias in 2015. However, comparatively lower infusion of supply, which is already highly pre-committed, may lead to a decline in overall vacancies.

Kolkata

Overall net absorption in 2014 declined by 33% from the previous year to 795,900 sf, primarily due to subdued demand. 73% of total net absorption was in Grade A developments. Salt Lake and Rajarhat had 60% and 33% shares respectively of Grade A net absorption. IT-ITeS and BFSI sector led the demand with 44% and 16% shares in total leasing activity. Overall supply addition declined by 57% in the year to 938,900 sf with 91% contribution from Grade A developments. The decline in yearly supply could be attributed to deferment of many projects to 2015 because of subdued demand and prevailing high vacancy levels. The peripheral submarkets of Salt Lake and Rajarhat together recorded 59% of total supply addition and the remaining came in Park Circus Connector (22%) and CBD (18%) submarkets. Total Supply exceeded the total net absorption in 2014, contributing to 1.2 percentage points yearly increase in overall vacancy. Currently, Kolkata has the highest vacancy level amongst top eight cities for both All Grades and Grade A spaces, at 27.9%

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and 35.1% respectively. Weighted average rentals in Salt Lake and Rajarhat submarkets corrected by 3-5% because of high availabilities and comparatively lower demand, whilst rents in other submarkets remained nearly stable. Demand is expected to improve significantly in 2015. However, vacancies may continue to remain high because of significant supply addition.

Mumbai

Mumbai recorded an overall net absorption of 4.5 msf, with 84% contribution from Grade A developments. Net absorption in All Grades and Grade A developments declined by 6% and 17% during the year due to lower transaction activity in the first two quarters. Due to the low rentals prevailing in Thane-Belapur Road, 31% of the total net absorption was seen in the location due to high demand from IT-ITeS occupiers. Other prominent submarkets such as Lower Parel (17%), Andheri-Kurla (12%) and Thane (10%) also contributed significantly to net absorption during the year. Transaction activity during the year was driven by IT-ITeS (29%) and BFSI (28%) sectors alongwith sizeable contribution from manufacturing (16%), pharmaceuticals (7%) and consulting (7%) sectors. Overall supply increased by 30% from the previous year and was noted at 5.9 msf with 5.3 msf contribution from Grade A developments. IT Parks (48%) led the supply addition, followed by commercial spaces (43%) and SEZs (9%). Occupiers continued to relocate from the CBD to suburban locations during the year, contributing to an increase in vacancies in the submarket. This increase in vacancy combined with subdued demand led to 9% y-o-y decline in weighted average rentals for CBD in 2014. Rentals in all other submarkets remained stable in 2014, as compared to the previous year. Demand is expected to improve in 2015, which is evident from the number of request for proposals

floating in the market. Prevailing high vacancy levels may largely keep rentals stable, except for a few markets such as Lower Parel, Andheri and Goregaon where rentals could appreciate due to continued demand and low availability of quality spaces.

Pune

Pune recorded total net absorption of 3.6 msf with 78% contribution from Grade A developments. The net absorption level remained nearly at the same level as the previous year. Major quantum of this leasing was concentrated in commercial locations such as Yerwada (26%), Kharadi (14%) and Hinjewadi (13%). IT-ITeS and BFSI sectors dominated the leasing activity during the year with 55% and 22% shares respectively. Out of the total 2 msf of supply added in 2014, only 1.1 msf was contributed by Grade A developments, registering 66% y-o-y decline as many major project completions were deferred to next year due to construction delays. 96% of the Grade A supply was contributed by IT buildings. The vacancy level for SEZs declined to single digits in 2014 due to significant pick-up in demand for such developments and no new supply addition. Additionally, 94% of the total 1.96 msf precommitments recorded in 2014 was in under construction SEZ spaces. Grade A vacancies declined by nearly 6.5 percentage points in a year to 17.5% due to steady transaction activity and high decline in new supply. All Grades vacancy levels also dipped by more than 4 percentage points during the same period and were noted at 22.1%. Net absorption levels are expected to improve significantly in 2015 due to delivery of quality supply, high level of pre-commitments and an overall improvement in the business sentiments. However, due to significant supply addition currently scheduled to be operational in 2015, vacancy levels are expected to increase. n

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

Opinion

Affordable Housing

Will Be the Buzzword

As a major chunk of the Indian population lives on average incomes, real estate firms have started focusing more on boosting the segment of ‘Affordable Housing’, in the country. --By Mr Gaurav Yadav, Director Udayhomz

ncreasing population and escalating urbanisation have significantly reduced the area for developing houses in the country. Although modernisation has made inroads into far reaching corners, there are still various sections of society that survive on a meagre income that is not enough to afford even the basics. Due to myriad socio-economic factors, there are many who are striving hard to make housing decisions that are in sync with their income. As a major chunk of the Indian population lives on average incomes, real estate firms have started focusing more on boosting the segment of ‘Affordable Housing’, in the country. The term ‘Affordable Housing’ is related to the housing sections that can be afforded by those people of the society who earn median or less than median income. As India is a developing country, a large number of peoplestill survive on medium or low disposable income which doesn’t allow them to purchase houses at the prevailing rate.Affordable housing meets the needs of such households efficiently. If the housing price does not cross 30% of the total income of a household, then the housing can be said to be largely affordable in India. But if the cost exceeds, then the housing becomes unaffordable for the low or median income households. The increasing demand for affordable housing has urged real estate players to woo builders to develop such projects in the country in order to cater to the huge number of people who fall

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under the category of low or median income earners. By providing suitable options for people to live in, affordable housing protects them against skyrocketing housing prices. The government, in its bid to encourage affordable housing is also facilitating people with loans that are easy and hassle-free to obtain. This is encouraging real estate developers to offer housing plans that accommodate the acceptance of loans and payment in installments from credible lending sources. It is estimated that, by the year 2025, half of the population will settle in urban cities for growth in income and for better lifestyles. This will probably result in dearth of affordable houses in the country. In order to address this looming problem, real estate giants are taking up new ‘Affordable Housing’ projects that will not only lead to an upsurge in their sales but also provide people with the basic needs of life. This is the reason why, affordable housing has become a buzzword in the realm of real estate and also among potential customers. With various problems like unavailability of land, inadequate city planning and lack of finances for the middle-class, the industry is finding it hard to serve and satisfy the customers belonging to the median or low income group. In such a scenario, it becomes necessary for players to launch ground-breaking housing models by judiciously utilising the available resources. Without compromising on the quality of houses, the companies need to rev up the development of houses in order to build and

retain loyalty of their patrons. The concept of Affordable Housing is attracting hordes of people to opt for such properties to save themselves from the threat of exorbitant market prices. It is the immense effort of Housing Partners, Government, Investors, Private Sector and NGO Partners that lay the foundation for a successful low-cost housing project. The burgeoning problems related to affordable housing in the country can be best addressed when the collaborative efforts of the aforementioned entities are put into action. The pillars of the real-estate industry often witness tumultuous times due to various economic problems. Affordable housing is one way to revive and reinvent the realty sphere of the country at such times. By giving them cost-effective and quality-centric houses to live in, the real estate segment is taking concrete steps to retain the loyalty of majority of the country’s citizens.

‘Smart City’ tag to boost realty prospects

‘Smart City’, a seemingly global phenomenon in contemporary realty parlance, refers to those cities that are designed smartly and equipped with modern technologies to cater to the denizens of today. In order to enhance the lifestyle of urban people, the concept has gained immense importance in the eyes of real-estate players. Being engaging in nature, Smart Cities house various facilities to combat the daily challenges of life. The Smart city trend is developing rapidly in the country owing to the immense benefits that such a city provides to its dwellers. With the whole world turning into a Global Village due to the penetration of high-end technology in every nook and cranny of the globe, people now look for global standards of living and smart solutions to their problems. This is slowly giving an upward swing to the trend. The changing times demand cities that transform from conventional to being Smart. Smart cities provide an elevated living experience to the dwellers, be it in terms of safety, security, facilities and much more. Intelligent and futuristic cities enable economic, social as well as cultural development, drive innovations, embrace changes and support citizen participation. These cities are crime-free and back creative industries. They create such systems that have the capability to address daunting challenges of urban life. Enhanced monitoring of environmental problems, improved transportation and global networking are what set

Smart Cities apart from other cities

Smart Cities encompass smart architecture, smart infrastructure, smart amenities and a lot more things that are practical and convenient enough to deliver a satisfying living experience to the public. In fact, Smart Cities will be connected to nature unlike most of the urban cities in India. Giving residential spaces an eco-friendly edge, renewable sources of energy will be used to generate electricity and carry out the daily household chores. Going green will be unutilised and unique surfaces like walls and other unexplored but high potential zones like the sea that offer ample space for a manicured garden! The concept of ‘smart’ will encompass everything right from the city’s infrastructure, architecture to the interior design. Compact furniture to make a small space look big, furniture and sanitary ware that features digital sensors, construction aided by 3D printers are set to revolutionise living spaces and enhance people’s mindset and moods, with aplomb. The cities will also offer protection and security against natural disasters, providing dwellers with a hassle-free and peaceful life. Smart urban planning will entail strategically engineered water purification systems, ergonomically and technologically advanced facilitation and equitable distribution and consumption of energy. Hence the tag of ‘Smart City’ is what every realty player looks for, to bolster their operations and shoot up the growth of the company. Seeing people’s increasing attraction towards the concept of ‘Smart City’, various real-estate giants are striving hard to grab the tag of ‘Smart City’ in order to draw the attention of their potential customers and also to survive in the highly volatile market. The government is also taking concrete initiatives to develop ‘Smart Cities’ in the country. Based on ground-breaking models, these cities are going to be the ‘Next Big Thing’. The last budget under PM Narendra Modi mandates the building of 100 smart cities to uplift and upgrade habitation across satellite and small towns equally. This is the reason why scores of real-estate companies are in a tug-of-war to obtain the coveted tag of ‘Smart City’. The tag will help them clock more revenue, boost realty prospects and also enable them garner tremendous relevance in coming times. The challenging tag of ‘Smart City’ however requires real-estate companies to have effective strategies in place and a long-term vision to bring such a concept to fruition. n

February 2015 OBSERVER DAWN

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