If there is one factor that impedes the realty sector in India, it is the oversupply of residential properties. Says a report by India Infoline. While Ahmedabad and Hyderabad have a relatively comfortable inventory situation, major markets such as Mumbai, Gurugram,...
Post the revival of the Indian real estate sector through a series of initiatives by the government, the confidence of the homebuyers has increased with a clear understanding of the market, says Madhusudhan G, Chairman and MD, Sumadhura Group. The developers, on the...
The recent announcement of the Union Finance Ministry that GST exemption is available only for properties with completion certificate is likely to hit real estate developers, a prominent consultancy firm has said. The ministry said that buyers have to pay Goods &...
The depreciated rupee value is prompting a large number of NRIs to invest in the Indian realty market, writes Navneet Dubey. With rupee witnessing a major fall against the dollar in recent months, non-resident Indians (NRIs) have begun scouting for property buys in...
We all know somebody who has made a mini fortune by investing in a flat or residential plot at the right time, writes Ashwini Kumar Sharma. Despite the usual ups and downs, there exists a deep rooted sense among Indian investors that residential property is a...
A well-regulated real estate market will spur the world’s biggest asset managers to look at India more seriously over the long-term, reports Mint newspaper. Compared with most other big businesses, real estate remains one of the best to put your money into. At its...
The four-year report card of Haryana’s Manohar Lal Khattar-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is marked by significant developments in housing, particularly affordable housing. But the pace of infrastructure development leaves much to be desired, reports...
The Indian real estate is set to see important changes in the aftermath of the general elections in 2019. Although a series of reforms measures taken by the Modi government has catalysed growth impulses, investors are waiting to see the political changes in the coming...
India’s real estate industry is on uptick, thanks to regulations such as Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) and the willingness of housing financial institutions to leverage the emerging business transparency in deals. Demonetisation was aimed...
: The decision of the Supreme Court to send to police custody the promoters of Amrapali real estate firm has given added confidence to homestayers that new regulations would further strengthen the resolve to fight fly-by-night operators. The Court’s stern action has...
There have been sceptics that the Indian realty sector is not a place for honest investors because of the overwhelming presence of black money. Such a perception, which was often true, made this sector a dumping ground for unholy cash. But things have changed...
Well-known property consultant Anuj Puri is upbeat about India’s real estate sector picking up growth acceleration. He believes that this buoyancy will be seen continuing in the context of the 2019 general election for a new government at the centre. Figures show that...
Market watchers and analysts say the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), will be a game changer for the real estate sector. However, it does not justify the rally in realty stock prices mirrored in the 109% rise in the BSE...
Greater Noida has great potential for modern urban living with planned cityscape with sound social infrastructure like schools, medical institutions and transportation facilities. These potential advantages could be leveraged to build state-of-the-art urban...
There is no doubt that India’s real estate and construction sectors are major job creators. From construction workers to architects, building firms to cement factories, the buoyancy felt in the real estate sector signals additional job creation, which is the...
One of the major plans of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accelerate India’s economic and social growth was the Smart Cities Mission. It is considered one of his flagship programmes with the focus on urban renewal that also envisaged a retrofitting programme. The...
Many top realty players are optimistic that the recent reform measures announced by the government will give a boost to the sector that has seen one of its worst periods in 2017. They say that bold reform initiatives such as Goods and Services Tax, the Real Estate...
A recent report analysing the Indian realty sector developments points to its importance to the economy and the kind of investment that is flowing into this sector, even from global equity and fund managers. There is no doubt that since economic liberalisation began...
Those who are pushing governments to establish Smart Cities also want to know how they would utilise the huge amounts of data generated by Internet of Things sensors embedded on highways, railways and sewerage lines. Success or failure of building a digital society...
In democracies people believe in the free flow of information and open discussion. In economic matters, both the academic and politicians play a role in determining how people should be governed to give them an economy that would take care of their needs. With more...
Experts warn that a technology-driven Smart City should be designed with people at the centre of planning. Otherwise, it will turn into a dystopia. But no one can deny or stop the development of Smart Cities as internet penetration has become universal and the digital...
The world over city leaders and urban planners are trying to understand how intelligent technology can impact the interaction of citizens and businesses across the many layers of a city administration. They are studying the ways to drive meaningful impact of digital...
Experts say that to make cities smart, it is necessary to make them “predictive” by integrating social, political, environmental, economic and sustainable parameters that are powered with technology. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought the focus on Indian urban...
Singapore researchers are looking at various technologies that can enable data to be analysed more efficiently within the limitations of Internet of Things (IoT), as the country looks to take the lead in this emerging market segment. IoT had been touted to play a...
Analysts say that the government and industry should invest in Internet of Things (IoT) as that would give immense benefit to the Indian economy, where agriculture is the key driver of growth. As over 70 per cent of rural households are dependent on agriculture, and...
There is no doubt that Internet of Things (IoT) opens new doors for governments to offer better, ‘smarter’ services to the citizens In some cities advanced technologies are already in use to solve issues with water supply, garbage dumping and energy management in...
Technology is changing our life. Devices such as Internet of Things are set to revolutionise human history in the coming years. From Smart Cities and smart factories to smart homes and wearables, we are just beginning to scratch the surface of possible uses of...
The United States is exploring possibilities of rebuilding its cities as Smart Cities and started a competition to select a few to be developed as models for replication. The US Department of Transportation said it was "blown away" by the submissions to its Smart City...
Some experts say that Smart Cities do not necessarily be safe cities. They say that it really depends on how those connected cities use their brand new smarts to make their people safer. Just because municipalities have the broadband links and technical ability to...
There is no end to human demand for better and still better quality of life. We expect easier access to products, services and processes that offer quicker and faster result. With most of these services available on smartphones, there is huge demand for such devices...
There is no doubt that when India’s economic development races ahead, cities are projected to create an INR 73 trillion ($1.1 trillion) investment opportunity over the next 15 years. Following the Paris Climate Agreement, India is compelled to look at low carbon...
The Singapore government hopes to become the major centre for development of Smart City and Internet of Things technologies and attract startups. Singapore has emerged as an ideal place to pursue the development of Smart City technologies that would include...
Even after the announcement of the names of the first 20 urban areas that will be developed as Smart Cities, there are many who still question the wisdom of the government’s 100 Smart Cities Mission. They are not yet ready to believe the government’s proposal for the...
If the government takes a ‘disruptive’ decision, there are many cynics in India who make it a point to mock it or express scepticism. They say that Smart City is just a new name for an old idea. They doubt whether this idea will work in India. One advantage of making...
Many believe that roadblocks ahead for India's Smart Cities plan, such as red-tape and funding, could jeopardise the potential achievement of Indian Smart City Mission. Most analysts say that there are many hurdles that administrators trying to implement Smart City...
Perhaps it is for the first time in Indian politics that a major decision is taken without consideration of politic pulls or being influenced by the government of the day. For political detractors however any decision of the Modi government is put to great scrutiny to...
Finally the Urban Ministry announced the first list of 20 cities that would be initially be developed, which would certainly ignite the interest of others seeking transformation of their urban landscape. There will be an upsurge in interest among other contenders to...
Chief Ministers and civic authorities are in anxious mode. Twenty cities will be selected in January end and they will become the first lot of 97 cities on their way towards transforming themselves into being smart. The remaining 77 applicant-cities will go back to...
Whether or not the Chhattisgarh gets the patronage of the central government for all its urbanisation and development of modern townships, it has decided to develop the industrial city of Korba as Smart City through its own resources. This is an idea Urban...
Asia’s emerging cities have been reactive, rather than proactive, when it comes to building infrastructure. To counter this, ‘Smart Cities’ has been a buzzword for a few years now, with India looking to build 100 such cities in the near future. Studies have shown that...
Many people may have been surprised that Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, could not find a place in the list of 100 potential ‘smart cities’ under the Indian government’s Smart City Mission. The reason is that it has failed to meet the eligibility...
The proposed 18-km Dwarka-Manesar highway, to be developed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), is set open millions of dollars in investment opportunities. The expressway is being planned as an alternative route to connect Gurgaon and Delhi, and has...
Chairman of the Punjab Gau Sewa Commission Kimti Bhagat recently said that the care of abandoned cows loitering on Jalandhar streets should be brought under the ambit of the Smart City project. While finding a place for the rehabilitation of the cattle in the city has...
An issue that critics of Indian Smart City initiatives highlight is the lack of standardisation, which other countries are developing. Although there cannot be a single global template that could be used to design Smart City, it is important to have a certain kind of...
UK Trade & Investment, a UK Government department working with businesses based in the United Kingdom to assist their success in international markets, projects the total cost of Indian Smart City Mission project to be to the tune of $650 billion (a projection it...
Globally there are attention-grabbing talks about Smart City that would make cities liveable in a sustained environmentally-friendly way. Urban experts and information technology specialists are collaborating to find solutions to rapid urbanisation across the world...
It is interesting to note that a majority of the Smart City plans for 95 cities submitted to the Urban Development Ministry in their vision statements listed economic development, cleaner environment and richer cultural heritage as main goals. Obviously building Smart...
One of the key reasons for governments to promote Smart City is to address present and emerging issues facing urban liveability. Smart Cities should be about deploying technologies to solve real problems that matter to people. The challenge facing the governments...
It may take at least four to five years for people to understand what a Smart City means in improving the quality of their lives. That would be realised when some of the 20 projects selected in the first batch accomplish at least partly some of the objectives. In this...
While states are competing among themselves to get the Smart City tag, there is still vagueness about what these are. The only point on which there seems to have consensus is that they will be driven by information and communication technologies. There will be more...