Rural Development & Real Estate Industry !!

Recently, the minister of Rural Development announced that within the next three years land records throughout the country would be modernized. So far the states of Tripura, Haryana, Karnataka and Gujarat have completed the modernization process. The Rural Development Ministry is responsible for the implementing the project which entails the computerizing and modernizing the land records.

This would permit individuals to view the land records, ownership along with other details online, hence acting as a prerequisite for the accelerating of the entire land buying process undertaken by private entities.

As per the minister of Rural Development the draft rules along with the guidelines of the new Land Acquisition Bill comprising the Right to Fair Compensation, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Transparency within Land Acquisition Bill, would be available by the 30th of September. Subsequently, the initial guidelines would be uploaded within a public domain for almost a month.

Ministry Aims:

The ministry also believes that the process of registrations would be made transparent if the amendments to the Registration Act 1908 are passed. Additionally it would also help in determining the exact circle rates of land, which is presently ambiguous. These amendments would be complementary to the recent Land Bill.

Indutry’s reaction:

Concerns amid the industry has been increasing due to the land bill which envisages increased compensation for land losers and also includes provisions for resettlement and rehabilitation along with higher consent requirements. At present, members of the industry feel that the requirements for consent should be relaxed by being applicable only to people owning 80 per cent of the land and not to 80 per cent of land owners.

Therefore, some industry members continue to be rattled by the above retrospective clause within the Bill. However, the retrospective clause will be applicable only to projects which are at least five years old and within which the award has been announced but possession has not taken place, or in case the majority of land owners have not accepted the compensation. In cases such as these compensation would need to be paid as per the new laws.

State level amendments:

The ministry reiterated that while the respective state governments possess the authority to create their own laws pertaining to acquisition of land, the Bill would be used as the baseline. While the state governments can add to the provisions, like raising the consent clause to as much as 100 per cent from 80 per cent, they do not have the authority to dilute them.

Another Setback For Real Estate Developers

New Delhi: Real estate developers are disappointed over RBI’s call to hike the key policy rate. According torealty developers this could result in an increase within finance costs and conjointly have an effect on the demand for housing throughout the oncoming festive season. 

The RBI recently increased the short-term policy rate by 0.25 per cent in a bid to keep the existing levels of inflation under check, this move might increase the medium term EMIs for both home and auto loans.

Perception of developers:

As per leading developers, at this juncture there was absolutely no requirement for an increase in the repo rates. This would further hurt the growth sentiment. Real estate would be adversely impacted as the general sentiments would remain cautious. However, good products launched by credible developers at desirable locations would always be in demand.

Additionally, developers also feel that by raising the Repo might marginally curb inflation or sustain the Rupee value for a short while, however it would significantly impact market sentiments. Instead of bringing positivity within an otherwise sluggish economy RBI’s rate increase would affect growth prospects; which is not a desirable signal for the realty sector which does about one third of its total business during the festive season.

Perception of real estate analysts:

As per real estate analysts, generally during the festival season the demand for housing goes up and the major part of the developers sales take place during this period, however banks have already initiated increasing their rates for loans. The raise in repo rate would further lead to increase within the finance cost of developers which would affect their profit margins.

Another renowned analysts feel that as per the the present monetary policy, the increased repo rate would increase the borrowing cost. Howbeit, with the reduction of MSF by 0.75 per cent along with the reduction of minimum daily maintenance of CRR to 95 per cent from 99 per cent, would relax the tightening norms. Increase within finance costs in conjunction with the rising construction costs in the backdrop of the challenging economic scenario the developers profit margins is expected to be affected.

Although the realty segment has its reasons to be disappointed, provisions for increased liquidity within the system has been made by the RBI.

FDI norms Likely To Be Relaxed For Construction Industry

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms in the construction industry in India are likely to be relaxed by the government of India. The current real estate market is highly facing liquidity crunch for which the government is looking to boost up the flow of investments in the sector.

Proposed changes in Draft note

Official sources from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion revealed that the Commerce and Industry Ministry is finalizing a draft proposal regarding easing out the entry guidelines, minimum-area requirement and minimum lock-in period for investments, on the basis of the guidelines given by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA). Once the draft note is ready, it will be tabled in the cabinet, said sources.

The existing policy allows 100 percent foreign investment, including in housing, townships and construction of infrastructure, although there are several limitations.

The current FDI policy demands a lock-in period of three years for the investments made in India by foreign players. The three-year time is applicable right from the date of receipt or from the date of completion of minimum capitalization, whichever is later. But the draft policy proposes to relax this lock-in period for FDIs.

The policy also restricts the investments only to projects which have a minimum built-up area of 50,000 square metres and minimum capitalisation of $10 million for wholly-owned subsidiaries. But to attract more cash-flow in the sector, the draft note seeks to cut down the minimum built-up area limit to 20,000 square metres of carpet area and to decrease the minimum capitalisation limit to $5 million.

Most of the implications made by the Housing Ministry have been added in the draft note. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has requested suggestions from other ministries such as Finance, Home Affairs and the Planning Commission, and after seeking the suggestions, they will also be incorporated in the final note.

Possible impacts on real estate

Relaxing the FDI norms as proposed in the draft policy would attract more foreign investments to the real estate sector in India. This would give some relief to the cash-crunch developers and would also bring down the prices ofproperties in India. However, the property prices are not solely dependent on this factor alone.

The construction sector in India has attracted FDI inflows of Rs 100,363 crore, starting from April 2000 to January 2013, which sums to nearly 12 percent of the total FDI inflows in the nation.

Fiscal	FDI (in Rs. Crore)
2009-2010	13,469
2010-2011	7,590
2011-2012	15,236
2012-2013	6,562
April to July 2013	2,092

Complications likely to come in the way

Real estate experts opine that the proposed changes in FDI norms may not immediately help in drawing more foreign investments to the sector as the investors will keenly scrutinize the market scenario before investing.

Also there are other hurdles associated with foreign investments such as country-risk, exchange rate risk and policy risk as well. Hence, to protect the investors’ interest, it is necessary for the government to maintain transparency in all related affairs.

Other prime areas that require immediate attention are high interest rates, no steady support and lack of incentive schemes in the present economy.

Essential Herbs In Your Home Garden !!!

Having a home garden with herbs is a great idea, especially to make instant home remedies. While most essential herbs do not take a vast amount of space, they can be easily a part of a home garden. Let us take a look at the top ten herbs that one can grow in homes.

Basil: Basil is also commonly known as Tulsi, a common herb grown in every Hindu home. Not only do basil leaves give a warm and spicy flavor to the meals, it is also known for its anti-inflammatory properties helping in coughs and common cold. Tulsi plant is also considered as the holiest according to Hindu mythology.

Coriander: Coriander, also known as dhaniya, is an essential ingredient for most Indian and some western cuisines. Coriander leaves can be dried and crushed into a powder form or used directly. Home grown coriander leaves can double up as a beautification plant in the home garden while offering its exotic gourmet delights.

Fennel: Fennel also known as Saunf is a multipurpose herb that can be grown in the home garden. Fennel seeds are part of many ayurvedic and natural remedies. Water boiled with fennel seeds is a healthy drink aiding digestion.

Mint: Mint or peppermint is an essential ingredient in various cuisines and home remedies. Mint comes in a number of varieties including Japan mint, spear mint and wild mint. Autumn and spring are the best seasons to plant a mint plant in the garden. Mint is a natural mouth fresher and chewing mint leaves aids digestion.

Parsley: Commonly known as Ajmood in Hindi, Parsley leaves are popularly used in Mediterranean cooking. Parsley can be grown in a house garden and requires an ideal temperature setting between 20 to 25 degrees. For the Indian summer, Parsley plant can be planted in a pot that can be moved to cooler areas.

Lemon Grass: Lemon grass or Cymbopogon is an essential herb used widely in Thai and Chinese cooking. It requires ample sunshine to bloom. Lemon grass has a citrus flavor and the stems are dried and powdered to be used in various home remedies and cooking.

Sage: Commonly known as salvis, “sefakuss” in Hindi and “neelamulli” in Tamil. This is a popular herb that can be easily planted in the home garden. Sage leaves have anti bacterial and anti fungal properties making them a useful constituent of various home remedies.

Curry Patta: Curry patta or curry leaves are an important ingredient in South Indian cuisines. Curry leaves not only makes food aromatic, but have several medicinal properties. It can be easily grown in pots.

Garlic: Garlic is an essential herb with multiple uses that can grow in a home garden easily. From being useful as a vital ingredient in healthy living, and tasty cooking, garlic also aiding in recovery from common colds and fever.

Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera is one of the easiest plants to have in a home garden. With its vast medicinal and therapeutic properties, the Aloe Vera gel in raw form is useful in skin care and hair care.

Have Pune Lost Steam In The Metro Race

It has been more than five years since Pune Metro was incepted in the city. During that period, Kochi was discussing about implementing mass transport facilities in the city. At present, while the Pune metro still remains largely on paper, Kochi has moved on the fast track. The Central government has granted a metro to the city of Kochi, and the same is expected to be open to the public by mid-2016.

Pune is a city with a threshold of realizing the advantages of having a metro rail system. However, unnecessary disputes and arguments over the same have led to the delay in its launch.

Causes of delay in launching

The Pune Metro Rail Project was drafted under the guidance of Mr. E.Sreedhran, in 2009. It was estimated that the project would be completed by 2014. However, oppositions from political parties and NGOs, lead to delay of work. To add fuel to the fire, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations kept arguing about the costs involved. At present, the project needs a financial restructuring which is blended with complete discipline, values and work culture, in order to be completed successfully.

Need for the project

Pune is one of the fastest developing cities in the country. The city is witnessing a high growth of population owing to factors like excellent educational opportunities, favourable climatic conditions, proximity to Mumbai etc. The city would soon prove incapable of managing the traffic and the transportation requirements of the public. It would eventually lead to the increase in costs of goods and services. Implementing the metro rail project can help change the scenario, considerably.

Features of Pune Metro Station

While drafting the metro rail project, it was planned that a few sections would be constructed underground and the rest, elevated. However, the plan was dropped considering the increased traffic on the roads. Some roads in the city were too narrow to even adjust the pillars of elevated routes. Hence, the authority decided that all the routes covered under the project would be constructed underground. Nevertheless, in April 2012, Pune Municipal Corporation announced that the construction would be according to DMRC reports, that is, mostly elevated and partially underground.

According to the metro plan, the project consists of 2 phases. Phase I would consist of Line 1 and Line 2, which runs from Chinchwad to Swargate and Vanaz to Ramwadi, respectively. Phase II would include Line 3 and Line 4 routes, which would be from Deccan Gymkhana to Bund Garden and from ASI to Hinjawadi, respectively. Line 1 would cover an area of about 16 km and Line 2, about 15km. Line 3 and line 4 would cover a distance of 11km and 18 km respectively.

As part of future expansion, the following extensions and routes have been proposed :

1. Link from Bhosari to Moshi to link with Moshi-Chakan-new Pune international airport metro line.
2. Extension from Race Course to Hadapsar
3. Extension from Bund Garden to Vishrantwadi 4. Agriculture college- Warje via JM road and Karve road (9km)

Feng Shui Colors and Shapes for Your Home Garden

Feng Shui is believed to bring good luck in our life. If you have a garden adjacent to your home, obviously the garden needs some Feng Shui support to keep the flow of positive energy intact in your entire premise. Here goes the suggestion how you can alter/plan for making the layout of the garden Feng Shui friendly.

In a garden, shapes and colours are maintained by planting trees of different shapes and arranging flowers with different colours. There are specific remedies for balancing different metals for creating positive energy flow. For example, if you have a north-facing garden, you must place a rock garden inside the premise and flowers should be of toned-down type. Feng shui supported flower colours for north-faced gardens are silver, yellow, grey, white, and cream.

In general the north side of a garden, according to Feng Shui, should have a water feature and some coloured plants.Feng Shui recommends orange, red, yellow, and other bright colours for south corner of your garden as these colours placed in south create favourable situation for attracting fame and social recognition for the garden owner. Similarly, scented flowers should be planted at the north side of the garden as this side is accounted for the area of attracting helpful friends.

Every plant has its distinct shape and a special colour. For example, wood element is amplified by tall and woody plants; south and southern sector of a garden is the most appropriate place for growing these trees. However the size of these trees should never obstruct the view of the house from road and tall trees should never be placed in front of the main entrance.

Along with coloured flowers, at the south sector of a garden, as per Feng Shui, you should place plants or plant pots with square or rectangular leaves. Round shaped plants are best recommended for northern side of a garden as this shape at north attracts flow of money. The plants of this corner must be of dark green shade or with grey shaded flowers. Creepers and vines are good for northern side as they attract/promote career and luck. However, you must take double care that these creepers are never grown downward as this downward development may cause negative growth and depression in your family.

According to Feng Shui there are five elements on the planet; these are fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. All these five elements are present in a garden and they must be supported by some specific favourable shape and supportive colours.

Fire element – Red, orange, and purple colours with triangle shape are the most supportive for encouraging family happiness. Calla lily, Iris, birch trees, spruce trees are best.

Earth Element – yellow colour supports the element best and square shapes leaves are the most appropriate for earthy corner. Balance in earth element, according to Feng Shui, attracts stability, and social security. Best suitable plants – rose, poppy, boxwood, and juniper.

Metal Element – the most supportive plant shape is round, supportive colours are pastel and white, and it helps in retaining wisdom, good control, and attracts acceptance. Lavenders and golden thistles are the best supportive plants.

Water Element – curved shaped tall leaves are the best supportive plants for water element. Supportive colour for water element is blue, which is best represented by plants like Wisteria, butterfly bush, and hosta. Right balance in water element attracts optimism, relaxation, and peace of mind.

Wood element- is best balanced by vertical shape of green leaves, green tall plants, and balanced wood element encourage dreams, growth, and positive change.

Where To Invest ? In Real Estate Or Real Estate Companies

If we take a look at the current market scenario , reality companies have been the worst hit by the present economic slowdown. The S&P BSE Reality index in comparison to its highs in 2008, has lost almost ninety percent of its market capitalization. Even though the economy has considerably slumped from its pre-crisis level of growth, which has adversely affected the demand for commercial and housing space alike, realty prices have not crashed.

On the flip-side, realty prices have been increasing over the years. Due to the ever-increasing demand for housing units generated by a steadily urbanizing population, the prospects for realty companies ought to be brighter than what the stock prices have been implying. 

However, things cannot invariably be perceived in black and white, particularly when it involves the Indian real estate. There are numerous problems that the realty sector has been grappling with; adverse economic setting, governance issues and high debt are few of the major ones. Combined together, these factors have negatively affected the confidence of investor in this sector. 

The present environment 

In the run-up to the 2008 economic meltdown, property prices in addition to the stock prices of realty companies went far ahead of what was warranted by the fundamental. There was an euphoria within the market and prices were reaching exorbitant levels, however within the past few years realty companies have suffered because of the difficult market conditions combined with higher level of debts.

For real estate companies the factor of high interest rates is a negative factor since it not only affects companies with higher interest payment on debt, but also adversely affect their affordability and ultimately demand. This is caused as the companies have to pay higher rates on their borrowings which affects their profitability, and in turn increases the sum of equated monthly instalments (EMIs) that the end user has to pay, thus negatively affecting demand.

With falling revenues and profits together with higher level of debt, it’s natural that property costs have corrected within the market.

 Issues pertaining to Governance

 Apart from a difficult economic environment, issues with governance and credibility too are the reasons for the drub witnessed by the sector. Governance is a prominent issue, due to which numerous investors do not desire to own stocks within this space. Even though high standards of corporate governance were never a strong suit of companies functioning within the realty sector, however recent incidents have further eroded investor confidence.

 Significant changes within investor perception

 As per eminent real estate research analysts, the harsh macro-economic environment too has changed the way people perceive real estate companies, as earlier people used to value land banks with the company, but not any-more. Further, the realty market has also become conscious about governance issues and higher debt. Things are unlikely to improve for realty companies as there’s no recovery in view for the broader economy. Even if the economy does turns around, it’ll be extraordinarily tough for the realty sector to recover lost ground.

Research analysts take

The downfall of stock that has been witnessed by the real estate sector within the past few years is a direct consequence of both tough macroeconomic conditions and the method in which real estate business is conducted within this country. This is does not recommend that every company within the business has governance issues, but the entire realty sector is not currently enjoying the confidence of investors.

Furthermore, larger companies have bigger debt amounts in their books, which would keep adversely affecting their business strategies, profits and thereby their chances of revival. Therefore, investors planning to invest within the stocks of realty companies would be better off avoiding the sector. It would be better to invest in real estate than to invest within real estate companies.

The business of real estate is very interest rate sensitive and a rate cut might provide a boost to stock prices. However, in the present scenario it alone is not enough to revive the sector.

Stocks of real estate companies 

In fact, over the past couple of years the profit and revenue of numerous real estate companies and have considerably slipped.

 For illustration, the revenue for the biggest constituent of the realty index – DLF Ltd slipped from Rs. 2,827.90 crore within the fiscal of 2008-09 to Rs 2,150.04 crore within 2012-13; during the same period its net profit also slipped from Rs 1,547.77 crore to Rs 501.56 crore. Howbeit, the total amount of the company’s debt is almost equivalent to its total market capitalization. Familiarly, Unitech Ltd’s revenue fell from Rs 1,852.25 crore to Rs 1,053.09 during the same period, while the net profit of the company slipped from Rs 739.66 crore to Rs 151.98 crore.

In this city life we all are opting to live in flats and apartments. If we can create a small garden at our home, that will bring us close to nature.

Any one can opt for a portable garden in the apartment, to make the living attractive.

The portable garden will enhance the living atmosphere in an apartment.

The living in apartments in Pune ,  Hyderabad, and in other metros, life is over crowded by the concretes and structure. Greenery has become most precious thing to observe now a days.

With the help of mini garden in your living space, you can enjoy living with greenery.

Celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi At Your Home - Here Is Your Essential Shopping List

Ganapati worshipping is believed to be auspicious for bringing success, peace of mind, and for enjoying synchrony and harmony all around. Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated nationwide and to larger extent it is celebrated worldwide within Indian community. In India, convention shopping is counted as an integral part of festive celebration; Ganesha festival planning, for similar reason, has an integral association with shopping. However, this shopping process is a complete work flow and it needs some basic planning for a joyous celebration of Ganesha Festival.

Making shopping list for Ganesh Festival

Every shopper has to shop according to a shopping list. Same process is applicable for Ganesha festival shopping. As the host of the celebration at your house, while preparing a shopping list it should include a-z of the items required for the entire celebration. This shopping list needs to be completed by phase and that is why step wise planning is required: it needs doing the right purchase at right time from the right place.

Shopping for idol

Booking a Ganesh idol is the prime shopping requirement of this festival. This booking of the idol should be done before 10-15 days of the festival. Calendar wise Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated after 10 days of Janmashtami; you can book your Ganesh idol on that specific date.

Material for home decor

You must buy home décor materials before a week; you can recycle already used decor materials also, if possible. These items can be purchased from local shops or you can use your home décor items for decorating your house during the Ganesh Festival. However, plan the décor first, accordingly buy the items. Starting from lamps and lights, you must buy other decorating items with red and yellow.

Essential grocery items and sweets

You need to purchase grocery items for making different types of snacks and pakwan for Ganesh puja. Sweets are required for the making Prasad for Ganeshji. You can make some homemade laddus and modak for this special festival. Otherwise, you can also place order in local sweet shops for making festival special sweets for special celebration of this occasion. Prepare some quality drinks for your guests as well as arrange some fruits for regular puja of Ganeshji.

New clothes

You must purchase some new clothes for your family members for celebration of Ganesh Puja. Siddhidata prefers joyful ambience around hence it is prerequisite that you plan to celebrate these days with mirth and sincerity in mind for Ganesh vandana. Wearing new clothes while participating in Ganesh puja has become a custom, hence purchase of new clothes has become an integral part shopping for Ganesha Festival.

In general, Ganesh Chaturthi is scheduled in the month of Bhaadrapada according to Hindu religious calendar and by default it starts from shukla chaturthi (4th day of the waxing moon cycle). This year, on 2013, Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on 9th September, and the puja will continue for next 13 days. The shopping for Ganesh festival is done to enjoy these 14 days with best set of mind; hence, you must plan it in advance with best possible budget management.

Real Estate Trend In Chakan , Pune

Chakan is a town located in the Pune district of Maharashtra. It lies in proximity to the Pune-Nashik Highway (NH-50), which links with the Mumbai-Pune Highway near Kasarwadi. This helps in improved connectivity from Chakan, to cities like Pune, Nashik and Mumbai.

The town of Chakan is well-known as an auto-mobile hub of Pune. It hosts automobile production plants for a number of world-class companies like Volkswagen Group, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Daimler-Benz. More than 500 small and large industries, which include a large number of automobile component manufacturers, are set up in this area.

Connectivity

Chakan is located between Nashik and Pune, and is connected to both the cities through the Pune-Nashik highway. Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited buses ply from Pune and Pimpri -Chinchwad to Chakan, making it easily accessible from both the cities. A large number of buses are provided to the region by Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation too, which connects areas in and around Mumbai and Pune, to the town of Chakan.

The IIIrd Phase of Pune metro rail project would connect Chakan and Moshi. Once the project is completed and launched, the connectivity between Chakan and areas like Kuruli, Gaikwad Vasti and Moshi would be improved significantly.

Residential Projects

Excellent connectivity to the towns of Nashik and Pune, is one of the reasons why real estate sector is gaining grounds in Chakan. An easy and enhanced travelling experience to Mumbai is also offered to investors here. These factors have lured a number of builders and developers to the area, as it promises high returns, over time.

Price Trends

At present, multi-storey apartments are sold at a rate of approximately Rs. 2800/sq.ft in Chakan and they are available for rent, at about Rs. 9 /sq.ft. Though the area did not see a considerable growth in rental values over the last one year (2011-2012), it witnessed an appreciation of about 16% in the sale price of multi-storey apartments during the second quarter of 2013, when compared with the same period of 2012.

Creative Ideas For Room Dividers In Modern Living

A room divider divides a room into separate areas in a cost-effective way, creating a more efficient use of space within the room for different usage. Room dividers are also used as decorating focus point or accent pieces to provide more character to the room.

There are a variety of room dividers of different nature like permanent, sliding, portable or temporary. They provide privacy or semi-privacy. Here are a few creative ideas for modern room dividers:

CD Curtains: Instead of old style dividing by hanging a beads curtain, go for CD curtain. Collect or buy a host of old CDs which you never listen and string them together with a piece of twine. This will divide the room and give an artistic look to the area.

Shelves: Shelves are also a good option for diving any area. There are various sizes and designs of shelves available. You can use massive book shelf to obstruct the view or staggered book shelf for more airy feel. Shelves divide the area as well as create space for putting books and different pieces of decoration.

Rope Walls: Rope walls are affordable, functional and stylish way of dividing the room. You can easily build a vertical rope division wall from ceiling to floor. They are open and does not provide complete privacy but look awesome.

Bamboo or Branch Blinds: Bamboo or branch blinds are artistic, eco-friendly and inexpensive way of dividing any area. Apart from bamboo or branches, you can also use twigs. All these things are easily available in the market. You can use them in their natural color or you can paint them to give a colourful and artistic look.

Armoire or Cabinetry: Armoire or cabinetry wall has both storage and stylish look. Wall to ceiling armoire or cabinetry divides the area and provides cabinets, drawers and cubby holes to put necessary stuff. The other side of the armoire or cabinetry can be decorated by painting to transform it into a statement of art.

Wooden Pallet: Recycled wooden pallets are cheap and easy to make a solution for dividing your room. You can also make folding pallet. They are both stylish and traditional. You can also hang arts and photos to give a more creative look. You can also colour the wooden pallets.