How Monsoon can help you in renting, buying

There is something alluring about the monsoon season which appeases almost everyone. However, when it comes to Mumbai’s real estate, monsoons have a reverse effect to the existing houses, as here torrential rains put a stop to the daily activities of the city residents. Still, interestingly, this season may prove to be beneficial for the buyers, in certain ways. Know how -

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Bargain for lower rates

For many developers, it is a lean season in terms of sales. Incessant rains stop buyers from making a purchase. “People wait till festivals to initiate any property transaction, which leads to piling up of residential inventory. Thus, developers facing liquidity crunch, come up with monsoons discounts as a part of their marketing campaign to attract buyers,” says Gaurav Arora, a local real estate consultant.

Expert also say that, majority of developers are ready to offer property at lower rates to serious buyers. It is the same for tenants looking for rented accommodations. “In Mumbai, one can easily negotiate by 10-25 per cent on the sale or rental values during the monsoon season,” says Arora.

You can settle for a big house

Since many developers are ready to negotiate on the property price, this can be an opportunity to buy a larger space. Arora says, “The property prices in Mumbai are very high, and buying a property is a big deal for a middle-class man.”

Opportunity to check the property

For those, who are willing to invest in a partially or fully developed property, monsoons are an opportunity to check the construction quality of the project. You can check for water leakage, dampness, water clogging, etc.

Check the locality

A city like Mumbai, where water logging and traffic jams are normal, and a visit to the locality can prove to be beneficial. If it is a plot, you should check whether it is a low-lying one whether you would need to add more soil to level the area.

Isha Gupta, a resident in Mumbai says that, “Water logging is a major issue in most of the localities in Mumbai, even in the affluent areas. A visit to a locality can give you a fair idea how your neighbourhood is during this time and one can have an idea.  This is an important point to keep in mind, because when you plan to sell the property these can prove to be a deterrent”.

Source - Magicbrick news

Office space demand hits a high in Kolkata

Kolkata - After a rather trying 2014 when a slump in lease-and-rental market kept newly built plug-and-play offices vacant, a steady offtake in Salt Lake Sector V and New Town in the first half of 2015 has provided fresh impetus to the realty business. 

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Companies have finalized deals for over 6.27 lakh sq ft in the first five months of 2015. Among the firms that have picked up big chunks of office space include Tractor India, British Telecom, Reliance Jio, Siemens VIA Tech, Samsung, NIIT, Bandhan and Canon.

"It is still early days but the slump appears to be over. The steady demand from prospective occupiers and quantum jump in inquiries is a sure sign of revival. We are confident that over 1 million sq ft of office space will be leased in Sector V and New Town this year," said realty firm Jones Lang Lasalle managing director (Kolkata) Surekha Bihani.

That is a huge fillip for the market that was in the dumps last year with only 1.5 lakh sq ft in new transactions. The rest 5.5 lakh sq ft comprised pre-committed leases of CTS, TCS and Genpact following completion of Unitech Infospace.

Abhijit Das, the office director of eastern India at realty firm Cushman & Wakefield, is glad about the turnaround. "As the economic outlook improves, demand will pick up. Many companies had postponed their decisions in 2014. They will all queue up and hopefully conclude transactions this year," he said.

Mean office space consumption in Kolkata in the past decade has been around 1.5 million sq ft a year with the peak in 2007 when 2.7 lakh sq ft was leased. The Tata Motors Singur project swing had provided the traction for telecom, IT/ITeS and banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) firms. Just when it looked rosy, the industry was hit by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. The dramatic relocation of the Nano plant to Sanand in Gujarat compounded the problem in Bengal as positivity evaporated.

According to industry figures, offtake in office lease was 1.5 million sq ft in 2012. Cognizant and TCS together absorbed more than 0.9 million sq ft that year with Accenture, Schneider, NIIT, Anshian Software, BMA and Bajaj Finance making up the rest. In 2013, the figure declined to 1.3 million sq ft of which 0.5 million sq ft was for new transactions that included Reliance Jio, PwC, KPMG, Jacobs Engineering and British Telecom. The next year witnessed a 50% decline in fresh lease with only 0.15 million in new transactions.

The situation has turned around this year. Apart from the 0.63 million sq ft that has already been sealed, negotiations are underway with companies like Bentley, Oracle and others for 0.5 million sq ft office space.

"The bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Mamata Banerjee during the former's Kolkata visit and the subsequent trip to Dhaka by both has sent an extremely positive signal. If Mamata agrees to Special Economic Zone and gets Infosys, it will be a major fillip as several other companies will make a beeline for Sector V and New Town," said Bihani, pointing to how Maruti Suzuki and Ford followed Tata Motors to Sanand.

At present, there is a 26% vacancy in the office space market with 3.5-4 million sq ft ready but unoccupied. Ideally, the vacancy should be below 10%.

Source - TOI

Rupee gains 8 paise against dollar on foreign capital inflows

MUMBAI: Snapping its five-day falling spree, the rupee rose 8 paise to 63.76 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks amid a higher opening in the domestic equity market. 

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Selling of the American currency by exporters and banks supported the rupee, but the dollar's firmness against euro and other currencies overseas capped the gains, dealers said. 

Besides, a higher opening in domestic equity market helped the rupee, they added. 
The rupee depreciated 20 paise to close at 63.84 in Monday's trade due to the looming debt default crisis in Greece amid month-end demand for the greenback from importers. 

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 117.80 points, or 0.42 per cent, to trade at 27,762.95 in early trade . 

Source - TOI

Sensex recovers 117 points on value-buying, Asian cues

MUMBAI: The benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded over 117 points in early trade on Tuesday, after two sessions of losses, on value-buying by investors in select blue-chips amid a recovery at Asian markets despite the ongoing Greece crisis. 

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The 30-share index recouped 117.80 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 27,762.95, with FMCG, realty, metal, consumer durables, healthcare and oil & gas sectors leading the recovery. 

The gauge had lost 250.82 points in the previous two sessions on the worsening Greece's debt situation. Also, the NSE Nifty was up 34.65 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 8,353.05 in early trade. 

Brokers said value-buying in select blue-chip stocks, coupled with a slightly better trend at other Asian markets after the previous day's rout on Greece concerns, influenced sentiment here. 

Among Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.79 per cent while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.11 per cent in early trade on Tuesday. 

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, fell 1.95 per cent in Monday's trade. 

Source - TOI

India joins Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

NEW DELHI: India and 49 other founding countries, have signed an agreement which provides a legal framework for the China-led '100 Billion' US Dollar, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). 

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The 60-article agreement specified each member's share as well as governance structure and policy-making mechanism of the bank, which is designed to finance infrastructure in Asia. 

The delegates from over 50 founding countries gathered at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for the signing ceremony yesterday. Seven more countries are due to sign by the end of the year.

Source - TOI

Maharashtra's slum rehabilitation scheme is a gold mine for builders

MUMBAI: Slum enclaves in prime localities of the city have turned out to be gold mines for private developers.

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In an irony of sorts, some of Mumbai's most expensive luxury residential skyscrapers have been built on slum land as part of the state government's controversial slum rehabilitation scheme, popularly known as SRA. These slum sprawls are mainly located in south and central Mumbai where high-end apartments sell for between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 a sq ft.
 

For instance, India's tallest twin residential buildings, Imperial Heights, at Tardeo in south Mumbai, were built as part of a slum rehab scheme. At Worli, a Ritz-Carlton hotel is coming up on a slum sprawl.
 

Twenty years after it was introduced to rehouse eligible slum families free of cost in new buildings, the scheme has allowed builders to rake in super-normal profits. For those who have ventured into this scheme, the returns are phenomenal. But many prominent builders still stay away from it because they do not want to deal with extortionist slum lords, political goons and sometimes, the underworld.
 

The government's largesse is extra generous. The public land on which the slum is located is virtually given away for a pittance to the developer, who pays just 25% of the plot's ready reckoner rate. The cross-subsidy scheme mandates that the developer who manages to procure consent of 70% of slum dwellers, must rehabilitate them free of cost in new buildings in a portion of the plot. As compensation, the builder receives additional construction rights to build luxury towers and sell them in the open market.

Source : ET

Rupee dives 24 paise against USD in early trade

MUMBAI: Extending losses for the fifth consecutive day, therupee shed 24 paise to trade at 63.88 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to continued demand for the American currency from importers. 

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Forex dealers said besides sustained demand for the dollar in view of the approaching month-end, weakness in the euro against the American currency overseas amid growing concerns of a Greece debt default and a possible euro zone exit weighed. 

Furthermore, a lower oThe rupee had lost 2 paise to close at 63.64 in a range-bound trade on month-end demand for the green back from importers despite its weakness overseas. 

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex plunged 535.87 points, or 1.92 per cent, to 27,275.97 in opening trade on Monday.pening in domestic equities kept up pressure on the rupee, they said. 


Source - TOI

Tata Sons caps group companies' brand fee at Rs 75 crore

MUMBAI: Tata Sons, owner of the Tata brand and promoter of Tata companies, has capped the royalty payment from group entities using the Tata name at Rs 75 crore. The cap onmaximum royalty amount is aimed at reducing the burden on its large and profitable units and also freeing up cash for their growth. The move by Cyrus Mistry-led holding company for India's largest conglomerate, with a brand value of $21 billion, is in contrast with decisions by several MNCs to saddle their Indian arms with higher royalty payments. 

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Laid out in 1996, under an agreement titled Tata Brand Equity and Business Promotion (TBEBP), companies using the 'Tata' name have to directly shell out 0.25% of the annual revenue or 5% of the profit before tax, whichever is less. Those companies which use the name indirectly pay 0.15% of the turnover. If companies incur losses, they do not pay any royalty. TBEBP has been modified to accommodate certain group companies that have, over the years, grown exponentially and were paying huge fees under the earlier system.

For instance, software giant Tata Consultancy Services, paid Rs 75 crore in fiscal 2015 under the new system. If the old arrangement was in place, it would have had to cough up Rs 236 crore towards brand subscription fee. Tata Motors, which made a loss of Rs 4,739 crore, didn't pay anything in fiscal 2015.
The TBEBP scheme, when introduced by former chairman Ratan Tata, had led to an uproar by group companies' shareholders who feared that the contributions by Tata entities will serve as a source of revenue for Tata Sons. Ratan Tata, subsequently, reached out to investors to allay their fears, assuring them that the fund was only for promotion of the Tata brand. According to international consultancy firm Brand Finance, the Tata brand — ranked 34th in the list of top global brands — is currently worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore, up from Rs 3,700 crore in 1997.The TBEBP's kitty has swollen manifold over the years since its inception as fortunes of Tata companies changed drastically with multi-billion dollar businesses built through acquisitions and expansions. However, some of its international units like Jaguar Land Rover, which contributes two-thirds to Tata Motors consolidated revenue, and NatSteel, Tata Steel's first overseas purchase, are yet to be brought under the TBEBP scheme.

Source - TOI

Spooked by Greece, Sensex tumbles 535 points in opening trade

MUMBAI: The benchmark BSE Sensex tanked over 535 points and the NSE Nifty slid below the 8,300 mark in opening trade on Monday on across-the-board selling by participants. 

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A weak trend at other Asian markets was the main trigger for the plunge as investor sentiment was dampened by fears of a possible Greece default. 

The 30-share gauge, which had lost 84.13 points in the previous session, hurtled down 535.87 points, or 1.92 per cent, to 27,275.97. All the sectoral indices were trading in the negative terrain, led by realty, capital goods and banking, with losses up to 3.16 per cent. 

Also, the NSE Nifty slipped below the 8,300 mark by skidding 166.45 points, or 1.99 per cent, to 8,214.65. 

Brokers said widespread selling by investors as well as funds, in line with a global sell-off on fears that Greece may default on a debt repayment and crash out of the euro zone, soured the mood. 

Besides, weakness in the rupee, which turned lower by 24 paise to 63.88 against the dollar in early trade at the forex market, too negatively impacted sentiment, they said. 

In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.41 per cent while Japan's Nikkei slumped 1.78 per cent in early trade on Monday. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, ended 0.31 per cent higher in Friday's trade. 

Source - TOI

Pakistan stumps India; rolls out South Asia’s 1st REIT while we still try to axe the tax

MUMBAI:  At a time Indian realtors and investors are struggling to roll out real estate investment trusts (REIT) amid regulatory complications and tax uncertainties, Pakistan has gone ahead to launch South Asia's first REIT at a premium of 10% to the offer price, earlier this month.

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A REIT is a financial instrument where the underlying asset is real estate. The rental income from the property assets are distributed by the Trust as dividends to the investors or unit holders of the trust. Typically therefore, a REIT invests in completed, revenue generating commercial realestate assets.
 

Mid-June, Pakistan-based Dolmen City launched its REIT offering that got subscribed 1.7 times. It owns a commercial property which has a mix of mall and office space and an occupancy of 96%. The company expects a net income of $21.9 million in first year while dividends are expected at $20.7 million. This was also the first REIT listing in Pakistan after the country came out with the regulations.
 

Interestingly, yields for the Dolmen City REIT's investors in the first year are a percentage point lower than the current yields on Pakistan's government securities (GSec) that are now trading at 9.75%. Typically,world over REITs notes trade at positive spread. This was based on estimation of rental income from the asset, 90% of which are to distributed back to investors. But even then, there were few global investors who bit the story -- only 0.6% of HNIs/Institution allocation.
 

For starters, Pakistan has streamlined the process significantly to make it attractive for investors. For example, their REITs attract a withholding tax of 10% (in-line with Mutual fund taxation) with no further tax liability for individual investors. Moreover, the regulators there have agreed to concessional tax regime for transfer of an asset into a REIT with significant reduction in stamp duty across the region.
 

In comparison in India -- despite the recent relaxations on taxability like MAT exemption, tax pass through to REIT - and simplification of structuring, the REIT controlled special purpose vehicles are still subject to corporate and dividend distribution tax ( DDT) which limits the pass through nature of REITs. This makes it imperative on the SPV to restructure to reduce the tax blow. Analysts feel while debt infusion at SPVs could improve the yields of the instrument, a simplified structure allowing tax pass throughs would improve transparency and improve visibility of returns to investors.
 

"Indian REITs in the current form have a significant tax disadvantage with double taxation in SPV-REIT structure and high transaction cost in direct holding structure," said Abhishek Anand of JM Finance in his report on India REITs on June 12. "We believe tax regime needs to work towards simplifying the domestic REIT structure, and needs to reduce double taxation in order to make returns more attractive for investors."
 

"Typically REIT is successful in the mature economies where it gives returns of 7 to 9% and government securities gives returns in the range of 1.5 to 2.5%," says Hemal Mehta, senior director of Deloitte. "While, in India, government securities gives risk free returns in the range of 8 to 9% and hence, to make this instrument very attractive fiscal benefits like dividend distribution tax, minimum alternate tax and capital gain should be waived off to make the REIT attractive for Indian investors."
 

Echoing this, a senior official of a leading real estate focussed PE fund says if the government considers such waivers, REITs alone have the potential to attract investment in the range of $15 to $20 billion from FII and NRIs.
 

According to Chandubhai Mehta, Managing Partner of Mumbai-based law firm Dhruve Liladhar & Co, which advises many developers, complexities in taxation to unit holders in REIT as well as to owners of the assets are the hindrance in the way of making this a popular instrument.
 

"REIT is beneficial to both the investors and the industry because it provides the investors with an investment avenue, which is comparatively less risky than investing in under construction properties and provides regular income," says Mehta.
 

In India, many marque PE investors including Blackstone together with real estate JV partner Embassy or developers DLF were reportedly planning to go ahead with mega REIT listings, but till date have stayed away due largely on account of the tax complications. But realtors are hopeful of an early resolution. "There are issues related to taxation but as the market evolves, am sure the government will also change the rules according to market needs," said Rajeev Talwar, Group Executive Director, DLF.

Source - TOI

Financing realtors to cut housing cost Deepak Parekh

MUMBAI:HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh has called for an end to the ban on loans for acquiring property for development. According to Parekh, easing finance to developers would help bring down cost of houses.

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"In 2006, the regulators prohibited banks and HFCs (housing finance companies) from funding land transactions. Such actions may be justifiable when there are fears of asset price bubbles. Over two years ago, the regulators reduced risk weights on exposures to commercial real estate-residential housing. This signalled that there were no fears of any speculative bubble. Then, logically, the regulators now need to relax this near decade-old restriction. The regulators should, within limits, permit banks and HFCs to fund land transactions — or at least land transactions that are acquired specifically for residential purposes," said Parekh in his address to shareholders in the institution's annual report.
 

"This is a simple, doable solution. It will bring residential prices down, increase the stock of affordable housing and fulfill the aspirations of more Indians becoming homeowners. So the key question remains — will the regulators oblige?" Parekh asked.

Commenting on the government scheme to have housing for all by 2022, Parekh said that HDFC understood that housing is a unique asset and would work tirelessly towards this goal. Given that 600 million Indians are expected to be living in urban India by 2030, Parekh said that one of the key issues in housing is affordability in cities.
 

He added that one of the main reasons for the high cost of houses was that builders had to borrow at 18-24% through non-bank channels to fund land purchase.

Source - TOI

Twitter takes potshots as Housing.com's Rahul Yadav may or may not have resigned again

Close to the heels of his rather unceremonious resignation letter two months ago, Rahul Yadav, CEO of the online real estate start up Housing.com has reportedly quit again, Economic Times said on Thursday.

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In May, when Yadav had put in his papers, the board had refused to accept his resignation and convinced him to stay on, despite his accusation that the board and the company's investors were not "intellectually capable enough". However, this was meant to be short lived, as it is now rumoured that this time the board has decided to take the fateful step and call it a day on the Yadav episode, ET quoted sources in the know.The Economic Times report has also quoted an email sent by Yadav to his board: "Thanks for the quick resolution. Do let me know wherever you guys need my help. Also, given my zero shareholding and not being CEO, I don't think I need to be on the board as well."

Housing.com has denied the rumour, however Economic Times maintains that it has the aforementioned email. 

Rahul Yadav's earlier resignation letter had caused quite a stir on Twitter, with rather witty tweets filling up the day. While we wait for a confirmation on the matter, Twitterverse is having a field day thanks to Yadav, again!

Source - DNA 

'Financing realtors to cut housing cost'

MUMBAI: HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh has called for an end to the ban on loans for acquiring property for development. According to Parekh, easing finance to developers would help bring down cost of houses. 

www.sevagiri.com

"In 2006, the regulators prohibited banks and HFCs (housing finance companies) from funding land transactions. Such actions may be justifiable when there are fears of asset price bubbles. Over two years ago, the regulators reduced risk weights on exposures to commercial real estate-residential housing. This signalled that there were no fears of any speculative bubble. Then, logically, the regulators now need to relax this near decade-old restriction. The regulators should, within limits, permit banks and HFCs to fund land transactions — or at least land transactions that are acquired specifically for residential purposes," said Parekh in his address to shareholders in the institution's annual report. 

"This is a simple, doable solution. It will bring residential prices down, increase the stock of affordable housing and fulfill the aspirations of more Indians becoming homeowners. So the key question remains — will the regulators oblige?" Parekh asked. Commenting on the government scheme to have housing for all by 2022, Parekh said that HDFC understood that housing is a unique asset and would work tirelessly towards this goal. Given that 600 million Indians are expected to be living in urban India by 2030, Parekh said that one of the key issues in housing is affordability in cities. 

He added that one of the main reasons for the high cost of houses was that builders had to borrow at 18-24% through non-bank channels to fund land purchase.

Source - TOI

Rupee weakens by 3 paise against dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee declined by 3 paise to 63.65 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, extending weakness for the second day, at the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to appreciation of the American currency overseas. 

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Besides, month-end demand for the American currency from importers and a lower opening in the domestic equity market, weighed on the rupee, forex dealers said. 

The rupee had shed 2 paise to close at 63.62 against the US currency in the previous session due to dollar demand from banks and importers. 

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell by 96.20 points or 0.34 per cent at 27,799.77 in early trade today.

source - TOI

Sensex down 172 points; July F&O series starts on weak note

MUMBAI: The benchmark BSE sensex fell almost 172 points to 27,724.12 in early trade on Friday on fresh selling by participants as July series in the derivatives segment began on a subdued note amid weak Asian cues. 
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The 30-share index, which had gained 166.30 points in the previous session, fell by 171.85 points or 0.61 per cent to 27,724.12. 

Selling in realty, banking, power, capital goods, metal, PSU, oil&gas and auto stocks weighed on the performance. On similar lines, the NSE Nifty was trading lower by 45.50 points, or 0.54%, at 8,352.50. 

Brokers said besides a weak trend in global markets after another round of Greek debt reform talks ended without agreement just days before it must repay a debt to avoid default and possible euro zone exit, selling by investors despite beginning of the July F&O series, dragged down the indices. 

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei lost 0.46 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.24% in early trade today. 

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.42 per cent lower in yesterday's trade.

Source - TOI

PM Modi launches Smart Cities Mission, says government committed to safeguarding rights of consumers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi  on Thursday launched three mega flagship schemes aimed at transforming urban India, including the much talked about Smart Cities proposal, with a whopping Rs 4 lakh crore kitty having been lined up for the projects.

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Modi also unveiled logo of the housing mission, which has his personal touch in the finalisation of its design.

Speaking at the event, Modi said, "The decision to make cities smart will be taken not by governments but by the people of the city, the local administration. Let there be competition between cities in development so that smart cities come up."

"Private property developers should not decide how a city should grow; it should be decided by residents and city leadership," said Modi

He further added, "Many people are wondering about what exactly Smart City is. But one does not need to think a lot. Smart city is a city that provides more than what a citizen expects. Before he wants it, we provide it."

Stating that this is the first time in India we are planning to develop 60 cities simultaneously, Modi aadded, "This is not just a paper based programme. Stake holders of all kinds have been consulted, including financial world. This Government is committed to safeguarding the rights of the consumers at all times."

source - DNA

PM Narendra Modi launches Smart Cities Mission

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 25 unveiled three mega flagship schemes aimed at developing cities and towns as "new engines for growth". 

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Underscoring the need for a bigger, stronger urban India, the PM said, "Governments should have looked at urbanisation as an opportunity to drive growth. India's population is aspiring better standards of living and quality of life and this urban push is the first step in that direction." 

"40% of our population stays in cities. How can they get better quality of life at a time when everyone is looking at India," asked Modi at a gathering of mayors and heads of urban local bodies from around 500 Indian cities. 

"We cannot leave our poor to their fate. It is our responsibility," he said. "This is the first time that in India that we are planning to develop 60 cities simultaneously." Stressing on the people's plan he said, "The decision to make cities smart will be taken not by governments but by the people of the city, the local administration." 

The prime minister pitched for consumer interest in realty. "This government attaches importance to consumer security. The builder lobby's image is very negative today, we are getting law in Parliament on it." 

The three projects -- 100 smart cities, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Housing for All - will ring in a new urban era, which will entail an investment of over Rs 3 lakh crore in the next five years.

The prime minister also unveiled logo of the housing mission, which has his personal touch in the finalisation of its design. The Smart City and AMRUT projects will draw Rs 48,000 crore and and Rs 50,000 crore, respectively, in central grants over five years.

Asking states to chip in with the plan, the PM said, "development can't create friction between cities, rural areas. We have to make over 20 million houses." The government, he said, will follow a bottom-up approach while developing smart cities. 

"Effective management of growing urbanisation is a major challenge towards the making of resurgent India. Resource management is a major challenge and our government sees an opportunity in this," he told reporters here. 

The Smart City project seeks to enhance quality of life in 100 selected cities with 24 hour water and power supply, world class transportation system, better education and recreational facilities, e-governance and environment-friendly atmosphere, among others. The Smart City project will be based on PPP model, Naidu said. 

AMRUT seeks to ensure basic infrastructure for 500 cities with a population of above one lakh. Ensuring water supply to each household, sewer connections, sanitation and solid waste management, provision for roads and public transportation beside implementation of reforms in urban governance would be the focus under the scheme. 

source - ET

Sensex snaps eight-day rally as Greece woes resurface

MUMBAI: The benchmark BSE sensex slipped by 75 points — its first fall in nine days — to 27,729.67 in late sell-off after news that the creditors rejected Greece's new proposal took a toll on the market sentiment.

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After trading in positive zone for most part of the day, the index plunged over 200 from a high of 27,948.24 at the fag-end tracking losses in European stocks.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said some creditors haven't accepted the country's proposals for a deal."The insistence of certain institutions of not accepting parametric measures has never happened before — not in Ireland, nor in Portugal," he wrote in a Twitter post.

Traders said profit-booking was witnessed in winners of recent rally.

The BSE sensex after a positive start hit a high of 27,948.24 on sustained buying largely in tune with above-normal progress in monsoon.

However, it slipped towards the close on negative global cues and touched the day's low of 27,647.29, before settling 74.70 points or 0.27 per cent down at 27,729.67.

In previous eight sessions, BSE barometer had zoomed by 1,433.39 points or 5.4 per cent as better-than-forecasted monsoon raised hopes of a rate cut by RBI.

The 50-share NSE Nifty after reclaiming the psychological 8,400-mark in early trade touched the session's high of 8,421.35, succumbed to profit-booking and settled 20.70 points or 0.25 per cent lower at 8,360.85.

Participants also preferred to trim positions ahead of Thursday's June month's expiry in the derivatives segment.

Hindalco was the biggest loser on the sensex with a fall of 3.70 per cent, followed by Tata Steel by 2.98 per cent.

Out of 30 sensex stocks, 24 settled in negative zone. Meanwhile, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs 374.97 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Globally, among other Asian markets Japan's Nikkei ended at 18-year highs.

source - TOI

Rupee ends flat at 63.60 against dollar

MUMBAI: The rupee ended almost flat at 63.60 against thedollar due to uneven demand and supply of the American currency from banks. 

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The rupee resumed lower at 63.65 as against Tuesday's level of 63.59 at the interbank foreign exchange ( forex) market. 

It hovered in a range of 63.57 and 63.7The dollar index was trading lower by 0.20 per cent against its major global rivals on Wednesday.

In the New York market, the dollar rose against the euro on Tuesday, after a strong new-home sales report and hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell shifted investors' rate-hike expectations towards the central bank's September meeting. 

Oil prices rose in Asian trade today on hopes for stronger than expected US crude demand, while doubts over reaching an agreement next week over Iran's nuclear programme eased over-supply concerns. 

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE sensex snapped its 8-day winning spree, ending lower by 74.70 points, or 0.27 per cent, to settle at 27,729.67.0 during the day before closing the day at 63.60. 

Source - TOI

Reforms absolutely necessary in land, labour and taxation: Jaitley

SAN FRANCISCO: Promising a globally compatible business climate in India, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said reforms have become "absolutely necessary" in the areas ofland, labour and taxes to attract investors. 

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Stating that the government is committed to these reforms, Jaitley also promised a permanent consultation mechanism to address the foreign investors' concerns. 

The finance minister further said that the government has already begun implementing various tax reforms. "The aggression in the tax policy has been subdued and taxation structures are now becoming a lot more compatible and lot less adversarial," Jaitley told PTI in an interview here. 

"Land, labour and taxation — these are the three areas, where the reforms are absolutely necessary. This is what many investors have highlighted. 

"As far as taxation is concerned, quite a positive movement is going on in India, corporate taxes being made very competitive. The GST and various other instruments of investments are now coming up. So there is a sense of satisfaction," he said. 

Wrapping up his seven-day US visit, during which he met a number of foreign investors and the US administration officials, Jaitley said investors here made a number of suggestions that he is taking back home. 

"We have to provide a globally compatible regime where there is ease of doing business and where taxation levels are fully competitive. Investors want predictability. They do not appreciate uncertainties," he said. 

Jaitley said that India stands out with a higher growth potential in "a slowed down global economic environment". 

"There has been a considerable amount of fiscal discipline which has been introduced in India. Many sectors have been opened up and there is a huge potential for investment in infrastructure. 

"I think the cutting edge for India is that when rest of the world is slowing down and there are not many great investment avenues, India stands out as a good opportunity. 

"Therefore, if we can continue the reform story and improve ease of doing business, I think this is a great opportunity for India."

Source - TOI 

'India needs to invest more in smart building technologies'

NEW DELHI: The government, building owners and service providers need to invest more in smart building technologies to better serve India's rapidly urbanizing population and help create sustainable cities and infrastructure, according to the findings of a recent survey.

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While the country's airports and hotels are leading the way with smart building technologies, the survey found that in general the smartness of buildings in India is low.
 

The survey was conducted on 2,000 buildings across India by US-based Fortune 100 company Honeywell and research-specialist IMRB International. Its findings were released here on Tuesday.
 

The surveyed buildings are located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune.
 

"Implementing smart building solutions can make facilities more connected and adaptive, reduce energy and operating costs, and improve the safety and quality of life for occupants and users," Alex Ismail, president and chief executive officer of Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions said.
 

The survey marks the debut of the new Honeywell Smart Building Score, a tool that evaluates buildings based on each facility's use of technologies to make the building green, safe, and productive -- three key aspects of smart buildings.
 

The survey findings were accompanied by a white paper from Honeywell and Ernst and Young, "Smart Buildings Make Smart Cities," which details how targeted investment in smart buildings can be used to drive economic and environmental benefits, protect human life and building assets, and support India's goal to develop 100 smart cities.
 

"The Indian government's 100 smart cities plan is a forward-looking initiative that aims to improve quality of life and make the country a smarter place to live. We are pleased that Honeywell is taking an active role in this smart cities project through its Smart Building Score," US Ambassador to India Richard Verma said.

Source - ET

Reforms absolutely necessary in land, labour and taxation: Jaitley

SAN FRANCISCO: Promising a globally compatible business climate in India, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said reforms have become "absolutely necessary" in the areas ofland, labour and taxes to attract investors. 

www.sevagiri.com

Stating that the government is committed to these reforms, Jaitley also promised a permanent consultation mechanism to address the foreign investors' concerns. 

The finance minister further said that the government has already begun implementing various tax reforms. "The aggression in the tax policy has been subdued and taxation structures are now becoming a lot more compatible and lot less adversarial," Jaitley told PTI in an interview here. 

"Land, labour and taxation — these are the three areas, where the reforms are absolutely necessary. This is what many investors have highlighted. 

"As far as taxation is concerned, quite a positive movement is going on in India, corporate taxes being made very competitive. The GST and various other instruments of investments are now coming up. So there is a sense of satisfaction," he said. 

Wrapping up his seven-day US visit, during which he met a number of foreign investors and the US administration officials, Jaitley said investors here made a number of suggestions that he is taking back home. 

"We have to provide a globally compatible regime where there is ease of doing business and where taxation levels are fully competitive. Investors want predictability. They do not appreciate uncertainties," he said. 

Jaitley said that India stands out with a higher growth potential in "a slowed down global economic environment". 

"There has been a considerable amount of fiscal discipline which has been introduced in India. Many sectors have been opened up and there is a huge potential for investment in infrastructure. 

"I think the cutting edge for India is that when rest of the world is slowing down and there are not many great investment avenues, India stands out as a good opportunity. 

"Therefore, if we can continue the reform story and improve ease of doing business, I think this is a great opportunity for India."

Source - TOI