Puppalaguda Plot For Immediate Sale ***UPDATE*** SOLD OUT

I am the owner of this plot and I need to sell it for financial reasons. I have two plots here and I am planning to sell one plot.

Plot Details:

Size: 253 Sq Yards 40x57 (Plot No: 12)
Facing: East/West Facing, 30 Feet Road on West Side and 25Feet Road on East Side
Price: Expected 13,500/Sq. Yard - a little bit negotiable
Location: Puppalaguda/Manikonda

Main Road: The plot is around 200 feet away from the main road that goes from Manikonda to Narsingi. This road will be widened to 80 feet Main Road in very near future.

IDBI Bank has approved loans for this plot - this speaks for itself that this plot is clear from all legal aspects. I purchased the plot by availing loan from IDBI Bank. One can also take loan from IDBI Bank if meet requirements.

Nearest Points:

1. The plot is around half-kilometer away from the prestigious Lanco IT Park at Manikonda. The construction of the Lanco IT Park is already in progress.
2. The plot is less tan 2 KM from Oakridge International School, Delhi Public School and also Future Kids School
3. The plot is less than 3 KM from Ramanaidu Studios at Nanakramguda
4. The plot is 4KM away from Financial District surrounded by IT Companies Infosys, Microsoft, Wipro, Polaris, Computer Associates, Indian School Of Business, Kanbay, UBS, Franklyn etc.
5. Opposite to Secratriate Colony
6. Nearest Colonies: Anjali Gardens, OU Employees colony, Dream Valley,Huda Colony, Alkapoor township, LIC Colony, Pioneer, Fair fields, Puppalaguda, Manikonda, Friends colony, Lanco Hills etc
7. Around 6KM from Jubilee Hills, 4KM From Gachibowli, 2KM from Kajaguda/Old Mumbai Highway Junction, 7KM from Hitec City, 7KM from Mehdipatnam, 4KM from Tolichowki, 3KM from Outer Ring Road

Paupplaguda/Manikoda are the HotSpots these days due to their close distance to very good residential colonies, famous schools and IT companies. Plot rates are already touching around Rs 50,000 per sq yard around Hitec City. Expect the same once the Lanco IT Park contruction completes and Outer Ring Road is in place.

The construction of the Outer Ring Road First Phase already started, which will run from Gachibowli to Shamshabad Airport. You can now see the construction in progress.

East-West facing and two roads on each side - its a premium. The plot is very good for Immediate construction. You will see all constructed houses from the plot. Houses of few film personalities like Chandrabose, Chandra Mohan, Maradhuri Raja, Harikrishnas daughter etc are 0.5 KM away from this plot.

Please contact me if you are serious about buying a property in the hot location of Hyderabad. Brokers please excuse me.

Contact:
In USA, Pradeep
770-355-0451
or
In India, please contact my uncle Mr M.Sudhakar (Additional SP) 91-9440627006

"Dream Hotel" Brand Enters Hyderabad & Other Metros

Prominent Indian American Indian hotelier and NRI entrepreneur Sant Singh Chatwal is now planning to pump in Rs 1,000 crore ($215 million) to set up a chain of boutique hotels under his "Dream Hotel" brand in five Indian cities and hopes to have at three least up and running less than two years from now.

"We are looking at properties in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. We should close at least three deals by the end of the year and have them running 18 months from then," Chatwal said. Each hotel will have 200-400 beds.

"We have been working on the project for the last one year and are confident of getting the necessary clearances soon," Chatwal told IANS in a telephonic interview from Bangkok, where he has just opened the first of the "Dream" range of hotels.

"The formal announcement of hotel business debut in the Indian market will be made by this year-end. I have almost closed the deal for one property and ‘am in advanced negotiations for two others. In all, I will be investing Rs 1,000 crore to set up these three hotels," Chatwal told ToI.

Chatwal's $750 million Hampshire Hotels & Resorts, which has a presence in the US, Canada and UK, runs 13 hotels offering between them 3,000 rooms in the US, making him the biggest independent operator in the country. The Thailand venture is his first foray into Asia where, apart from India, he also aims to establish a presence in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

The first Dream Hotel in India, Chatwal said, will be operational by the end of 2007 or early 2008. "All the five hotels will be green field properties and will be built from scratch. Like the US properties, the Indian and other Asian ventures will be built and managed in-house, with the money being raised through a combination of internal resources and market borrowings."

To go by what Chatwal has created in Bangkok, it will truly be a dream experience for guests when the Indian hotels open their doors. "It will be your dream, we'll just provide the room service," he explained tantalisingly.

"As the elevator door opens, you are in a world dedicated to dreams. Indigo blue corridors of soft, washed lights lead you to your room. Plasma TV, iPods, DVD players and WiFi connections make for a business-like atmosphere. And, when it's time to retire, ethereal lighting seeps from under the bed, giving you the impression of floating on a cloud," Chatwal elaborated.

"The entry into the Indian market is part of our plan to expand out global footprint in the hospitality industry, under which the first Asian property was inaugurated this week in Bangkok. Besides, efforts are underway to establish similar boutique hotels in Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur,' said Chatwal -- one of the most influential Indians in Manhattan and known to be close to the Clintons and Democratic Party.

The Dream Hotel properties in India, sources said, will be planned on the same lines as their New York counterparts, with branded Deepak Chopra Ayurvedic Health Spas to boot.

Apart from speciality food outlets and bars, the hotels will also boast a spa offering a luxurious air-conditioned environment and superior treatments suites like steam rooms and showers. Adjacent to this will be a gymnasium with a full selection of high-quality equipment and personal trainers.

The hospitality venture is, in a way, Chatwal's second coming into the business arena in India. Around two decades back, the family had established a restaurant in the country, which had failed to take-off. "Things have changed now and India today is on the verge of a boom. This is the right time to be here."

Sources:
Times Of India

Telugu Portal

ITC Opens Choupal Fresh's First Fresh-Farm Produce Store In Hyderabad

Godrej has done it, Reliance plans to do it, and so do the Birlas. Now Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) has opened its first farm-fresh produce store in Hyderabad.

The 2,500 square-foot ITC store in Hyderabad combines retail with wholesale. Choupal Fresh's first store, with its own cold chain, opens at 0500 hrs IST every day to supply to wholesale and retail clients.

It's the first of 140 stores ITC plans to open in 54 Indian cities over the next three years. That's an investment of Rs 800 crore.

ITC has designed the supply chain in collaboration with Ingersoll Rand and Mitsubish's Snowman.

CEO of ITC's Agri business S Sivakumar says, "Ingersoll Rand has designed the climate-control shelves, the freezer trucks in which farmers send produce, the pre-coolers, and Snowman manages the logistics of the produce. We have apples from Kashmir and potatoes from Hassan."

The store stocks only fresh fruit and vegetable, sourced directly from farmers. And it expects the organised retail market for fresh produce will touch Rs 5,000 crore in the next three years. That coincides with the culmination of its expansion.

Sources:
MoneyControl.com

Microsoft's New Building Inaugurated At Hyderabad Campus

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Wednesday inaugurated here the second phase of Microsoft campus that reflects the IT major's continued commitment to India.

The new facility of 395,000 square feet, which was completed in a record time of 13 months, has come up at the 50-acre campus at Gacchibowli.

The campus, which can seat 3,000 employees, hosts three major businesses of Microsoft in the country - Microsoft India Development Centre (MSIDC), Microsoft Global Delivery Centre India (GDCI) and Microsoft Global Services India (MGSI).

The new building will house the teams of GDCI and MGSI. The first phase comprised 360,000 sq. ft. of office space.

The two buildings are five-storey rectilinear structures with a blend of Indian and international architectural styles. It is a reflection of the Microsoft campus in Redmond, equipped with high bandwidth network infrastructure and world-class facilities.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said his government would provide all assistance to the IT sector. He also assured Microsoft of the government's help in its efforts to protect intellectual property rights.

"This state-of-art campus is one of the best I have seen in the world and I am extremely impressed by the amenities Microsoft is providing for its employees" he said.

Srini Koppolu, vice president and managing director of MSIDC, said Microsoft would provide 7,000 jobs by 2007 in India as against 4,000 people currently employed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad.

"The new building reinforces our continued commitment to Andhra Pradesh and our long-term investments in India. All the six business units of Microsoft in India are making strategic and innovative contributions to Microsoft's global business growth and helping India take a leadership position in the emerging knowledge economy" he said.

Sources:
DailyIndia.com

Godrej Properties Eyes Hyderabad, May Sign Deal Soon

Godrej Properties, the real-estate arm of Godrej group, is planning to enter Hyderabad. It is in advanced stage of negotiations with Bhagyanagar (earlier known as Bhagyanagar Metals), promoted by Surana group, to take over 12 acres in Hyderabad or form a JV, to develop the property market.

When contacted by ET, a senior Godrej official said they are in talks with various developers including Bhagyanagar. However, Narender Surana, managing director, Bhagyanagar, declined to comment on the development. Bhagyanagar’s Hyderabad property is valued at around Rs 120 crore.

Over the past two years, property prices in Hyderabad and its outskirts have spiralled. The prices, which were hovering around Rs 500 per sq ft few years back, soared from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per sq ft. Most of the demand came from IT companies, which preferred the city to any other city in the country.

The failure of Information Technology Park in Bangalore due to infrastructure-related snags has helped the demand soar. Industry officials said Hyderabad is providing the most suitable base for all IT activities. With majors like Microsoft, Oracle, Bann Info, Wipro, DE Shaw, Citicorp, Intergraph, Satyam Computers and Metamor Graphics, among others, entering the city territory, the local property market has seen a lot of takers.

Sources said last week that IT firm Visual Soft has also formed a JV with Bhagyanagar to develop a Rs 375 crore IT park project in Hyderabad. Bhagyanagar, which had restructured its operations earlier this year, along specific business lines and also diversified into real estate development.

As part of this diversification plan, it has embarked on development of properties and has acquired properties in Bangalore and Kolkata. The company is also planning to invest about Rs 300 crore in Hyderabad and focus on commercial projects like malls and residential complexes, Bhagyanagar officials said. The company is also negotiating with various private equity players to mobilise the required fund.

The Andhra Pradesh government is setting up the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in association with Microsoft, Oracle, Satyam Computers and Metamor Graphics.

Further, the state government has also earmarked Rs 1,500 crore for Hitech City in order to provide conducive base to IT companies. According to experts, Hyderabad is offering a clutch of incentives for investments in IT.

Sources:
Economic Times

HC To Huda: Maintain Status Quo On Kokapet

A division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday directed the State government to maintain status quo on Kokapet lands which the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (Huda) recently auctioned for Rs 703 crores. The court said the order will not preclude the successful bidders from depositing the bid amount as per the terms of the Huda auction. Our correspondent reports that the Huda, which has collected Rs 430 crores from the bidders, has fixed a September 30 deadline for depositing the remaining amount. “The bidders were supposed to pay the entire amount in three instalments, and two of those instalments are already up. On request from the bidders we have extended the deadline for the final payment from August 24 to September 30,” Huda secretary P. Venkatarama Reddy told this newspaper.The civic body is now preparing to file a counter before September 11.

The Huda is of the view that the auction was to mobilise resources for mega infrastructure projects and was in tandem with the earlier observations of the court that the best way of disposing government lands was through open auctions. The High Court bench issued the status quo orders following a writ appeal filed by one K.S.B. Ali. Mr Ali complained that the government had auctioned the lands without having valid titles and ownership. Mr Ali had earlier filed a writ claiming that he was the owner of 1,635 acres in Kokapet including the one auctioned by the Huda. A single judge had dismissed the petition on the ground that a disputed question of fact in regard to the title cannot be decided by the High Court. “Mr Ali has been fighting against the government and private land owners since 1954 and at no stage were his claims entertained by the government,” Mr Venkatarama Reddy told this newspaper.

Sources:
AndhraVision.com

Suven Life Sciences To Build New Discovery Site At Nandigama Village On The Outskirts Of Hyderabad

Suven, Eli Lilly Ink Deal

HYDERABAD: Global drug major Eli Lilly has chosen city-based drug discovery company, Suven Life Sciences, to conduct pre-clinical research for a nervous system disorders (CNS) drug, with the goal of identifying potent, oral compounds that selectively modulate the specified G-Protein coupled receptor for the target CNS disease.

Eli Lilly will make upfront investments on drug research by Suven, with the express objective of identifying three different compounds within the next 18 months. About 35 scientists will work on the project, Venkat Jasti, vice-chairman and CEO, Suven, told DNA Money.

Suven will receive payments from Lilly and potentially downstream payments if the identified candidates are selected for further pre-clinical research and development.

“If and when the product becomes a success, Suven will receive downstream royalties five to six years from now,” Jasti said, adding this was the first true research collaboration where a global major has trusted the capabilities of an Indian company.

The company will be also be paid a success fees on completion of the studies, along with bonuses for exceeding targets on various parameters.

Suven, which currently has 125 scientists working on drug discovery, is investing Rs 50 crore to build a new discovery site with a capacity for 400 scientists. The new facility will come up at Nandigama village on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, it expects to file an investigation new drug application (INDA) in the US and Europe early next year for its promising lead compound 5-HT-6, which has completed pre-clinical trials.

Suven, which focuses on drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression and Parkinson's disease, employs 190 people in research and development.

About Eli Lilly & Co

In May 1876, Col. Eli Lilly, a U.S. Civil War veteran, founded the company that bears his name. Eli Lilly and Company quickly became one of the first companies to initiate a bona fide pharmaceutical program, hiring a young chemist to function as a full-time scientist, using and improving upon the newest techniques for quality evaluation.

Eli Lilly and Company now enters its 130th year of business, with Headquarters at Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Eli Lilly and Company is a leading, innovation-driven corporation committed to developing a growing portfolio of best-in-class and first-in-class pharmaceutical products that help people live longer, healthier and more active lives.

Lilly products treat depression, schizophrenia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, osteoporosis and many other conditions.

To name a few...

The most significant breakthrough in diabetes care since the 1920s was marked by Lilly's 1982 introduction of Humulin insulin identical to that produced by the human body. Humulin is the world's first human-health-care product created using recombinant DNA technology. Lilly later applied this technology to the introduction of Humatrope, a new therapy for growth hormone deficiency in children.

Lilly's antidepressant Prozac®, the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor introduced into the United States to treat depression, is included on Fortune magazine's "Products of the Century" list that recognizes innovative products from several categories. Prozac was introduced to the United States market in 1988 and has been used by more than 35 million people from 1988 to 2000.


About Suven Life Sciences Ltd

Suven Life Sciences provides world-class Drug Discovery and Development Support Services (DDDSS) and Contract Research and Manufacturing Services (CRAMS) to the Global Life Sciences industry through it's India centric delivery model.

Suven has provided 18 Global Life Science majors over the past decade. It's infrastructure includes two cGMP complaint manufacturing facilities and a pilot plant with state-of-the-art R&D center.

It is located in the city of Hyderabad, whic is known the world over as the Pharma Capital Of India. It's manufacturing facilities are located at Suryapet, API's near Sangareddy and R&D and pilot plant at Jeedimetla in the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Sources:
Daily News & Analysis - DNA Money
Eli Lilly
Suvens Life Sciences

AMD Plans $500 mn In SemIndia SEZ (Fab City Project)

Fab City Gets Even More “Fab”ulous

World’s second largest computer chip maker Advanced Micro Devices is planning to invest about $500 million in SemIndia’s proposed chip manufacturing facility near Hyderabad.

AMD will invest $500 million in SemIndia’s Special Economic Zone for making silicon chips that would require a total investment of up to three billion dollars, official sources said.

Apart from AMD, Singapore-based Flextronics has already announced it would pick up a minority stake in the venture.

Of the three billion dollar investment, one billion dollars would come through equity and the rest through debt.

Besides equity, the US chip giant will also provide technology to SemIndia for the manufacturing facility.

Sources said the SEZ scheme has been a big draw among technology companies, with some of the biggest names in the industry either already announcing plans or planning ventures. Nearly two-three billion dollars is expected to flow into these IT SEZs by December 2007, they said.

Flextronics, a contract manufacturer, will also invest $100 million for a 250 acre SEZ at Sriperembudur in Tamil Nadu. Finnish telecom handset major Nokia has already started production at its SEZ in Tamil Nadu, where it will pump in a total of $100 million.

US telecom major Motorola and world’s largest computer maker Dell have also plans to invest $100 million each in SEZs in the country. Online search engine Google has lined up an expenditure of $500 million for a SEZ, while Accenture will spend $200 million.

With these latest developments, future and scope for the “Fab City” seems much brighter in the near future with more proposals coming along the way.

Real Estate value in this region has already gone up manifold and shows no sign of slowing down anytime despite the recent activity of Telangana issue and political fallout aftermath.

Sources:
Business Standard
AndhraCafe

Nita Ambani Designing Reliance's "Feel Fresh" and "Feel Fresh Plus" Stores

The next one week is going to decide a lot of things as far as Reliance Industries’ entry into the retail business is concerned. While it is well known that the retail juggernaut will begin from Hyderabad next month with two kinds of stores, little has been said about the branding, design and the layout of these stores.

This is where Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani’s wife Nita comes into the picture. Reliance insiders say Nita is expected to play a key role in conceptualising these stores. In fact, the entire branding exercise for the retail venture, the layout and design of each store and even the colour scheme to be adopted in the communication strategy for retail is expected to be decided over the next few days by her. And if reports are to be believed, she may also join Reliance Retail formally, to spearhead these activities.

Nita is, in fact, expected to play a crucial role in Reliance’s sourcing model, based on rural business hubs (RBHs). These RBHs will not only act as nodal points for procurement of fresh produce, but also provide a host of services to farmers like education and healthcare. And these activities are expected to be directly under Nita’s supervision.

Not only will Nita look after the branding and layout of retail stores, she is also expected to have a direct interface with the 4.5 lakh people Reliance may recruit to power the retail engine.

She, along with Mukesh, is expected to hold a meeting of all the retail business heads next week for drawing up a comprehensive strategy.

Meanwhile, Reliance is expected to roll out “Feel Fresh” and “Feel Fresh Plus” stores from Hyderabad next month. The Feel Fresh stores will stock fresh fruits, vegetables and staples (such as wheat, atta, rice, etc) and will be spread over 3,000-5,000 square feet.

Feel Fresh Plus stores will, however be spread over 10,000-15,000 sq ft, and stock fruit and vegetables as well as apparel, consumer electronics, FMCG items and even medicines. From Hyderabad, these stores will travel to Mumbai and Delhi where Reliance has identified up to 80 locations each.

But even as the retail debut will kick off with fruits and vegetables, it seems the company is doing a rethink on whether to get into the larger formats such as hypermarkets and supermarkets. These two formats require over 1 lakh square feet of space and may not come up at prime city locations. Instead, Reliance is contemplating tapping alterative sites such as the SEZs for opening hypermarkets.

Sources:
Daily News & Analysis

Aliens Valley at Gachibowli

Luxury homes, stunning apartments, abundant landscaping, convenience stores, cafes, club house with gymnasium facilities, basketball & squash courts, snooker/pool table, swimming pool and more make Aliens Valley a neighbourhood full of character and alive with interest.

Aliens Valley is Cyberabad’s new address to world-class living offering amenities to suit the most discriminating buyers. Situated in easy access and yet far enough in the open and serene habitat, each house takes the advantage of urban dwelling to answer ‘comfort’ at its best for you and your family.

The world of ‘Aliens'. Your answer to make a statement with your living! A neighbourhood designed with quality living in mind.

Now Bookings Open ..!!

Location Map
Brochure
Price List

About Aliens Group:

Aliens Developers, part of Aliens Group, is a growing property development and management company in the real estate scenario of Hyderabad. At Aliens developers, we believe in providing futuristic experience to every customer through our ultra modern visions. We are a full service, design-build real estate company offering construction experience, design development/execution and customer service within the time frames set for our customers.

We understand the needs of the changing world and develop properties targeted towards today's fast track cosmopolitan dweller. By virtue of our successful past and current activities, Aliens group today is a well-known name in Hyderabad 's property development market.

A combination of intuitive design and construction experience to create visually discrete, exclusive homes and apartment communities is what describes Aliens philosophy at its best. The Group aims to deliver high class, modern, sustainable developments that are commercially successful and also demonstrate social and environmental responsibility.

Quality, Service, Integrity, Experience, Teamwork. These are the footsteps which we follow in making every project a success. Our foundation stone has been laid on positive ethos with a strong entrepreneurial team boasting broad experience and expertise. And our growth and success has been instrumental through a team of in-house professionals including planners, project managers, quantity surveyors, legal, financial, marketing, care and support professional. This team effort and right attitude towards our work and service helps us translate into more satisfied customers in every task undertaken.

Source:
www.aliensgroup.in

Hyderabad Attractions Series - 11

Paradise Restaurant... Hmmm... Mouth-Watering Hyderabad Biryani ..!!!

Ask Any one in Hyderabad, where to get a nice Biriyani, the most common answer is Paradise! Paradise is a Restaurant Situated in Secunderbad which is Known for the Biriyani it serves. This is the place to go if you want to taste authentic Hyderabad Biryani. The quantity and quality of the meal is worth the money paid.

The Hyderabadi biryani is a delicacy that has the Nawabi moniker stamped all over it and one with fans all over the globe. The aroma and taste of this distinct feature of the 400-year-old city, as old as Hyderabad itself, that first emanated from the Nizam's kitchen along with `mirchi ka salan' and accompanying delicacies remains the same, good old and lip-smacking.

Padadise has many restarants, from the basic Take away to the Premium, Peris GOLD.

There is one basic restarant in the Ground Floor, Where Service is QUICK and the waiters themselves collect the bill. Tipping is included in the bill.(I mean the waiters will take Rs.5 - 10 while returning the change)

Then there is Paradise Garden, which is partially open Air. Same Biriyani but with better Service. One gets decent table service and nominal price. On the open-air patio, one can enjoy the hustle and bustle of the traffic around.

Then comes Paradise GOLD and MINI GOLD. Premium restaurants, Air conditioned and Well served. The price is Premium for the same Biriyani U get in Ground Floor. But the Ambiance is good, and suggested for a long, calm dinner. This is probably the most expensive place to eat at Paradise.

This Restaurant is in Secunderabad since 1950’s ,it used to be only a tea stall for a paradise theatre in front of it. The theatre collapsed but the tea stall flourished. There is a big pin up in the Restaurant of How the area looked in 1950.

Overall, Paradise restaurant is an experience which is not to be missed if you visit Hyderabad. Very reasonable prices and great Hyderabad Biryani! It is a very clean place with an excellent atmosphere!


Standing Witnesses:

Hyderabad biryani and one particular restaurant, which has been serving it for over 50 years in the city, now seem to be growing favourites among visiting VIPS.

If it was Gandhi family scion Rahul Gandhi who had walked into Paradise Hotel's Persis Gold restaurant a few months back along with his friends to taste the famed Hyderabadi biryani, it was Mauritius Vice-President Abdool Rauf Bundhun, his wife and a few delegates from the island nation who visited the eatery in January 2006.

"We had a delicious biryani on Eid Day. Felt very much at home!" Mr. Bundhun wrote on the visitor's diary.

The visitors, of course, made their special preference for Hyderabadi biryani known as soon as the starters were over, according to the hotel authorities.

"They started off with normal kebabs before asking for Hyderabadi biryani, which they enjoyed thoroughly," hotel staff says.

"Our place is a landmark as far as food-lovers are concerned and we are happy that we are able to satisfy their tastes," a hotel official says.

Few other best places to check out Hyderabad Biryani:
Bawarchi RTC X Roads, Hyderabad House, Madeena, Bassera, Garden Restaurant (close to Paradise), Aristo - RTC X RD, Niagara Restaurant, Azizia, Madina (near Charminar - the original), The Nizam Club, Banjara Darbar, Deccan Park-ITC kakatiya sheraton and Narmada.

**** A must have after Biryani - Khubani-Ka-Meetha and Paan. A great Hyderabadi tradition. ****

Sources:

www.hindu.com

www.mouthshut.com

The Nuances Of Law With Regard To Taxation Of Self-Occupied Property

The taxation of "Income from House Property" is an example of notional income being charged to tax under the Income-tax Law. The most interesting aspect of taxability under this head is that the tax is imposed irrespective of whether the property is let out or whether in reality any income is earned or not. At least in the case of a property, which is let out, one may justify himself that the tax is paid only on the rental income generated.

There are many instances where self occupied properties or vacant properties are subject matter of taxation, even though they have not generated any real income. Therefore, it is more prudent to say that the head "Income from House Property" is not a tax on income but a tax on the "annual lettable value" of the property owned by a person. It needs mention that under the Income-tax Law, in case a property is categorised as self-occupied property, the Annual Value shall be deemed as "NIL" resulting in zero tax liability. This article analyses the nuances of the Law with regard to taxation of Self Occupied Property.

What is a Self Occupied Property?

A property, which may be used by the owner for "own residence", is considered to be a self-occupied property. " Own residence" would require the owner of house to reside in such house. However, there may be a situation where the owner does not stay continuously in a property, still it would be considered as a self occupied property for Income-tax purposes. In such cases the onus is on the assessee to furnish the evidence on record to show that he retains the said house for self-occupation. For example, Mr.A, owner of a property in Srilanka which is occupied by his daughter and son-in-law can claim it to be self occupied property under the Indian Tax Law, so long as the evidence on record suggest that the house was retained for personal occupation. Documents such as pass port/ Number of visits to Srilanka in a year could be used as evidence.

On the other hand, there may be a situation where Mr.A, who is the owner of a property, shifts his residence to his father's house to take care of his health. In such cases, Mr.A, cannot claim the annual value of his property as NIL, as it is not in his occupation.

Vacant properties

Apart from self-occupied property, the annual value of vacant properties owned by an assessee shall be considered to be NIL. However, such vacancy shall be on account of :

* employment elsewhere; or

* engaged in business or profession elsewhere;

In case a person who owns a property in Chennai, vacates the property and moves to Bangalore on account of employment, the annual value of the property at Chennai continues to enjoy exemption from taxability. This position does not alter even in case where he buys another property in Bangalore for self- occupation. In such cases he enjoys exemption for both the properties.

On the other hand, an assessee being an owner of a house and residing elsewhere in a flat allotted to his wife by her employer is not entitled to the benefit of self- occupation in respect of his property, as the purpose of his residence with his spouse was neither his employment nor profession or business.

Deemed let out properties

A person may own two or more properties and all such properties may be used for his self-occupation. However, the income-tax law provides that the annual value of only one property shall be deemed to be `Nil' in such cases. Therefore, it is automatic that the fair rent of the remaining self-occupied properties shall be offered for taxation.

In case of deemed let-out properties, the law grants option to the assessee to select a property of his choice which he would like to treat as self-occupied property for tax purposes.

Therefore, one can plan and offer the property, which is carrying higher fair rental value. For eg. A person owns self occupied property in Chennai as well as in Ooty. Say the fair rent of Chennai property is Rs.2.50 lakhs per annum as against the fair rent of Rs.1.20 lakhs per annum of Ooty property. As the Law allows only one property to be treated as a self- occupied property, the Chennai property, where the annual value is high can be opted as self-occupied property. It needs mention that such decision-making shall be made after considering the amount of interest on loan borrowed, which is a crucial aspect for planning. Option to treat a particular property as self-occupied property can be changed on a year-to-year basis as there is no specific bar under the law. Once a property is considered as deemed let-out, all the other provisions applicable for a let out property shall be invoked for computation of its income.

Sources:
An Artcile in The Hindu by G.R. HARI, Chennai-based practising Chartered Accountant

Can The Landlord Seek To Occupy His Own House?

Krishna, the owner of a two-bedroom house in a Municipal town has leased it out to Ramesh. The tenancy was running peacefully for over a year. Suddenly Krishna found it essential to shift to his own house as it was located nearer to the school where his two children studied. It was also more convenient for his wife to travel to her work place. He requested the tenant to vacate the house. Was he right in doing so?

On the ground of personal needs, the owner has a right to seek for the cancellation of the lease contract and there is an obligation on the tenant to vacate the premises, provided he’s given a reasonable notice period. Ramesh sought two months time to vacate the house, which was agreed upon as per the terms of the contract. Ramesh vacated the house within the stipulated time.

Then Krishna suddenly changed his mind and wanted to lease his house again to somebody else. Can he do it? As per the law, Krishna cannot let it out, either fully or partially. Once he takes the possession of house for his own residential purpose he is precluded from letting it out to others.

Landlord’s right to occupy his own house

According to Section 10 (3(a) of the AP Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, 1960 “A landlord may subject to the provisions of clause (d) apply to the Controller for an order directing the tenant to put the landlord in possession of the building (i) in case it is a residential building — (a) if the landlord is not occupying a residential building of his own in the city, town or village concerned and he requires it for his own occupation, (b) if the landlord who has more buildings than one in the city, town or village concerned is in occupation of one such building and he requires another building instead, for his own occupation.

If the landlord has two houses and occupies one of them, he cannot occupy the second house too, unless he has a bonafide reason for it. The Controller has to examine the genuineness of the claim of the landlord, and if it is proved to be correct and his need to occupy is established, he may order the tenant to vacate and direct him to hand over the possession to the landlord.

Tenant’s claim for possession

According to Section 10(5)(a), the owner has to occupy the building for which he secured the possession within one month. Having occupied it, if he vacates without reasonable cause within six months of such date, the evicted tenant gets a right to apply for restoration of the possession of that house.

Government’s power to occupy

If the Controller thinks fit, he may order the restoration of the possession to tenant. Where a tenant is entitled to apply for possession under clause (a) fails to do so within one month from the date on which the right to make the application accrued to him, the Government or the authorised officer shall have power, if the building is required for any of the purposes, or for occupation by any of the officers specified in the law.

Sources:
An Article From Deccan Chronicle By Dr Madabhushi Sridhar

Hyderabad Attractions Series - 10

Golconda Fort - Home Of Diamonds

Golconda fort is one of the most magnificent fortress complex in India which lies on the western outskirts around 11km from Hyderabad, the capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The history of Golconda Fort dates back to the early 13th century, when this south eastern part of the country was ruled by the Kakatiyas. The bulk of the ruins of this fort, date from the time of the Qutub Shahi kings, who had ruled this area in the 16th and 17th century. The fortress is built on a granite hill 120 metres high, surrounded by massive crenellated ramparts. One to visit the Golkonda fort to appreciate the majesty and grandeur of the 800-year-old ruins and the architectural glory of those structures, which have survived the ravage of time and rampage by Mughal vandals.

According to one story, the fort derives its name from Golla Konda, which is the Telugu word for Shepherd's Hill. It is said that a shepherd boy came across an idol on the hill. This led to the construction of a mud fort by the then Kakatiya ruler of the kingdom around the site. Following the collapse of the Bahamani Kingdom, Golkonda rose to prominence as the seat of the Qutb Shahi dynasty around 1507. Over a period of 62 years the mud fort was expanded by the first three Qutb Shahi kings into a massive fort of granite, extending around 5 km in circumference. It remained the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty until 1590 when the capital was shifted to Hyderabad.

Golconda consists of four distinct forts with a 10km long outer wall having 87 semi circular bastions; some still mounted with cannons, eight gateways, four drawbridges and number of royal apartments & halls, temples, mosques, magazines, stables etc, inside. The lowest of these is the outermost enclosure into which we enter by the 'Fateh Darwaza' (Victory gate, so called after Aurangzeb’s triumphant army marched in through this gate) studded with giant iron spikes ( to prevent elephants from battering them down) near the south-eastern corner. At Fateh Darwaza can be experienced the fantastic acoustical effects, characteristic of the engineering marvels at Golconda. A hand clap at a certain point below the dome at the entrance reverberates and can be heard clearly at the 'Bala Hisar' pavilion, the highest point almost a kilometre away. This acted as the warning note to residents in case of danger though now it is a mere amusing diversion to visitors.

Of the great gateways, the Balahisar Darwaza is the most impressive. Mythical beasts and lions on stucco panels of the spandrels provide decoration on this defence portal. From the Balahisar Darwaza starts the uphill ascent of some 380 uneven stone steps. This solid arch-shaped darwazah has battlements as well as a watch tower. Entering from a curved passage, one can go inside the fort only by passing through a large wooden door. It is very secure and well-designed. The offices of Akanna and Madanna, two important Hindu officials in the Qutab Shahi court, are further up.

Another important structure is the mosque built by Taramati. As one clambers up and down the boulders through narrow patches and uneven steps we can see unusual clay pipes fitted into the wall planks – evidence of an efficient water supply arrangement to the uphill residential area. There is also supposed to be secret underground tunnel leading from the 'Durbar Hall' to one of the palaces at the foot of the hill. The Madanna Temple, the Ramdas jail, the Rani Mahal and the Jama Masjid are the other major attractions. The Baradari atop the hill offers a clear view of the city.

The tombs of the Qutb Shahi sultans lie about one kilometer north of Golkonda's outer wall. These graceful structures are made of beautifully carved stonework, and surrounded by landscaped gardens. The fortress city within the walls was famous for its diamond trade, and many famed diamonds including the Koh-i-noor, the Regent Diamond and the Hope are said to have come from here. The wealth of the Golkonda mines enriched the ruling Nizams of Hyderabad, which ruled the area from their independence from the Mughals in 1724 to 1948, when Hyderabad was annexed by India to become an Indian state. Hyderabad state was broken up in 1956, and Golkonda became part of Andhra Pradesh state.

Outside the Fort are two separate pavilions built on a rocky eminence - the 'Taramathi Gana Mandir' and the 'Premathi Nritya Mandir' where the legendary sisters 'Taramathi' and 'Premamathi' resided. They gave their performance on a circular dais atop a two-storied structure, the 'Kala Mandir', which was visible from the king's durbar (king's court) on top of the Golconda Fort. The fortress city within the walls was famous for its diamond trade and the famed Koh-i-noor diamond is said to have come from here.

A new attraction at the fort is a sound and light show that brings the legend of Golconda to life. With a spectacular interplay of audio and visual effects, the story of Golconda unfolds over centuries of splendour. The show livens up the glorious past and it is an experience worth watching. The show is presented in English, Hindi and Telugu.

Details of the show:
English (daily): 1830 to 1930 hours
Telugu (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday): 1945 to 2045 hours
Hindi (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday): 1945 to 2045 hours

Admission as of May 27, 2006 was 10 Rupees for Indian citizens (approx. 23 cents US) and 100 Rupees (approx. $2 US) for foreigners. Golkonda is wide open for exploration, with few or no areas roped off from visitors. English speaking guides are available at the gates for 150-600 Rupees depending on how far up the fort you wish to go.

Sources:
www.wikipedia.org
www.webindia123.com
http://7wondersofhyderabad.com
www.fullhyderabad.com

Singapore-Based Ascott Group Plans To Develop "Serviced Residences" In Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore

Singapore-based Ascott Group, the biggest serviced-apartment operator in Asia, has inked a master development plan by teaming up with the Chennai-based privately held Indian conglomerate, Rattha Group to acquire and develop seven `serviced residences' across India by 2010. Together, the partners will invest more than S$340 million in the four southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Ascott plans to focus on the cities of Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Under the master agreement, each of the seven proposed serviced residences will have separate joint ventures and see flexible equity ownerships between the Singapore group and Rattha. (Serviced residences are also known as extended-stay hotels. They are designed to provide a home ambience for a traveller who may have to stay in an area for a few days.) The seven properties will have a total of at least 1,000 units. They will form part of Ascott's overall target to achieve 2,000 units in India in four years' time.

The development of the proposed seven service residences is estimated to involve an investment of around $220 million (Rs. 1,000 crore). HS Rattha, CEO of the Rattha Group said, 'by leveraging on our knowledge and expertise, we will be able to better capitalise on the strong growth prospects of the serviced residence industry in India'.He also said that lands have been acquired in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad to commence development for three projects with about 600 units by the end of this year.

Under the umbrella agreement, Ascott will manage these properties for a period of 10 years with an option to renew the contract for another ten years. "Our strategy for India is to capitalise on opportunities in key high-growth emerging markets, while we set up a foothold in key gateway cities," said Cameron Ong, Managing Director and CEO of Ascott. The new serviced residences will complement Ascott's parent CapitaLand's growing presence in India's residential and retail mall sector.

As a first step towards implementing the master plan, the two groups have entered into a joint venture agreement to acquire the first serviced residence in Chennai. The property, located in MRC Nagar, will be branded Somerset Greenways. It will have 210 units and comprise studios and one and two bedrooms. It is expected to go operational by the first half of 2008. In the Chennai venture, Ascott will have a 40 per cent stake and Rattha will hold the balance.

Ascott is also looking at other potential partnerships to further expand its presence in India, into other cities including New Delhi and Mumbai.

About Ascott Group:
The Ascott Group is a leading international serviced residence company with over 17,000 serviced residence units in key cities of Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. The multinational company's core businesses in property, hospitality and real estate financial services are focused in gateway cities in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. Listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange, Ascott is the serviced residence arm of CapitaLand Limited, one of Asia’s largest listed property companies.

Ascott's global presence spans 44 cities in 18 countries. These include London, Paris, Brussels, Berlin and Barcelona in Europe; Singapore, Bangkok, Pattaya, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Xi’an and Hong Kong in Asia; Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland in Australia / New Zealand as well as Dubai in the Middle East.

Headquartered in Singapore, The Ascott Group pioneered Asia Pacific's first branded luxury serviced residence in 1984. The Group also established the world's first pan-Asian serviced residence real estate investment trust, Ascott Residence Trust in 2006. The Group operates three brands – The Ascott, Somerset and Citadines. Its achievements have been recognised internationally. It has clinched numerous prestigious awards including the 2006 ‘China’s Top 100 Serviced Apartments’ award.

About Ratha Group:
The Rattha group is in the business of exports and infrastructure development. The alliance with the Ascott will herald its entry into the hospitality sector. The Chennai group says that it has acquired land banks in metros to facilitate its foray into the hospitality field.

Sources:
Channel News Asia
The Hindu
NewsTodayNet
The Ascott Group

"C R Travels" Plans To Setup 3 Five-Star Properties

C R Travels, a Mumbai based travel agency specialising into inbound, outbound and domestic tours and part of Kamala Group, have announced plans to venture into the hospitality business and will be setting up three five star hotels in the next three years. The properties will come up in Mumbai, Goa and Hyderabad and C R Travels has already bought land for these projects and is in talks with leading international hotel groups who already have a presence in India.

The Goa property will be a 200-room five star luxury resort, while the projects in Mumbai and Hyderabad will be five star business hotels. The Mumbai property, a 400-room project will come in Central Mumbai (Lower Parel) close to Phoenix Mills, which has been developed as a major shopping area.

The investment in Goa is to a tune of Rs 200 crore for a 17 acre property and the investment for the Mumbai project is approximately Rs 300 crore. The investment for the Hyderabad project is between Rs 100-150 crore. The funding for the projects will be part in-house and part other private investors. The Goa project is scheduled to be operational within two years from the time the international management partner is finalised, which is slated to happen very soon. Kamala Group has a turnover of 1,000 crore and asset base of Rs 3,000 crore.

Speaking about the company's foray into hospitality and its future plans, Raju Bhavnani, managing director, C R Travels and director, Kamala Group, said, "The future of the Indian hospitality segment is extremely bright and this is the right time to venture with big investment projects. The future is all about being big. The shortage of rooms and the pushing demand for the same with hotel prices going through the roof both domestically and internationally, the time seems just right."

Sources:
Express TravelWorld

Uppal Municipality: The First Municipality To Have Total Underground Sewerage Network

Uppal Municipality is on the threshold of becoming the first municipality in the State to have total underground drainage system in place, excluding the municipal corporations.

Barring a few colonies in Ramanthapur, works on the underground sewerage network and subsequent to the relaying of dug up roads is complete in Habsiguda, Uppal and most of Ramanthapur.

The project, taken up at a cost of Rs.32 crores, is expected to permanently solve the problem of inadequate sewerage system in the municipality. M.S.S. Somaraju, Municipal Commissioner said the new system was designed to meet the requirements of another 20 years taking into account the rapid expansion of the area and the increasing population. The project was designed and taken up in association with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), which is coordinating similar works in all the surrounding municipalities.

Mr. Somaraju says a door-to-door survey will be done after the STP is completed to ensure that all houses are connected to the lines and the contributions made.

A major portion of the money was raised with Government assistance while the municipality itself contributed Rs. 3 crores from its funds. The proposals were submitted under the Eco-Conservation Project to get maximum assistance from the Government. Around Rs. 3 crores was raised from the residents with each dwelling in the slums contributing Rs. 2,000, individual households Rs. 4,000 and each flat Rs. 5,000. Residents of Habsiguda contributed Rs. 2 crores in the first phase out of the Rs. 10 crore project as their share.

In the first phase of the project in 2003 taken up at a cost of Rs. 10 crores, officials took up the Habsiguda region for revamping the sewerage system while Ramanthapur and Uppal sewerage works were completed in the second phase recently. The second phase of the project covering the areas of Ramanthapur and Uppal taken up at a cost of Rs. 22 crores is almost complete and officials were awaiting the installation of the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Nallcheruvu to enable them to link the sewage lines to it before releasing into the Musi river.

The Habsiguda sewerage system is already operational while officials point out that the network in Uppal and Ramanthapur will become active once the works in few colonies near Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur, are completed.

"We should be able to complete all the works related to the underground network in a month," Uppal Kalan Municipal Commissioner M.S.S. Soma Raju told The Hindu.

We wish other municipalities will also take up some inspiration from this and forge ahead to solve the sewage problems in Hyderabad.

Sources:
The Hindu

Singapore Keen To Invest In Indian Metro SEZs

Singapore is eyeing cities like Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai for developing special economic zones (SEZs). It is also looking at collaborating with educational institutions in India for student exchange programmes.

A Singapore Infrastructure Mission delegation led by Gan Kim Yong, minister of state for education and manpower, government of Singapore, visited the aforesaid cities to study investment opportunities.

This was a follow-up to the earlier visit made by Singapore's senior minister Goh Chok Tong to India in January this year, when he had evinced interest in joint development of SEZs in India, Yong said on the sidelines of a meeting organised by the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Fapcci) in Hyderabad today.

"We are here to facilitate joint development between the two countries and study the government regulations that the Singapore companies will have to address in such a collaboration. Our companies are interested in setting up both sector-specific and multi-product SEZs in India. They are open to investing in setting up individual units in the SEZ as well," Yong said.

Besides Singapore government officials, the delegation included private sector representatives like Ascendas, Surbana International Consultants, Mitsubishi Corporation (Singapore branch) and SembCorp Industries. The Japanese External Trade Organisation (Jetro) was also a part of the group.

With regard to collaboration with schools and colleges, Yong said they visited some institutions and were looking forward to facilitating student exchange programmes.

The bilateral trade between India and Singapore is estimated to be Singapore dollars 16.6. Singapore companies have invested over $1 billion in India.

Sources:
Business Standard

One More IT Park and SEZ Coming Up At Gachibowli

Hyderabad-based ISO 9001-2000 Certified Company, Bhagyanagar India Limited(BIL) (Previously known as Bhagyanagar Metals Limited) is developing land in Hyderabad to set up IT parks. It also plans to set up an Special Economic Zone(SEZ). With this project the company will be fully diversified into a real estate and infrastructure development activity.

BIL is developing the Gachibowli land near the Microsoft campus at Hyderabad. The land is being developed for Visual Soft for Rs 380 crore. They will develop five lakh square feet in Phase I and 10 lakh square feet in Phase II.

BIL had bought 25 acres of land in Hyderabad near the Infosys and Wipro campus. The land was acquired in November last year. Bhagyanagar may develop it as an IT Park or an SEZ. It is also planning a shopping mall on 12 acres of land covering 2.2 million sq ft.

It is likely to apply for the SEZ approval in a week's time. The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 490 crore. It may opt for a USD 15 million FCCB issue to fund the project. It is also planning a preferential offer to strategic partners.

BIL has tied up with M/s GuocoLand Limited of Singapore, a one billion dollar company listed in Singapore and M/s Gayatri Projects Limited, Hyderabad as strategic partners for bidding for HUDA Township Project & other projects on selective basis in and around Hyderabad.

BIL has been allotted land admeasuring 2.5 acres in the Hardware Park at Hyderabad which is close to the new International Airport by the APIIC. The Company is planning to construct a built up area of approximately 1,00,000 Sq ft with an estimated project cost of about Rs.20 Crores.

BIL has already made a foray into fast growing Realty Sector by acquiring grade A Grade IT space in signature buildings in Hyderabad and its clients include Microsoft, Fusion Technology etc. BIL is also exploring options for development of unutilized and underutilized industrial land for A Grade IT space and is talking to various developers of national repute.

About Bhagyanagar India Limited:

Founded in 1978, the Surana Group is now one of the country's leading industrial houses, focusing on the niche areas of Telecommunications, Metallurgicals and Electricals.

BHAGYANAGAR INDIA LIMITED, a part of Surana Group was incorporated in 1985 with the main object of carrying on business in Ferrous and Non-ferrous metals. BHAGYANAGAR INDIA LIMITED was previously known as BHAGYANAGAR METALS LIMITED. The company felt the need for the name change as it is venturing into other businesses. BHAGYANAGAR INDIA LIMITED engaged in manufacturing of Telecommunication Cables, Copper Wire Rods, Conductors, Pipes & Sheets etc. CDMA Phones and its accessories, is now diversified into Investment and Infrastructure Business by investing in IT Parks and Entertainment related projects. It has been shifting focus to real estate and infrastructure business as the profit margins remain high in this sector.

It commenced its business by acquiring a Copper Rod Unit (India Extrusion) in 1985. Keeping in phase with potential growth and the high competition for Telecom products, the company has established additional unit at Goa for manufacture of Jelly Filled Cables. The major clientele for these cables are Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited. The Company is also supplying its products to Railways Defense and other Public/Private Sector organizations.

Over the years BHAGYANAGAR INDIA LIMITED has expanded its activities by acquisition, merger, diversification etc. Since inception it has ventured into manufacture of range of copper products such as – Copper Coils, Strips, Sheets, Flat pipes apart from PIJF Cables of various sizes, Polyethylene Compound and Auto annealing components, catering to the requirements of reputed Automobile companies like Maruti, Hyundai, Telco, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra etc.

Sources:
MoneyControl.com
The Hindu
Surana Group

Hyderabad-Based Indian School Of Business Forays Into Real Estate Research

HYDERABAD: Thanks to the ongoing real estate boom across the country, the Indian School of Business has announced setting up of its first research chair for `real estate and urban studies.'

To be part of the Wadhwani Centre of Entrepreneurial Development (WCED) of the ISB, the research chair is sponsored by the city-based Indu Projects Ltd., an infrastructure development company, which would provide US $ 550,000 (about Rs. 2.5 crores) over the next five years. ISB would select a top professor of international stature to lead research, organise conferences/seminars and interface with academia to debate on key issues of real estate and urban development.

Announcing the new initiative, ISB dean M. Rammohan Rao and WCED executive director V. Chandrasekhar said the chair was set up in the light of the significant development in real estate venture funding in recent years. While there were a host of clients to be serviced, there was little information available about real estate. The research would focus on setting up a database, interaction with the industry to arrive at real estate values and making the area professionalised over a period of time. Besides providing a platform for the sections concerned to exchange views and ideas, the chair would come out with suggestions on need for reworking existing policies.

Indu Projects Ltd. to provide US $550,000 for initiative.

Sources:

The Hindu

It’s Now or Never In Hyderabad Realty Mart

With Hyderabad being the latest destination for MNCs, corporates and educational institutes of repute , real estate rates are growing at an exponential rate. However aspiring house owners are confused: is it the right time to buy/build a house and reap the rewards or will the price bubble burst and leave them at a loss? Lets take a look.

Why the boom?

Hyderabad seems the ideal place to invest, for land as well as residences, for several reasons : The economy is booming and promises to grow further. It is a hub for national and multinational corporations and educational institutes, Intel , Hyundai, Infosys, ISB, IIIT, BITS for now, and more are set to arrive. Impressive infrastructure when compared to other South Indian cities. The International Airport and the Outer Ring Road have given real estate scenario a huge fillip. Communication and transport facilities are looking up. City has no coastline, so it can expand in all directions. The climate is moderate and conducive to most industries. Retail activity is on the rise - multiplexes, malls, entertainment centres -they are all here. ITES sector in particular has created a vast pool of high net worth individuals.

To invest or not to invest?

While potential investors wonder if the bubble may burst or if the boom is for real, developers and builders suggest they dispel the ‘wait and watch’ policy.“Buy now, it may be too late tomorrow,” is what they exhort. Kavita, director projects of City Square (Happy Homes) says,“The rates are fluctuating a bit, but investors are assured 100 per cent returns; those who hadn’t invested earlier are regretting now.”

Suburbs, the new hubs

Now if you have decided to invest, where do you go? Suburbs and outskirts of Hyderabad seem to be in demand , especially for the middle income investors. Prem Kumar, managing director of Doyen Constructions says, “People are now more open to building or buying residences in the suburbs and are shedding inhibitions of distance and security. In fact, the cost in the city is higher and the growth in the suburbs is more than the city because in the city there is resistance to growth.”

Earlier farmhouses were in demand, but now lands for independent homes and apartments are selling like hot cakes. Kavita adds, “Residences in the suburbs will have greater appreciation value. Look at Bowenpally, did anyone imagine it would develop so much and so fast? Those who bought plots and apartments five years ago are minting money now.”

Hot Belts

While it seems like the Western part of Hyderabad is doing exceptionally well, especially Gachchibowli, Nanak - ramguda, Narsingi and Srisailam highway belt, North Hyderabad too is developing fast. However the Outer Ring Road with improved connectivity among all Zones could have a positive impact on other areas as well.

Rising construction costs

Increasing construction costs indicate that housing could get more expensive in future. Costs of Iron, steel, cement and sand are increasing by the day. While the cost of cement is around Rs 120- Rs 170 per bag, sources say that it may soon increase to Rs 200-Rs 250. Moreover, in the last two weeks, the cost of sand has doubled from Rs 250-Rs 300 per tonne to Rs 550-Rs 600. More reason why those planning to buy or build a home should do so now.

Rental Value

Even if one already owns a house in the city, the time is ripe to invest in a second one because rental values are also on the rise. A 2000 sft apartment in Banjara Hills is being rented out for anything between Rs 20,000 to 25,000 whereas in Marredpally it is between Rs 12,000 to 15,000. Prem Kumar clarifies : “Rental values have not gone up as fast as the sale prices, because people opt to buy rather than lease houses, with the help of easy loans.” So get rid of your apprehensions and buy now before the prices get too high.

Sources:
Economic Times

JP Morgan Asset Management: Mulling Joint Ventures With Real Estate Developers

Arvind F Pahwa of JP Morgan Asset Management's Real Estate Division says that they are looking at realty opportunities in the retail and hospitality sector and their real estate fund will focus on areas in Hyderabad, Pune, Vizag, Surat and Chandigarh.

He adds that they may not invest directly into SEZs and the growth seen in the last two years in realty, may be tough to maintain. He further states that they would enter into JVs with developers and talks are on for the same. He also mentions that they plan to invest in FDI-compliant real estate projects.

Excerpts from CNBC-TV18's exclusive interview with Arvind F Pahwa:

Q: How is the real estate scenario looking to you, because there are some apprehensions that the market probably is about to soften up and it already has started softening up? In fact some of your peers have even gone to the extent of saying that there might be mini bubbles in some of the pockets in India?

As you rightly said, there are only mini bubbles, but I think overall, the sector is pretty good, there are huge opportunities and there is a lot of potential across the country. With the India story doing very well, with the GDP growing at the rate at which it is growing, I think there are sufficient opportunities to invest all across the country. India is a huge country with a population of 1.1 billion people and a young country.

Till now, in the real estate sector we were looking only at cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai or Bangalore. But now we are talking about cities like Hyderabad, Pune, Vizag, Surat and Chandigarh. India has 42 cities with a population of one million plus, each of these cities are like growth centres. So with the kind of growth happening across all segments, I think there is sufficient opportunity for funds to invest across these cities.

Q: What is the focus of this fund essentially, both in terms of how you will split your money across cities and projects?

A: It will be our endeavour to make sure that we do not put too much risk in any one particular segment and in any one particular city, but we would be investing across all segments. Having said that, the residential segment appears to be the best sector where the risk is comparatively less.

Considering the young population of India, who want to buy apartments for themselves over the new changing social structure and demographics, I see a huge potential in that area. There are indications or reports in which I had read that there is a shortage of nearly 20 million housing units across the country.

So if this was to be translated into square feet, one will be talking about billions of square feet across the country. Apart from residential segment, for the commercial sector as per the Nasscom report and the kind of employment that will be generated in the IT sector, it is estimated that nearly 66 million square feet of real estate would be required in the next few years, just for the IT sector.

The retail sector is again a booming area where nearly 30 million square feet of real estate space is required all across the country, with the shift from fragmented, disorganised retailing to a more organised sector.

One is seeing that new players are coming into retailing and there is going to be a huge demand in this area and an opportunity for funds to invest. Hospitality is another area, which we are looking at very seriously. Budget hotels have a great opportunity for business travellers, both foreign and Indian.

Another sector, which many funds have not looked at, is the logistics and the supply chain sector. With the retail sector growing and with the demand for warehousing units, that also could offer an opportunity. SEZs are another area that would offer opportunities for funds.

Q: Where do you see the biggest opportunities amongst metro cities, what seems most attractive to you at JP Morgan?

A: In metro cities, hospitality is one sector, the residential sector as I mentioned earlier definitely offers the least risk opportunity. But apart from metro cities, I think it is the tier II cities, the new growth centres, which are emerging. With improved connectivity, with improved infrastructure, cities like Chandigarh, Indore, Bhubaneswar and Kolkata are emerging. In the southern states and of course in cities like Bangalore, Chennai and on the Old Mahabalipuram Road, OMR, there are lots of IT activities happening. Hyderabad is emerging as a very attractive proposition for developers and also for the funds to invest in.

I think Hyderabad is a great opportunity with improved infrastructure and a very proactive approach by the government. The kind of development that they are doing is all across the city, it is not just concentrated in one Central Business District, CBD, area, it is in the north, south, west and east. With the new airport coming up and with the outer ring road that is being developed in Hyderabad, I see a good opportunity in that city.

Q: I believe that you might be looking at partnerships with local developers as well, anything that you have tied up already and in which cities?

A: The model of the fund is that we would be entering into joint ventures with the developers and then investing. We would be advising our managers in New York to invest in Foreign Direct Investment, FDI-compliant projects. We have not tied up with any developer as yet, but we are talking to a number of them. We see an opportunity to advise our fund managers to invest along with A-grade developers who have a track record, who are transparent and who have a professional approach. These would be joint venture partnerships.

About JPMorgan Asset Management:

JPMorgan Asset Management is a leading global investment manager that delivers financial expertise to governments, corporations, endowments, foundations and individuals worldwide. Their business provides the full spectrum of U.S., non-U.S. and global investment management products - from traditional cash management, equity, fixed income and asset allocation to alternative asset classes such as private equity and real estate. Through thier association with JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services®, they provide administrative, investment and communication services for corporate retirement plans. Thier global resources position them to deliver excellence in investment performance and the highest quality client service.

Sources:
Moneycontrol.com News Article
JP Morgan

Govt Mulls Real Estate Watchdog

REAL estate agents trying to palm off property whose ownership is a tangled mess of court cases among uncles, aunts and an army of cousins of the alleged seller will soon turn into yesterday's nightmare . In a bid to protect consumers, the urban development ministry is planning to create a statutory regulator for the real estate sector . A real estate commission will be set up to frame guidelines and a code of conduct for property dealers.

Dealers as well as architects will have to get themselves registered based on their past track record before transacting in properties. The commission is likely to be formed as a part of the ministry's proposed 'real estate bill' , which may put up a series of strict regulations for dealers and agents, as well as developers . The bill is expected to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.

So, there will be strict vigil to ensure that developers do not indulge in unethical practices like land hoarding, and consumers will have access to the antecedents of the properties they intend to buy. This will ensure they don't lay their hands on disputed or unregistered property. The neighbourhood property dealers will have to compulsorily seek licence from the proposed commission for practising in specific catchment areas. To further protect the interest of consumers, the commission will also entertain complaints against dealers and will be empowered to take punitive action . A senior official involved in the project, told ET, "At present, hundreds of builders, brokers and property dealers are functioning in various parts of the country without any kind of licence or regulation. Most of them don't even know about property-related laws. There are many cases where they have even sold unauthorised constructions or disputed properties to innocent buyers." The proposed commission will also look into the earnings of dealers and brokers. At present, brokers charge a commission of up to 4% from buyers and sellers, which are totally unregulated and not taxed. There are plans to set up an assistance window at the proposed commission, where prospective buyers will be able to thoroughly check the antecedents and other details of the property.

Sources:
Economic Times

NAVA Bharat Ferro Alloys Ltd To Setup An IT/ITES SEZ In Hyderabad

Nava Bharat Ferro Alloys Ltd, manufacturer of Ferro Alloys and also into Power and Sugar sectors which has changed it's name to "Nava Bharata Ventures Limited", has floated a new venture Brahmani Infratech to set up an SEZ for IT and ITES businesses.

Brahmani Infratech has been alloted 250 acres of land by AP Govt to develop the SEZ. The allotment was to be made through Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) at Rs 20 lakh per acre for development of an IT SEZ in accordance with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy 2005-2010 of the government. Brahmani Infratech Pvt Ltd has obtained physical possession of 250 acres of land allotted by AP government by paying a part of the consideration for 250 acres of the land. The detailed development plans including approval for establishment of SEZ are under process.

NAVA Bharat Ferro Alloys Ltd (NBFAL) is also evaluating expansion plans involving around Rs 200 crore investment for its ferro alloys, power and sugar facilities.

This is part of the company's mega plan to attain control over power and ores in a bid to sustain long-term viability and be globally competitive, especially in the backdrop of recent violent swings in the prices of ores and finished products, the NBFAL Finance Director, Mr G.R.K. Prasad, said.

The Hyderabad-based Rs 559-crore company currently has three furnaces in Andhra Pradesh with a total capacity of 75,000 tonnes per annum and two furnaces in Orissa with a capacity of 50,000 tpa.

The company is also evaluating expansion of its power facilities. It currently has 50 MW capacity in Andhra Pradesh and 30 MW in Orissa. It is planning to set up an Rs 80-crore power plant with 32 MW capacity, which would take off by January next.


About Nava Bharat Ferro Alloys Limited (NBFA):
Nava Bharat Ferro Alloys Limited (NBFA) is a diversified company with business interests in power generation, ferro alloys, sugar & down stream products and infrastructure projects. It supplies world class products to companies across the globe.

NBFA was promoted by Dr. D. Subba Rao, Sri P.Punnaiah and Sri A.S.Chowdhri in 1972. NBFA began operations with manufacture of ferro silicon in 1975 at Paloncha in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Over the years, the capacity was enhanced and NBFA emerged as one of the largest manufacturer exporters of ferro alloys supported by 100% captive power, in India. NBFA diversified into production of Sugar and by products in 1980.

The Company commenced Generation of Thermal Power, mainly for captive use, in 1997 and subsequently enhanced the capacity and is today a supplier of power to the grid as well.

In 2005, the Company made a foray into Infrastructure Projects. Malaxmi NBFA Ventures Private Limited is set up by the Company along with the Malaxmi group to implement large projects in power, transportation and urban infrastructure.

Clear vision, customer focus, strict quality management and continuous improvement backed by highly competent and committed human resources contribute to NBFA’s success.

NBFA maintains a record of uninterrupted dividend payout since inception.

Sources:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
www.domain-b.com
www.blonnet.com
www.equitybulls.com
www.navabharatferro.com

Malaysia Proposes To Build All-India Expressway

The Malaysian government will submit a detailed proposal for building an 'all-India express highway' to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the next few months. A part of the total investment required for the project would be provided by Malaysian companies, S Samy Vellu, minister for works of the Malaysian government, said today.

The idea of an all-India express highway had been discussed with the Indian Prime Minister at the ASEAN Summit held at Kuala Lumpur earlier this year, pointing out the need for building world-class infrastructure in India to attract more foreign investments, Samy Vellu said after inaugurating the three-day international expo-cum-seminar on 'Surface Transportation' organised by the All India Manufacturers' Organisation (AIMO), Tamil Nadu State Board (TNSB).

However, the final plan for the all-India express highway project, including the estimate cost, will be completed shortly and is expected to be submitted to the Indian government in the next few months.

Malaysian companies could bring in about 10 billion Malaysian ringgits with the government too sharing a portion of the project cost. The remaining fund required could be mobilised through various sources, he said.

The expressway could be developed in phases. Malaysian government has suggested in the initial phase, an expressway connecting southern capitals - Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram - could be built.

Earlier, he said Malaysia emerged as a key player in the construction sector globally in about 10 years. It had, so far, earned about $9.4 billion by executing projects worldwide, with one-third of its revenue coming from India.

He stressed that a large part of its success in the infrastructure sector could be attributed to India as it was the first country to show its confidence in Malaysian companies with awarding them construction projects, which helped Malaysia venture into the global market.

Sources:
Business Standard

YSR Allots Plots To ORR-hit Ryots

HYDERABAD: Chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy may be putting up a brave front telling his officials not to bother about opposition criticism.

But on the eve of the Assembly session, the YSR government decided in principle to allot a 500 square yard Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (Huda) developed plot to each farmer who will lose land to the proposed Outer Ring Road (ORR) project and Rs 12 lakh compensation per acre for the land acquired in the Hyderabad metro region.

State government sources said in all, about 3,200 farmers would be given the plots and the compensation.

"Of these farmers, less than half an acre each was acquired from almost half of them," said an official.

The sources said the Huda-developed plots would be given as close to the land acquired from the farmers and also close to the proposed Outer Ring Road.

The decision comes even as two ruling party MLAs Marri Shashidhar Reddy and P Janardhan Reddy
have joined the 'government-baiters' for 'arbitrary' land acquisitions for various projects in the Ranga Reddy district -which is where Hyderabad is extending to.

Although Rajasekhara Reddy had announced two days ago that compensation and alternative plots would be given to the farmers for the land acquired for the ORR project, the area of the plot and the compensation amount was decided on Wednesday, the sources added.

However, the controversy over land acquisition is yet to die down with the opposition led by the CPM and TDP smelling a big land scam and the state government continuing to insist that the almost 100 acres of land in Kokapet, part of which was auctioned by Huda, was government land.

And that it was not acquired from farmers at cheap rates, as was being alleged. Although people were living on the land, they were not the owners and the land belonged to the government, the sources insisted.

Huda had acquired the Kokapet land from the farmers who claim that they are the legal owners. As proof, they have produced receipts of property tax that they have been paying for years. However, using the clause that the government can acquire land for any public purpose, Huda had acquired the land from the farmers.

Huda sources said the authority would be able to establish the public purpose of the Kokapet land by legally establishing that the money raised through the auction, which was up to Rs 14.5 crore per acre, would go into building a project benefitting the public at large.

The farmers, however, feeling cheated out of their land, are insisting that both Huda and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) should also acquire land from them through a bidding process and then put it for resale based on the price that it was acquired.

This would still leave the state with enough money to pocket, they believe.

Sources:
Times Of India

ORR: Court Stays Land Acquisition For ORR 2nd Phase

*** Proceedings for Musi beautification project also stayed
*** Petitioners maintain ORR alignment was altered 114 times to favour "powerful" persons

HYDERABAD: The High Court has stayed further proceedings pursuant to the land acquisition notifications issued after the change in alignment of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) project at Kandlakoya village in Medchal mandal for two weeks.

The judge G. Raghu Ram also stayed the land acquisition proceedings near Uppal for the Musi beautification project. He was dealing with a batch of petitions filed by people affected by the two projects. The judge referred the matter to a Division Bench as the issues, including the environment angles, needed a serious consideration.

Serious allegations

The petitioners, S. B. Kirloskar and others, levelled serious allegations against the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and its Chairman D. Sudheer Reddy who is made a respondent, along with another Congress leader Amabti Rambabu. The petitioners maintained that the ORR alignment had been altered 114 times to favour a few "powerful" persons. Appearing on behalf of the petitioners, senior counsel S. Ramachandra Rao said that the HUDA was depriving the poor of their lands in the name of realignment. In his counter affidavit, the ORR Project Director, however, claimed that everything was as per law.

While disagreeing with the contention that a committee of six IAS officers was asked to look into the complaints, Justice Ram remarked that the public law did not recognise such committees. He felt that the counter affidavit was not forthcoming about serious issues raised by the petitioners.

In another batch of writ petitions, Dubba Narasimha Reddy of Uppal and others, challenged the proceedings initiated to acquire their land for Musi beautification project. Their counsel D. Prakash Reddy informed the court that hundreds of acres were being acquired, when the land on banks of Musi river was sufficient for setting up the sewage treatment plants. They complained that the authorities were not acting as per law.

Sources:
The Hindu

Hyderabad Real Estate Prices - Up, Up and Away

There's only one way land prices are going - up. And even a 100 km away from the city, the clamour for buying land continues...

Realtors in the city have now turned their attention to land on the outskirts. In a new definition of distance, 80-100 km away from the heart of the city is no longer considered far.

And with the upswing in the real estate prices, there seems to be no land that is not on the realtor's radar. And with the government's plans to develop the city in a 100 km radius, land prices of adjoining districts are going up too.

Ravinder Reddy, owner of a real estate agency, sold 15 acres of land at Chevella, a year ago for Rs 1 lakh per acre, but he regrets the decision.

"Today the same land costs around Rs 10 lakh per acre. People are cashing in on the developmental activities."

Incidentally, Chevella is 60 kms from Shamshabad. Even land in Kamareddy, which is as far as 140 kms from Hyderabad, costs around Rs 75,000 per acre today.

"When I wanted three acre of land at Sangareddy in Medak district, I was surprised to see that the land price per acre was Rs 15 lakh. But that didn't deter me since the prices will go up further,"says KVS Giridhar, a resident of Ameerpet.

"When we placed an advertisement for sale of plots in Kamareddy, 30 acres got sold in a month. Buyers were looking at it as an investment. Ten years ago, no one would have thought of buying land near Sanghi Nagar or Rajendranagar, but land rates have gone up so much that a 200 sq. yard plot at Rajendranagar now costs more than Rs 20 lakh,"says Govardhan Reddy of a real estate agency.

"One would want to buy land not to miss out on the opportunity and regret later. Buying land is an asset in a city like Hyderabad, which is growing at an unprecedented rate,"says D Vinod, a resident of Begumpet, who bought three acre of land in the interiors of Vikarabad for Rs 80,000 per acre.

As the land prices skyrocket, people from other cities like Pune, Nagpur and Ahmedabad have also been inquiring, adds G Prakash, regional sales manager of a housing agency.

Sources:
The Times Of India 18 Aug, 2006

HUDA invites bids for Secunderabad bus terminus

HYDERABAD: The proposal to build a bus terminus-cum-business centre on the old Gandhi Hospital land to ease traffic congestion around Secunderabad railway station area has moved to the next step, five months after officials from various agencies conducted a joint inspection. The State Government has appointed Hyderabad Urban Development Authority as the executing agency for the Rs.250-crore project.

HUDA has invited Expression of Interest-cum-Request for Qualification from bidders of national and international repute for the project. The EOI is to design and build the bus terminus-cum-business centre on some 10 acres of land on Engineering, Procurement and Construction basis.

The purpose of the integrated bus terminus-cum-business centre is to avoid the chaotic conditions around the station where pedestrian traffic is too high. The authorities are planning to build a super structure with 28.5 lakh sft of carpet area, including 90,000 sft for covered parking area to accommodate at least 1,200 cars and 14,000 two-wheelers. The last date for submission of bids is September 14. The project is to be completed in 24 months.

Sources:
The Hindu

"MyTVS" - An Used-Car Sales and Integrated Car Services Brand Launched

MyTVS, an independent, multi-brand aftermarket integrated car services brand is launched by T. V. Sundaram Iyengar & Sons Limited, parent company of TVS group, in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Initially, the company will be offering quality used car sales and collision repair services. However, all car services and 24X7 emergency services will soon follow. In Hyderabad, the company will be offering collision repair services through its own service outlets before expanding to emergency breakdown services at strategic locations and integrated service packages and annual maintenance contracts for customers. TVS will also introduce insurance, claims coordination, used car finance, total service AMC and car overdraft schemes at different stages.

TVS will be setting up eight service centres and two used car centres in Hyderabad in the first phase. It already has one used car centre engaged in buying and selling at S.P. Road and a body service repair centre at Balanagar. The firm will expand its network to tier-2 cities like Rajahmundry, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada once the Hyderabad outlets achieve 50 per cent saturation.

Speaking to reporters, MyTVS president R. Srivatchan said, "In a scenario where a father owns an Octavia, mother an Accent or Santro and son a Maruti Zen, the idea is to associate with the need of a multi-brand customer."

According to R. Dinesh, Executive Director, T. V. Sundaram Iyengar & Sons Limited, they are selling more than 200 used cars per year. MyTVS started its operations in 2003 in Tamil Nadu and a year later in Kerala. It has garnered a customer base of nearly 50,000 in the two States.

Sources:
AndhraCafe.com
Hindu.com

Reliance Retail Unviels Mega Retail Plans - Plans to Build An Indian Version Of "Wal-Mart"

India’s biggest private company Reliance Industries had kicked off its Rs 25,000 crore mega retail plans, by aiming to launch its first store in the souther city of Hyderabad next month, which will be a vegetable and food store. This is a part of a plan to build an Indian version of "Wal-Mart", the world’s largest retail chain. Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, has said he wants to make the retail chain “a Wal-Mart in India” with an annual sales target of $25bn by 2011.

"We will be opening our first store in Hyderabad in September and this will be a very large store with food, vegetables and staples," Reliance Retail President and Chief Executive (operations and strategy) Raghu Pillai told reporters on the sidelines of a CII conference.

Reliance, whose main business is petrochemicals, has said it plans to invest nearly six billion dollars in setting up the store subsidiary covering nearly 1,500 cities and towns in India. The Indian corporate giant had announced a Rs 25,000 crore investment in the retail sector in June this year and said that it would be listing the company subsequently.

Pillai said the company, which Reliance intends to list on the stock market, “plans to be across the country ... as soon as we can” and would quickly reach 100 stores but gave no specific timeframe. He said Reliance Retail would offer competitive prices by removing “extra costs from the supply chain.” As part of its drive to cut costs, it is considering partnering consumer durable companies to procure goods directly and sourcing items from low-cost manufacturers like China.

Reliance has already signed agreements with the West Bengal and Punjab governments as it moves forward in tying up for procurements and roll out. "We are in talks with quite a few state governments and cooperative chains for alliances," he said. "We are talking to everybody. It is still very much in the project stage. On the ground, you will see huge action next year," said Pillai. He added that strategies were still being worked out.

Asked whether high real estate prices were affecting Reliance's retail plans, Pillai admitted that while prices were unrealistic in some parts of the country, it is only one element of its capital expenditure. Reliance said its real estate model would include ownership as well as land lease. The company is in talks with developers across the country.

US retailer Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world, having revolutionised the business through a super efficient management system overseeing thousands of suppliers.

India’s retail market is reckoned by analysts to be worth around $200bn a year. It is dominated by small mom-and-pop street corner stores with organised retail outlets comprising just two per cent of the sector.

Sources:
Zeenews.com
Business Standard
The Peninsula
Gulf Times

Purchasing A Property? Here Are The Documents For Getting Housing Loan

You need to submit these documents to banks to get a housing loan:

I. For construction of a house

• Title deeds of the property.
• Prior title deeds for a period of at least 13 years.
• Encumbrance certificate for the past 13 years.
• Khatha certificate.
• Up-to-date tax paid receipts.
• Sanctioned plan and licence.
• Estimate cost of construction from a qualified engineer.
• Legal scrutiny report from the bank's panel advocate.
  

II. For purchase of flat

• Original sale deed executed by the builder in favour of the purchaser.
• Title deeds of the builders/landowner for a period of 13 years.
• Development agreement between the builder and landowner, if applicable.
• Agreement of sale/construction agreement with the applicant.
• Sanctioned plan and licence.
• Encumbrance certificate for the past 13 years.
• Khatha certificate in the name of the builder/owner.
• Up-to-date tax paid receipts.
• Sketch of the flat.
• No-objection certificate from builders.
• Legal scrutiny report from bank's panel advocate.
  

III. For purchase of a house

• Agreement of sale of property.
• Title deeds of the vendor for the past 13 years.
• Encumbrance certificate for the past 13 years.
• Khatha certificate in the name of the vendor.
• Up-to-date tax paid receipts.
• Sanctioned plan of the house.
• Valuation report from an approved valuer or bank's panel.
• Legal scrutiny from bank's panel advocate.
  

Other documents

• Income proof: (a) Latest salary certificate with details of deductions from the employer and Income Tax Assessment Order from the Department of Income Tax (if you have income in addition to salary) or Form 16 in the case of salaried persons. (b) Balance sheet as well as profit and loss account for the last three years.
• Income tax assessment orders and returns for the last three years.
• Brief note on the nature of business, year of establishment, present bankers, form of organisation and the capacity in which the applicant is engaged.
• Net worth of the applicant in the case of for self-employed/ businessmen).
• Age proof: Two passport-size photographs.
• Receipt of professional fee in respect of legal scrutiny report and valuation report payable by the applicant.
• Proof of residence.
• Documents as indicated in the legal scrutiny report other than the above, if any.
  

NOTE: NRIs need to furnish copies of passport, visa, employment certificate, work permit or salary certificate, W2 copies etc.

Sources:
The Hindu Property Plus

Building A House? Know The Papers That Matter....

You buy a plot and get the finances ready to build a house. Then, you gear up to cross the biggest hurdle - MCH. Some task it is. Here is the list of documents that can make life a wee bit easier.

Building a house is a dream that could turn into a nightmare much before you savour the wonderful experience of living in it. That is if you are not well versed with the paper work that goes with it.

Since there is no single agency or single window for taking the necessary permissions, there is invariably some running to do around different Government offices that could well test your patience and resolve. So cumbersome are procedures and the red tape involved is really long.

13 sets of documents

Let us look at the example of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad and what it takes to obtain a building permission from it. There are 13 different sets of papers required before you can think of starting construction. For houses to be constructed in an area below 100 sq. yards, no permission is required in an approved layout though the plan details have to be filed.

For constructions below 10 metres in height and below 1,000 sq.m, all permissions have to be obtained at the respective MCH circle office. For multi-storied complexes, apartments and others with more than 10 mts height and above 1,000 sq.mts, the applications have to be filed at the head office.

Tax receipts

While applying for permission, you have to ensure that you are ready with your property tax receipts. It is only then that other factors come into play. Next, obtain `no objection certificate' (NOC) from the mandal revenue officer concerned in lieu of the town survey record certificate. Building plan applications should be signed by the owner, architect and the engineer.

Then, there are declaration forms signed by the owner and attested by a gazetted officer, the licence copy of the architect or engineer involved in the work, an Urban Land Ceiling Act affidavit for constructions below 1,000 sq.mts, two sets of ownership documents attested by a gazetted officer and property linked documents attested by a gazetted officer.

A non-judicial stamp paper of Rs. 20, undertaking Rs. 100 non-judicial stamp paper duly stating whether the construction is taken up by the owner and of course, building plans signed by the owner, architect and the structural engineer are necessary.

Another joint undertaking on Rs. 100 non-judicial stamp paper promising not to stock building materials on road margins, not to enclose balconies, usage of parking, payment of special payment charges, not to increase number of units and special sanitation charges is also need. There are a slew of fees to be paid like development charges, betterment charges for unapproved layouts, permit fees as per category - residential or commercial, etc.

NOC and Clearance

For multi-storied buildings and constructions above 10 mts of height, other permissions have to be taken and 10 more sets of documents to be filed. These include no objection certificate from the Joint Collector, land use certificate from Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA), feasibility certificate from Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) and NOC from Airport Authority of India, if applicable.

Certificates of urban land clearance, structural stability, soil testing report; structural drawings, etc should also be filed. Even if an existing old property is to be demolished and re-constructed or any modifications are to be done different from the previously sanctioned plan, fresh applications have to be made, according to P.A.S.M. Laxman Rao, City Planner.

Once the plans are submitted, the supervisor concerned in case of the circle office will visit the site within a couple of days followed by a committee consisting of the Zonal Additional Commissioner, Deputy Municipal Commissioner and the Assistant City Planner.

In the head office, for high rises, there is a separate building committee consisting of Chief City Planner, Director of Town Planning, Institute of Architects association representative, Chief Engineers of HUDA & MCH and others. Going by rules, permissions have to be given in 15 days at the respective circle offices and within 45 days at head office.

Yet, it is common knowledge that it can take much more time than that. If officials at the circle level are invariably super busy to complete the inspection and clearance tasks, at the head office, no one is sure when the high rise building panel meets as its meetings have been more often than now irregular.

While there were plans to make the citizen charter effective and deemed permissions are supposedly the norm, it is not that simple to take up constructions without the official stamp of MCH. All the pain, of course, appears worth the effort when there is an elation of moving into the own house.

"All the procedures sure does cause much stress and strain not to speak of putting a big hole in the pocket. Therefore, the feeling on getting the final nod is akin to a student getting a visa for United States or getting a daughter's marriage fixed," is the pithy comment of an architect, well versed with the municipal ways.

Sources:
The Hindu Property Plus

Hyderabad, The Greenest City? Probably Soon...

The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has set a target of 40 per cent green coverage within a year under its jurisdiction. And chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy claimed that no state in the country except for Andhra Pradesh is taking up such a massive plantation drive. The chief minister was told by the authorities that the international standard of greenery is 33 per cent and Hyderabad has come close to it.

It was 23 per cent till last year and the green coverage has now reached 30 per cent due to last year's drive of one-day-two-lakh plants and continuous process of plantation by Huda. Rajasekhara Reddy had come to participate in the one-day-two-lakh plantation programme taken up in the city and in Ranga Reddy and Medak districts at the Ordnance Factory grounds in Medak on Thursday.

HUDA authorities claimed that survival rate of the plants is 94 per cent. All the plants are rain-fed and the method adapted is rain water harvesting technology where the whole area is ploughed deep in criss-cross direction with a M B Plough after clearing the unwanted scrub growth. Only healthy and well graded seedlings of the height of not less than 1 metre are used as planting stocks. The height of the plants become double within a year.

The species include neem, usri, bamboo, amla, vippa, peepal, rita, sissoo, taani, tamarind, kanuga, red sanders, jamun and peltophorum.

Addressing the ceremony the chief minister said that no individual organisation in the world could compete with Huda when it comes to plantation. "This is the highest ever plantation and Hyderabad will soon be the greenest city in India," he said. Rajasekhara Reddy emphasised on involving children in the green drive and urged the people to plants trees in their homes.

Sources:
THE TIMES OF INDIA 1 Aug, 2006 TIMES NEWS NETWORK
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Xenitis Plans Rs 1,200 Crore Chip Facility In Hyderabad

Xenitis Infotech Ltd., a Kolkata-based PC Assembly technology company, has announced plans to invest Rs.1,200 crores for establishing a chip manufacturing facility in the Fab City coming up on the city outskirts, which would be the company's first establishment outside West Bengal.

A delegation of Xenitis, engaged in the manufacture of personal computers and computer spares, that met Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy with its plans for the proposed facility was assured all the necessary support from the State Government for the project that is to be implemented in phases.

Xenitis president and chief financial officer Ambar Mukherji said the company had excellent long-term relationships with Taiwanese and Chinese hardware manufacturers and the move to set up the manufacturing base for chips for mobile phones was a logical extension to it. Ambar Mukerji said they were in talks with a couple of Taiwanese semiconductor majors for technology transfer for their project. According to Mukerji, Xenitis is already in talks with cellphone manufacturing companies like Ericsson for supply of mobile chips to be produced at the proposed Hyderabad unit. "Hyderabad has been chosen for the project as it has certain distinct advantages," he said. Xenitis was expected to finalise the strategic partner shortly.

The project would be taken up in three phases of Rs.400 crores each that would be part funded through debt and equity. The project would also seek Central and State Government support as well. This would be in the form of land and about 30 per cent Central equity support. The State has allotted 100 acres of land for the chip unit in the Fab City Project. The company was already in talks with certain financial institutions that had agreed to support the project.

Many software majors like Wipro and HCL are excited over the proposed semiconductor unit as the domestic availability would provide cost benefit to them.

About Xenitis:
A group of young professionals with impeccable academic record, solid professional reputation and enviable success achieved at an early age, decided to move away from their monotonous safe lane. Reluctant to keep the fumes of hope confined in the conventional success they ventured to sow the seeds of brilliance. And soon the harvest came in – ‘Xenitis’, they named it. Aamar PC from Xenitis is the first branded PC manufactured in Eastern India.

Today, Xenitis has unfolded new range of PC products and accessories starting from Desktop, Laptops and High end Servers, which shall redefine the looks and power of PC in the subcontinent in terms of Colorful Computers & first indigenously manufactured Laptops.

Sources:
The Hindu www.hindu.com Friday, Jun 30, 2006
EFY News Network www.efytimes.com Monday July 03, 2006
www.xenitisgroup.com

Land Auctions In Hyderabad Propel Property Prices

The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority, HUDA, has a new source of income- land auctions. Experts say this is pushing property prices up around the city. CNBC-TV18 reports.

Land prices around the proposed outer ring road project in Hyderabad are sky rocketing, fuelled by auctions conducted by HUDA. The authority has promised world class infrastructure in the area within a year and has auctioned the land chosen for development at thrice its original value.

Experts say that while these localities will be the new hotspots for residential development, auctions have caused land prices to spiral unhealthily all around the city. But Huda has its reasons.

Jayesh Ranjan, VC of HUDA says, "We link the land with infrastructure, if farmers try to sell the land they won't be able to fetch the same price. We are selling a concept. We provide access and infrastructure of the highest quality."

Property prices in Nanakramguda, Gachibowli and Kokapet near the airport about 25 kilometres from the city rule at Rs 2,500-3,000 per square foot. And independent bungalows here cost between Rs 70 lakh and a crore of rupees an acre. That's as much as you might pay in elite residential Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills or the city centre in Begumpet.

Source:
Moneycontrol.com 2006-08-07 09:38

Hyderabad To Boast Of India's Longest Flyover Soon

Hyderabad will soon boast of India's longest flyover. A joint venture between Simplex Infrastructure and Somdatt Constructions has just won a bid for Rs 439 crore elevated expressway project from Mehdipatnam to international airport.

HUDA authorities opened the financial bids here on July 31st 2006 in the presence of all the six bidders (Gamon India, Punj Loyd, Italian Thai Development, Bangkok, Navyug Engineering, Simplex Infrastructure and IJM Corporation, Malaysia ) whose technical bids were cleared by the technical committee on Friday. Simplex Somdatt, a joint venture between Kolkata-based Simplex Infrastructure with headquarters at Delhi and Somdatt quoted the lowest amount of Rs.439 crores. It is 2.5 per cent less than the HUDA's estimated construction value of Rs.450 crores for the longest flyover in the country. Gamon India quoted the next lowest figure of Rs.447.6 crores, Rs.8.6 crores more than that of lowest proposal. The third lowest financial bid was Rs.457.6 crores.

A detailed report on the financial proposal submitted by the Simplex Somdatt would be submitted to the technical committee which in turn would evaluate the proposal and forward it to the high-level committee. The high-level committee is headed by Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, and comprises Secretaries of Finance, Transport and R&B departments besides the HUDA Vice-Chairman.

In all probability, Letter of Acceptance would be awarded to Simplex Somdatt before August 10 and work should commence by August 20, said HUDA Chief Engineer Vivek Deshmukh.

With four lanes stretching over 11.63 kilometres, the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority, is calling this new flyover Hyderabad's backbone. The proposed expressway will connect the heart of the city to the new international airport at Shamshabad, and Simplex and Somdatt plan to build it in just 26 months, using segmented constructions.

"Work will start on August 1, and the new airport will be ready in 2009, by which time, the flyover will be functional," said Jayesh Ranjan, VC, Hyderabad Urban Development Authority.

The proposed flyover will begin at the heart of the city at Medipatanam. It will connect the inner ring road where there will be an underpass and then it will hit the national highway, which is being widened for the purpose. After another nine kilometres it will join the new airport at a trumpet junction.

The entire stretch currently takes an hour and a half to complete once the road is functioning it will take less than 20 minutes because there will be no stops along the way.

The flyover will make the airport more accessible to Hi-Tech City and Banjara Hills. But there are still some thickly populated areas on the way, where land acquisitions might become a problem. Even so, the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority is confident that the city's backbone will hum with zipping traffic in 2 years.

Sources:
www.domain-b.com 2 August 2006
www.hindu.com Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006

Ever Thought What 'WILL' Happen After You're Gone?

Making A Will

Most of us toil hard all our lives to earn wealth. We buy land, flats, bungalows and invest in other kind of property. But this property is useful to us only during our lives. What happens to it after we die? A person is definitely concerned about the fate of his property after he leaves this world. As a solution to this, our legislators have made provisions for the disposal and distribution of property of the deceased in the hands of desired persons by the execution of wills.

If a person does not make a Will, his property will devolve upon his heirs according to the respective statutory provisions. In a person's lifetime, he can also gift his property to his near and dear ones out of natural love and affection, but then this leaves matters in limbo, as his own security in his lifetime itself gets diluted. Let us understand the true nature of a Will.

A Will is the legal declaration of the intention of the person making it, whereby he leaves behind his property to other person/s after his death. Thus, in order to be a legally enforceable will, it should comply with the formalities as provided in law. The person making a will is called the 'testator" and in case of a lady, a "testatrix”. A will takes effect only on the death of the testator.

A person can make a Will at any time during his lifetime. He can make a Will as many times as he likes, but only the last will, executed before the testators death is enforceable. It revokes all previous wills and testamentary dispositions. The will has to be executed by the testator by signing or affixing his mark (signature, thumb impression, stamp, etc.) to the Will. Two or more witnesses are required to attest the Will, each of whom should have seen the testator signing the Will or follow the provisions as laid down in the law.

While it may be one of the most important documents that a person makes, there is no prescribed form for making a will. No technical words need to be used while making a will. It can be handwritten or typed. No stamp duty is necessary for Wills. Also, registration of Wills is not compulsory; but that does not stop a person from registering the same.

If the testator wants to make any alteration or additions to his will (i.e. if he wants to amend the Will), he may do so by making a codicil. A codicil shall form part of the Will. This normally is done when some additional properties are purchased or some properties are disposed off and amendments are required. Such a codicil Will form part of the existing will. A Codicil is valid only if it is executed and attested in the same manner as a Will. A Will or Codicil may be revoked or cancelled in writing, at any time by the testator.

He must declare his intention to revoke the Will or codicil and, execute it in the same manner as the Will or codicil. A Will or codicil may also be revoked by the burning , tearing or destroying of the same by the testator or, by some other person in his presence and, by his directions , with the intention of revoking the same. A joint will, in respect of their common properties may be revoked by either of the testators during the life time of both or, by the survivor, on the death of one of them.

Many a times, the testator wants to keep a secret of his last wish. Yet he wants to register the same. In such a case he could deposit the Will with the Registrar in a sealed cover superscribed with the name of the testator and that of his agent, if any, along with a statement of the nature of the document. The Registrar on being satisfied of the identity of the testator or his agent, shall retain the sealed cover in a fire proof box in his custody.

The testator may withdraw it by applying for it at any time and the Registrar shall deliver it accordingly. After the death of the testator, any person may apply to the Registrar to open the cover and if the Registrar can do so if he is satisfied that the testator is dead.

The laws regarding proving the Will in a Court by obtaining a probate has gone through various changes. Compulsion to prove the Will by means of Court orders is no more necessary in all cases. If the Will is executed in Pune and the properties are in Pune, the Will need not be probated. The same however changes if the city is Mumbai. In such an event it is compulsory to probate the Will.

The problems normally appear when the testator has a Will leaving his property to "A" but in the nomination forms in banks or in respect of a property in a Co-operative Housing Society Ltd. for instance, the nominee is other than "A" , then the society or bank will follow the instructions under the nomination . But the nominee only holds the property in his fiduciary capacity as a trustee for the heirs of the deceased, i.e. the property would still devolve on "A”. But he society records would show another person as owner.

People often intend that their property is left in the right hands after their demise. If we have a clear idea about the legalities of a Will and how it should be made, we will avoid any kind of unnecessary disputes over our property after us. By making a valid Will, we can be assured that our property Will be used in the desired manner by the desired people after us.

Sources:

www.economictimes.com August 7, 2006, INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK

"Making A Will" By: Advocate Zaheer Khambatta

***UPDATE: SOLD OUT**** My Plot For Sale: E/W Plot at Puppalaguda For Sale

Sale: E/W Plot at Puppalaguda/Manikonda For Sale by Owner
I am the owner of this plot and I need to sell it for financial reasons. I have two plots here and I am planning to sell one plot.

Plot Details:
Size: 253 Sq Yards 40x57 (Plot No: 12)
Facing: East/West Facing, 30 Feet Road on West Side and 25Feet Road on East Side
Price: Expected 13,500/Sq. Yard - a little bit negotiable
Location: Puppalaguda/Manikonda
Main Road: The plot is around 200 feet away from the main road that goes from Manikonda to Narsingi. This road will be widened to 80 feet Main Road in very near future.

IDBI Bank has approved loans for this plot - this speaks for itself that this plot is clear from all legal aspects. I purchased the plot by availing loan from IDBI Bank. One can also take loan from IDBI Bank if meeting the requirements.

Nearest Points:
1. The plot is around half-kilometer away from the prestigious Lanco IT Park at Manikonda. The construction of the Lanco IT Park is already in progress.
2. The plot is less tan 2 KM from Oakridge International School, Delhi Public School and also Future Kids School
3. The plot is less than 3 KM from Ramanaidu Studios at Nanakramguda
4. The plot is 4KM away from Financial District surrounded by IT Companies Infosys, Microsoft, Wipro, Polaris, Computer Associates, Indian School Of Business, Kanbay, UBS, Franklyn etc.
5. Opposite to Secratriate Colony
6. Nearest Colonies: Anjali Gardens, OU Employees colony, Dream Valley,Huda Colony,Alkapoor township, LIC Colony, Pioneer, Fair fields, Puppalaguda, Manikonda, Friends colony, Lanco Hills etc
7. Around 6KM from Jubilee Hills, 4KM From Gachibowli, 2KM from Kajaguda/Old Mumbai Highway Junction, 7KM from Hitec City, 7KM from Mehdipatnam, 4KM from Tolichowki, 3KM from Outer Ring Road.

Puppalaguda/Manikoda are the HotSpots these days due to their close distance to very good residential colonies, famous schools and IT companies. Plot rates are already touching around Rs 50,000 per sq yard around Hitec City. Expect the same once the Lanco IT Park contruction completes and Outer Ring Road is in place.

The construction of the Outer Ring Road First Phase already started, which will run from Gachibowli to Shamshabad Airport. You can now see the construction in progress.

East-West facing and two roads on each side - it's a premium. The plot is very good for Immediate construction. You will see all constructed houses from the plot. Houses of few film personalities like Chandrabose, Chandra Mohan, Maradhuri Raja, Harikrishna's daughter etc are 0.5 KM away from this plot.

Please contact me if you are serious about buying a property in the hot location of Hyderabad. Brokers please excuse me.

Contact Details:
In USA, Pradeep 770-355-0451
or
In India, my uncle Mr M.Sudhakar Garu(Additional SP) 91-040-9440627006.

Independent Houses With A Spot Of Garden Are A Far Dream Now???

Photo Courtesy: S. Mahinsha

Not here, not there, not anywhere. Many hankering after independent houses hear the price, receive enlightenment in a second and opt for flats. There is not much room for dream `houses' in the city, writes T. Lalith Singh.

Fine and individual elevation, spaciously built with adequate room for every member of the family, enough bedrooms, a small patch of greenery in the front and place for children to run and play around.

If such an independent dwelling is what you look forward to in the city or even in its immediate suburbs, it could be a dream hard to realise -- at least for the middle class given the unprecedented escalation of property prices.

With availability of plots in the city turning scarce, its otherwise desolate suburbs saw townships and colonies springing all over.

The growth continued in expanding circles with some areas getting more attention while others registered partial development. But entangled in a realty boom, even suburbs appear to be no more in the reach of most when it comes to owning an independent property.

Toooo.. hot

While Mumbai Highway drew first blood and prices of independent houses measuring an average 200 sq.yds rose from a mere Rs.5-6 lakhs to Rs.45 lakh plus in just two years, other outskirts too joined the race. Whether it is Uppal, locations beyond Santoshnagar, Medchal and across or Nacharam and further down, it is the same tale.

Those scouting for an independent property lament at the way their dream homes are now out-of-reach. "I went around with agents for an independent house but not one matching my requirements was available at less than Rs.45 lakhs," says Rajeshwar Rao, a retired Government employee.

Similar are the woes of many who went to suburbs hoping the distance from city heart would translate to a lower price. But what confronted there left them confounded. Even at 20 km from city, the prices are in a spiralling mode at what is described as unrealistic pace. For every square yard, Gachibowli demands Rs.12,000 to Rs.15,000, Chandanagar about Rs.15,000 while Medchal, Kompally, Uppal and Hayathnagar are fast moving into the same bracket.

Some owners who had put their property for sale at KPHB, Kondapur and Gachibowli respond to initial calls with a quote of Rs.20,000 to Rs.22,000 per sq.yd.

At these prices, a 300 sq.yds house would mean an investment of anywhere between Rs.45 lakh to Rs.50 lakh on land and with rising material costs, another Rs.15 to Rs.20 lakh on construction, sighs P. Yadagiri, a middle-level executive who gave up a futile search for a house at Kondapur.

Just developing locations and those with potential to develop in future too have pegged their demand and are commanding what some describe as ludicrous rates. Plot sellers at Bachupally want Rs.5,000 to Rs.7,000 while those at Ameenpur are asking Rs.8,000 and upwards. The realty prices at Tellapur and Nallagandla, which do not boast of many amenities, have already crossed the Rs.10,000 mark.

The duplex and triplex concept that caught public imagination in recent times though built on smaller plot size too comes at a cost. While those away from the city come in the Rs.20 lakh bracket, the hotspots have these at Rs. 60 lakh and in some cases even Rs.1 crore and above. All these were unheard of till a year back in the city.

Only flats, sob!

This trend has narrowed options of many property seekers to apartment flats. And however much they might yearn for a house of their own and hate to share everything from parking to staircase to water sump with others, they are left with no choice but to browse through brochures from apartment developers.

Source:
www.hindu.com Saturday, Aug 05, 2006

Hyderabad Attractions Series 9 - Vanenburg IT Park

Vanenburg IT Park is a significant landmark in the Knowledge Corridor of Hyderabad. Built on a sprawling 20 acres of land neighbouring HITEC City, Vanenburg IT Park is considered one of the best IT parks in India. Three buildings – Mariner, Auriga ,Orion and Midas provide a built-up campus space of more than one million sq ft. Occupants include companies like Cognizant Technology Solutions, Computer Associates, Baan, C3i, Deloitte, Invensys, Surgical Information Systems, Cordys, SSA Global, Motorola, Xiotech and market research company TNS.

It is a Green township (landscaped gardens) that is friendly to the environment, and is considered one of the best of its kind in India. Most of the large rock formations have been left untouched, with the buildings designed around the natural landscape adds to the beauty of the landscape. It boasts of a highly efficient office space, minimum lighting due to lots of open space, separate cafeteria building and fully-equipped training class rooms.

According to the park’s managing director S Ramanathan, Venenberg Tech Park saw a total investment of about Rs 120 crore, which in itself is likely to be the largest European IT-related investment in India. A unique feature of the park—its focus on attracting MNC R&D centers. It has a program called MIDAS, which offers a suite of services targeted at overseas companies planning to expand their R&D and support activities in India. These services range from helping in span all the tasks—beginning from the incorporation of company to the establishment of a fully-operational R&D center.

Ascendas, the Singapore based Business space provider and premier developer of IT Parks in India, had acquired Vanenburg IT Park from Dutch technology firm Vanenburg Group in 2004.

Some of the unique features of the Vanenburg IT Park are
1. High efficiency of office area
2. Separate Cafeteria building
3. Ample Bandwidth
4. Fully-equipped training class-rooms
5. 24x7 operating hours
6. Ample parking space (covered and open-to-sky)












Source:
www.vbitpark.com

Restaurants Set To Ride The Mall Boom

Estimated 5000 F&B Outlets To Open Across 600 Malls Before 2010
Savio Rodrigues & Vyas Sivanand - Mumbai

The boom in the Rs 9000 crore retail industry is fuelling the growth of restaurants in the country. From a base of merely 23 malls in 2003, India will sport 220 malls by 2006 and an estimated 600 malls by 2010, according to studies conducted by Chesterton Meghraj, Knight Frank and KSA Technopak.

This surge is expected to witness a parallel increase of over 5,000 restaurants across the country in malls alone. In the next five years, players like McDonalds, Barista, Starbucks, Cafe Coffee Day, Qwiky’s, Dominos, and Pizza Hut are expected to route their expansions through malls.

"Malls have provided an impetus for restaurant development. Food and Beverage (F&B) outlets in a mall help to increase business substantially on account of high footfalls. Secondly, rentals in malls are cheaper when compared to a stand-alone property in a high street. And with malls now coming up with a revenue-sharing model for F&B, it will certainly lead to an increase in restaurants in the country," expressed Anil Karumbaya, McDonald's, Bangalore.

Large format malls replete with entertainment, retail and leisure components have sprung up in all major cities in India. Mumbai, Pune, NCR, Bangalore and Hyderabad will account for 74 per cent of all mall space by 2007. The balance 26 per cent will be made up by cities like Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nagpur, Lucknow, Indore, Ludhiana and Chandigarh.

According to Nandkumaarr Awatramani, president and CEO, Mardi Gras Restaurants Pvt Ltd, "A mall essentially will have a minimum of 5 outlets and if there is a food court there will be nothing less than about 10-15 outlets within it. So, while the numbers are huge, I feel that it makes business sense to go in for a mall only if the margins are high. If the margins are low, one should not be going in for an F&B outlet in a mall."

Similarly, Sujoy Jana, head-food & beverage, Coffee Day Express, said, "Being in a shopping mall makes a lot of sense especially during the weekend when the footfalls are huge. One cannot get the same number in a stand alone outlet. It takes a much shorter period for us to breakeven when in a mall."

"In fact we are looking at about 500 outlets of Cafe Coffee Day by 2008, of which we will aggressively look at the malls," he further added.

Source/Courtesy:

http://www.expresshospitality.com

Like the house? Rs 150 cr only

NOTE: This news really does not relate to Hyderabad at all. But I just wanted to mention it here, as this highlights how crazy real estate can get in India. Who knows...we may see similar news from Hyderabad as well in future....!! Keep an eye ..!!
*************************************************************

NEW DELHI: How much would you pay for a plot of land? How prime can a piece of real estate get? Well, the 3.5-acre spread at 5, Man Singh Road, which comes with a rambling colonial bungalow, is being negotiated for Rs 150 crore.

For those who didn't quite get it, yes, the figure is Rs 150 crore. Say it slowly enough and it sort of registers.

Somewhat. If the mega deal goes through, it could well be the highest bid for a residential plot in the country.

Jaywant D Singh, a former investment banker who is handling the potentially record-busting transaction, said, "The property came into the market late last year. The entire deal will be in white."

The property is owned by the Gujarat-based Pattani family, 12 members of which have a claim in the deal. The plot is registered in the names of Jaikant, Shashikant, Yashomati and Mahesh Pattani. The last two are dead but their successors have a claim.

Singh claims the house is worth between Rs 125 to 175 crore. The sale process goes something like this. There is a round of unlisted bidding. The best bids are selected and then another round of bidding is held.
So far, the highest amount reportedly paid for a house in Delhi has been Rs 75 crore for 4, Tees January Marg. The buyer remains shrouded in secrecy.

The fact is, in Delhi's hyper real estate, nothing is out of reach as the rich pursue elite addresses they feel only money can buy. The prices range between Rs 10,000-20,000 per sq ft.

But it is not just the money value. It also about wanting to be in the company of people like Sunil Mittal, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and the Jindals. Which perhaps explains why plots in these areas — usually between one and 3.5 acres — attract a long list of buyers.

Said Santosh Kumar of Chesterton Meghraj, a real estate firm dealing in high-end properties, "Very few properties actually get sold in this segment. But when they do, they run into crores."

Source:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 10 Jul, 2005 0132hrs IST
Article published in www.indiatimes.com by Rumu Banerjee
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1166247.cms

Buying property? 8 GREAT strategies - By Pankaj Anup Toppo, Outlook Money

Almost all of us have reason to thank our grandparents and great-grandparents for their foresight in investing in real estate and gold. They may have done so because there was no other investment avenue open to them.

But real estate is still a great investment option, as it gives you capital appreciation and rental income. "It's an investment option since it fights inflation," says Veer Sardesai, a Pune-based financial planner.

So, how do you combine a real asset like real estate with financial assets like stocks to provide the growth impetus to your wealth? The answer lies in understanding the different wealth-enhancing roles of real estate during various stages of life. Here are eight strategies that you could adopt:

1. Start early

Start saving for a home the moment you begin your career. "These are the golden years for saving," says Gaurav Mashruwala, a Mumbai-based financial planner. "Invest in the largest affordable real estate early on in life. This should be your primary residence," says Sardesai.

Early acquisition helps you to repay your home loan well within your working life. Also, the EMI as a percentage of your salary decreases as your pay increases, making the outflows more affordable. "If you lock into the interest rate for the loan, the interest outflow will be less than the compounding effect of inflation," says Mashruwala. And, of course, there are tax advantages.

Mumbai-based media professional Rajit Desai, 31, used this strategy to great effect. He booked a flat in Borivali-East in December 2000 when he was living in his uncle's flat and didn't have a rent outflow. He took a home loan at a fixed rate of 12.50 per cent per annum and later opted for a floating rate. Slide in the interest rate reduced his loan tenure from 15 to 10 years.

Salary hikes helped him pay higher EMIs. Now married, he says, "The value of my property has appreciated and I plan to sell it and acquire a bigger one." The appreciation has indeed been substantial. He bought the flat at Rs 1,751 per sq ft; the rate now is Rs 3,800 per sq ft. Desai gains even if he doesn't move to a bigger house. Once he repays the loan, he plans to invest the amount that now goes as EMI in mutual funds.

2. Stick to your budget

Yes, you want a home that your family will fit into, but don't over-stretch your budget. When there's a boom in the market, brokers may encourage you to go overboard and buy a bigger house in a better location. Don't give in.

Ideally, look for a property for which you can arrange the down payment, which is typically 15 per cent of the cost of the property. So, you can go for a home costing Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) if you can pay Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 150,000).

Otherwise, find out the EMI you can afford. It shouldn't exceed 40 per cent of your take-home pay. Experts suggest that you settle for the lower of the two property price figures arrived at by the down payment and EMI approaches. Remember to factor in costs such as stamp duty and brokerage.

3. Invest in real estate MFs

After you've invested in a house, it may take time for you to buy a second one. Instead, consider regular investments in REMF or real estate mutual funds which will be available soon in India. These are mutual fund schemes that invest directly or indirectly in real estate and will initially be closed-ended.

Units will be listed on the bourses and NAVs declared daily. "Returns will be 10-12 per cent, in line with the current market yields," says Deepak Sankhye, manager, investments, Trammel Crow Meghraj.

4. Invest in a second property

Once you've acquired a house and perhaps invested in REMFs, consider buying a second property, which you could rent out. "If you already have a property in your name, take the second property in your spouse's name to save wealth tax," advises Mashruwala.

Tarkesh Gupta, 35, a New Delhi-based Manager (HR) at Dabur Pharma, bought a house in Laxmi Nagar in 2000. He then invested in a society flat costing Rs 15 lakh (Rs 1.5 million) in Indirapuram in 2004.

He recently moved into this flat, whose value has appreciated to Rs 38 lakh (Rs 3.8 million), and plans to rent out his first house. "I want to hold on to the house for at least three-four years before taking a decision on selling," says Gupta. Infrastructure is expected to improve in East Delhi due to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and Gupta expects more capital appreciation for his flat.

5. Explore emerging areas

Real estate prices will go up in the long term due to the huge demand for housing, though there may be short-term blips. While substantial gains can be made from investment in the metros, you can expect to profit from the considerable appreciation in investments in emerging areas such as non-metros and suburbs.

Should you invest in plots of land? "Land as such does not give you any rental yield. Apart from that, you will have to spend time and money protecting it from encroachments," says Sanjay Verma, joint managing director, Cushman & Wakefield (India).

But, says Jayant Varma, executive director (north) Knight Frank India, "Investing in land is certainly a good option. A new trend is emerging where investors are focusing more on tier-II and tier-III cities as land is still cheaper there." Warns Sankhye: "The risk in investing in land is extremely high. One must ensure a clean title and be diligent."

6. Diversify your portfolio

As your wealth increases, maintain your exposure to real estate by investing in residential and commercial properties. The two categories of real estate investments have different cycles and diversification helps by spreading your risk, though investment in commercial property tends to be costlier than residential property. You can buy a small commercial property next to an upcoming project or a shop in a mall and rent them out.

7. Invest rental income

You might pay the EMI for the loan you take for your second or third real estate acquisition from the rental income from them. Once the loans are repaid, invest the rental amounts in assets like stocks, equity mutual funds, REMFs and gold to diversify your portfolio since experts recommend that real estate should make up no more than 30 per cent of your portfolio.

Beverly Mathews, 33, a Mumbai-based PR professional who lives with her parents, bought a one-bedroom house at Powai for Rs 13 lakh (Rs 1.3 million) in 2000. "Investment in property was more of a forced saving and it also helped build an asset over the long-term," says Mathews.

Recently, she rented out the property and gets Rs 10,500 per month as rent. The EMI on her home loan is Rs 11,571. She has also started investing in mutual funds to diversify her portfolio.

8. Right size your investments

Managing real estate investments becomes difficult once you retire. That's why you should sell them over time, except the home you live in. The proceeds can be re-invested in regular income creating assets such as annuities. Some of them can be invested in higher risk instruments like equity funds to beat inflation.

While real estate is undoubtedly a great tool for wealth creation, it has its downsides. You need to make a large initial investment. The advent of REMFs will remove this drawback as you will be able to invest even small amounts in them.

Also, real estate is highly illiquid, especially when compared to financial assets like stocks, so you need a long-term investment horizon. But there's still enough lustre in it to make it investment worthy.

There are numerous wealth creating opportunities that will arise from real estate; stay alert to exploit them.

Source:

Published in www.rediff.com

By Pankaj Anup Toppo, Outlook Money July 27, 2006
http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/jul/27property.htm
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Wells Fargo To Open Technology Center In Hyderabad

Wells Fargo & Co(NYSE: WFC), the No. 5 U.S. bank and a leading financial services company of the US, is setting up an information technology and business process outsourcing facility in Hyderabad, citing a growing need for technology talent that can no longer be supplied solely in the United States. The facility will provide technology resources, including software development, for a variety of functions for Wells Fargo & Company.

The company made an announcement during a video conference with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on Tuesday. According to a press release, the Indian operations of Wells Fargo will commence by October 2006 with over 30 to 50 local employees in the first phase, and it could employ up to 300 team members by the end of next year. It has identified 50,000 square feet of built-up area near Hitec city to start its operations. It will build its own campus subsequently.

A delegation from Wells Fargo visited India during March and again in July this year to evaluate various cities in the country before finalising Hyderabad for setting up the company's operations. That speaks about Hyderabad. APInvest, a nodal agency set up by the state government for providing single window interface to investors, is stated to have played a proactive role in bringing Wells Fargo.


About Wells Fargo & Co:

Wells Fargo is more than a bank. It is a diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance for more than 23 million customers through 6,200 stores. It is the largest financial institution headquartered in San Francisco, spanning all of North America. It's stock market value exceeds $100 billion, one of only about 20 companies with such as market cap. Forbes ranks Wells Fargo as the world’s 25th leading company based on a composite of sales, assets, profits and market value. It is in the top 20 among all U.S. companies in profits and market value. It is one of America’s 40 largest private employers with 146,000 team members. Today, it is the only bank in the United States to receive the highest possible credit rating “Aaa” from Moody’s Investors Service. It is large, diversified, dynamic and innovative.

With an asset base of $492 billion and employee strength of 1.53 lakh, Wells Fargo is stated to be one of the 40 largest private employers in the US providing banking, insurance, investment, mortgage and consumer finance services, which has annual revenue exceeding $2.5 trillion. It is ranked fifth in assets and fourth in market value of stock among it's peers as of March 31, 2006. It has the third largest ATM network(more than 6,200 ATMs) and has earned the distinction of second largest debit card issuer in the US market.

Source:
www.wellsfargo.com
www.business-standard.com

Greater Hyderabad - Mega Property Show

ORGANIZER:
TeluguProperties.com
Navayuga Infotech Pvt Ltd,
A CMM Level 4 & ISO 9001 Company
3rd-4th-5th Floors, Pavani Plaza
Khairtabad-Hyderabad, (A.P), India.
Tel: + (91)-(40)-9885522220/65302222
Fax: + (91)-(40)-23302510

Venue Details
October 13th to 15th
Institution of Engineers
(Opposite to ICICI Bank)
Khairatabad, Hyderabad

EVENT PROFILE:
Greater Hyderabad - Mega Property Show shall be the real estate dedicated Show which will showcase the largest and most comprehensive range of Commercial and Residential Property ever to be collected in one convenient source location, providing a unique opportunity for anyone serious about purchasing and property investment and would be the ideal platform for gaining new contacts and developing existing business relations in Andhra Pradesh emerging markets.

At the Mega Property Show most of the Builders, Residential & Commercial Property Developers, Property Loan Service Providers, Investment Companies will be participating along with many Interior Designers.

VISITORS PROFILE:
This event offers tremendous opportunities to gain access to a large and diverse group of serious investors:

• Public & Private , Central and State Government Employees
• National & Private Bank Employees & Corporate Employees
• NRI, MNC & IT sector Corporate
• Mortgage Brokers, Architecture Firm, Tax Consultants
• Residential House and Community Builder, Commercial Developer
• National Realtor and Investment Institutions

We believe our shows provide the perfect means for your company to tap into a new high quality market.

EXHIBITORS PROFILE:
Profile for exhibitors in Greater Hyderabad Mega Property Show includes Property developers, Builders, Interior Designers, Banks, Housing Financial Institutions, Building material Suppliers, and Construction Houses & Architects. Leasing companies and other financial institutions, Property management, corporate real estate asset, Property investment, Real estate funds, Insurance companies, Private property companies, Real estate media, Architects and planning companies/ Engineering companies.

HIGHLIGHTS:
A Live Ground to Air conversation will be running concurrently with the show by RADIO MIRCHI 95 FM and Coverage by TV9.

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Hike In Land Registration Charges

The market value of lands and buildings for the purpose of registration is being increased by 10 to 20 per cent in all the urban agglomerations of the State from August 1 2006. The revised values will cover all special grade municipalities, municipal councils and corporations.

The Government had some time ago reduced the cost of registering properties to 9.5 per cent by pegging the stamp duty at 7 per cent of the market value, transfer duty at 2 per cent and registration fee at 0.5 per cent in tune with the national policy. While these rates remain unchanged, the basic rate will now increase following the hike in the value of properties.

Lal Rosem, Inspector-General, Stamps & Registration, told The Hindu that the market value of lands in Ranga Reddy district adjoining the State capital were being increased by 20 per cent, the highest in the State. "Even then, the revision falls short of the original plan to revise the market value to 70 per cent of the actual rate," he added.

Mr. Rosem said the values would be revised again after six months in urban agglomerations in line with the decision taken by the Government. "But, this will be subject to a review of the ground level realities. The revision in rural areas is due next year," he added.

Source:
www.hindu.com Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006

Land Alloted By AP Govt To Infosys At Shamshabad Hits A Snag

Infosys's plans of setting up its largest campus in Hyderabad have hit a snag because a part of the land given to it by the government had already been allotted to another company by a predecessor regime.

On March 27, 2006, it was promised 550 acres to set up a campus in Hyderabad.The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy promised Infosys Chairman Narayana Murthy.

Infosys is planning to build a multi-function facility , at a cost of Rs 1,250 crore, on a 550-acre site near Shamshabad. The sprawling facility was meant to dwarf the company's headquarters in Bangalore and give a huge boost to Hyderabad's effort to step out of that city's shadow as a destination for IT investment . Seeing this as a great branding opportunity for the city, the government rushed to allot 550 acres of land near Shamshabad to Infosys last year.

Once initial euphoria of the deal cooled, Infosys discovered that about 100 acres of the land promised to it falls in a 450-acre sprawl that had been already been signed over to sports management firm IMG Bharata. According to a government order issued on Feb. 9, 2004, IMG Bharata was allotted about 450 acres near Shamshabad for developing sports and leisure facilities. Officials say the glitch was not discovered until they were preparing documentation for the transfer of the land to Infosys. They are now worried because the deal with IMG Bharata looks destined to go international courts of arbitration.

Now the state government plans to bring in an ordinance to cancel the deal with IMG Bharata and hand over the land to Infosys. If IMG Bharatha contests the move, it could mean a long court battle for Infosys but Infosys would rather look elsewhere, beyond the promised land in Hyderabad.

Infosys would apparently prefer to scrap the deal if it does not get the promised land but the government is optimistic. "I can assure you that they will come back to Hyderabad," said YS Rajasekhara Reddy,Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Infosys is being patient for now. "We are aware of the issues involved. The state government has to hand over the land to us by the monthend or early next month. We are sure that the government will come through with its promise," Infosys human resources development director T V Mohandas Pai told.

Sources:

www.indiatimes.com

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2006 09:30:35 AM]

www.moneycontrol.com 2006-07-31 19:43