Infosys to open its biggest campus in Hyderabad in February next year

Source: I B Times

Infosys, India's second-largest IT firm, is planning to formally inaugurate its largest campus in Hyderabad at Pocharam in February next year, according to Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao.

"The seating capacity of the campus is 25,000. Currently, 12,000 employees are working there. They are planning to inaugurate the campus formally in February, after the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections," Rao told reporters on the sidelines of a programme at the T-Hub.

Infosys chief Vishal Sikka has visited startup incubator T-hub, a Telangana government initiative, on Monday. T-hub is located at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad, and the state government has already invested Rs 40 crore in the 70,000-sq-ft campus.

"(Vishal) Sikka has invited us to inaugurate their largest campus at Pocharam in Hyderabad. We would request Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to unveil the IT policy of the state also at that time," PTI quoted Rao as saying.

Infosys is spending Rs 1,250 crore to construct its Pocharam campus, which will be spread across over 447 acre, in Hyderabad.

Earlier this month, a top Telangana government official had said nearly 20 IT firms are expected to open offices in Hyderabad in the next 8-12 months. Hyderabad, the capital city of India's youngest state, is fast emerging as a favourite destination for big business firms to set up shop.

"They are in advanced stages of discussion with us. We expect formal announcements to be made by them on this pretty soon," Jayesh Ranjan, secretary (IT, electronics and communications), Telangana government, had said.

Search engine giant Google had said in May it would to set up its biggest development centre outside the US in Hyderabad, with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore. The new campus would span over 2 million square feet and accommodate 13,000 employees.

The state government has already given its nod to the draft of the new IT policy, which would be announced after the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections in January next year, said the state ITE&C secretary.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella promises to promote start-ups in Hyderabad

Source: India today

A meeting with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu over breakfast and a visit to T-Hub, the technology incubator developed by Telangana was all Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella did on Monday during his private visit to Hyderabad.

On only his second visit to the city since he became CEO of the global tech giant last year, Nadella did a balancing act to keep both Telugu states happy and had an informal interaction with budding entrepreneurs.

On his first visit in September last year, he could not meet Naidu as the latter was away in Visakhaptnam but had called on Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. This time, he met Naidu over breakfast and also visited T-Hub, billed as India's largest technology incubator.

While a MoU was signed between Microsoft India and Andhra Pradesh to harness cloud technology for the state's growth, at T-Hub Nadella responded positively to Telangana's request for setting up a startup ecosystem in Hyderabad.

During the meeting with Naidu, the 47-year-old promised to visit his native Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. Born in Anantapur, Nadella was brought up and studied in Hyderabad.

During the interaction with startups at T-Hub, he said that his energy comes from the interaction with entrepreneurs across the world.

"There are three points to success - concept, capability, culture. Learn more from day one... chase after your concept or idea. Improve your capability to chase the idea... Curate the culture," he told the entrepreneurs in an inspirational talk.

To a query, he said the importance of failure lies in learning from it.

During the meeting with Telangana's Information Technology Minister K.T. Rama Rao, Nadella said the tech giant under its initiative Microsoft Ventures would help develop accelerators and startups here.

He responded positively to a request by the Telanana government to build a startup ecosystem in Hyderabad in partnership with T-Hub.

"Indian talent in the area is dramatically growing and we can see their dominance in the field," the Microsoft CEO told budding entrepreneurs.

Nadella said Microsoft's goal and dream is to empower local entrepreneurs to solve last mile connectivity.

The minister later told reporters that it was one of the several avenues of collaboration they explored.

Rama Rao also requested him to preferably set up a cloud data centre in Hyderabad. Nadella promised that he would like to be enabler for cloud enablement of small and medium enterprises.

This public cloud for SMEs can help in building a sustainable business environment and other eco systems can also benefit from this.

The IT minister said Nadella also agreed to consider his request to implement its white spaces technology in Telangana. The Microsoft CEO said the company would like to work with some local entrepreneurs to bring about the last mile connectivity.

The state government also sought Microsoft's help in digitizing classrooms in government-run schools across the state. The minister said the government was focused on ensuring best education and wanted children to benefit from best technologies.

Microsoft has its India Development Centre here since 1998. It is the largest facility of Microsoft outside its headquarters in Redmond, US.

Earlier, Nadella met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu over breakfast at the latter's residence.

On this occasion, Andhra Pradesh government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Microsoft India to harness Microsoft cloud technology for the state's growth.

An earlier statement issued by the office of the advisor, communications, Andhra Pradesh, said said Nadella agreed to set up a centre of excellence in Visakhapatnam.

However, it later issued a revised release, according to which the government requested him to set up centre of excellence.

The meeting over breakfast at Naidu's residence lasted over an hour. It mainly centred on how Microsoft could help accelerate development process in Andhra Pradesh through deployment of IT.

Nadella showed interest in the ambitious Rs.2,500-crore e-pragathi project, an e-governance initiative, recently taken up by the state government.

The Microsoft CEO invited the state to send an IT team to Seattle to study how the technology giant's services could be utlilised for better implementation of this project.

Under the MoU, the state government would use technical knowledge provided by Microsoft India.

Microsoft India will support building of up to three proof-of-concept (POC) solutions to apply Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and Advanced Visualization in the fields of education, agriculture and eCitizen services.

Hyderabad Airport Becomes Country's First To Offer E-Boarding Facility

Source: PTI



HYDERABAD:  GMR group-run Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has become the first airport in the country to offer e-boarding facility to domestic fliers.

The seamless facility, inaugurated by Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, covers all the boarding processes right from entry into the terminal building of the airport to boarding the aircraft, a release said today.

Fliers, however, would have flexibility to follow the traditional process of showing a photo-ID to gain entry into the airport in case the Aadhaar number is not available.

Developed in-house, the e-boarding Solution eliminates the need to manual stamping of boarding cards even for physical boarding cards issued by CUSS (Common Use Self Service) machines or the check-in counters, it said.

Besides, the facility also covers end-to-end all the key passenger processes including entry to terminal, check-in, security check, boarding gate and boarding bridge check before entering the aircraft.

With the implementation of E-boarding at RGIA, now a domestic passenger will need only a mobile e-boarding card and his Aadhaar Card number to gain entry into the airport, it said.

Fliers, however, would have flexibility to follow the traditional process of showing a photo-ID to gain entry into the airport in case the Aadhaar number is not available.

"We are happy to announce a comprehensive end-to-end E-boarding solution, first time at any Indian airport. After the successful pilot of the project and a go-ahead from Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), we have used our internal capabilities to commence E-boarding (facility) in shortest possible time," GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) Chief executive Officer SGK Kishore said.

The in-house built e-boarding solution is in line with the 'Digital India' programme envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) is a four-way joint venture with GMR Group holding 63 per cent stake, while Airports Authority of India and Telangana holding 13 per cent each. The rest 11 per cent stake is held by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.
 

BRS and LRS: Three Documents Exempted for Now

Source: New India Express  Dec 25, 2015

HYDERABAD: Submission of Encumbrance Certificate, Market Value Certificate and Indemnity Bond is not mandatory while submitting the applications for building and layout regularisation in Greater Hyderabad in view of the difficulty in obtaining EC and MVC from the registration department on account of consecutive holidays till December 27.

The last date for filing of the applications is December 31.

Processing will be taken up only after the disposal of pending court case and as per the orders of the High Court.

Also, in some instances, it has been brought to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s (GHMC)  notice that there are several difficulties in uploading the documents online due to technical snags and a number of mandatory documents needed for uploading.  In order to avail the facility for submission of applications and in view of the paucity of time for submission before  December 31, only the following documents may be asked for along with the initial payment. The facility of uploading the remaining documents will be made subsequently.

Earlier, the GHMC required 13 documents from applicants for uploading online.

The GHMC has introduced online filing of applications under both BRS and LRS. Till date, the corporation has received 26,628 applications under BRS and 11,843 under LRS.

Documents Now Needed for BRS

A copy of ownership document, title deed attested by a gazetted officer

Constructed building plan (site plan, location plan, detailed plan, floor plan, section plan, elevation plan) drawn and signed by licensed technical person and signed by the applicant

One photograph showing the elevation

One photograph showing the roof slab

Documents Now Needed for LRS

A copy of ownership document, title deed duly attested by a gazetted officer

Site location plan

Detailed layout plan showing the plot needing regularisation drawn and signed by a licensed technical person and signed by the applicant

Hyderabad most affordable for buying, renting a house: Report

Source: Livemint

Even as inventory levels are rising across the top cities in India, real estate prices are continuing to increase

Notwithstanding the cut in repo rates by the Reserve Bank of India making home loans cheaper, Mumbai continues to remain the most expensive city in India for both buying and renting a house, while Hyderabad is still the most affordable market across the top eight cities, according to a research report by full service robo adviser ArthaYantra.

Though the real estate market in Mumbai has had an upward trend, it is still beyond the reach of a middle-income household. Even someone with an annual income of Rs.25 lakh would not be able to buy a residential property, making it most suitable for renting a house, said the Buy Vs. Rent Report 2016.

For the research, data was captured from multiple sources, including National Housing Board (NHB) of India, available real estate reports and major real estate aggregators for eight cities—Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region), Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

According to the NHB’s Residential Index (NHB Residex), which tracks the movement of prices in the residential housing segment across India, Chennai remains unchanged with steepest rise in the index value by 264% from the base year (2007) and a 19.74% increase in index value over the past four years (from 2012). Pune comes next with a rise in index value by 151% since 2007 and a 38.67% increase since 2012.

Click here for enlarge

On the other hand, Hyderabad has seen de-growth in real estate prices by 3% since the base year 2007. Mumbai occupies the third position in real estate growth rate with index value rising 138% from the base year (2007).

Cities like Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru have seen a positive trend in real estate growth with rise in the index values by 115%, 112%, 90% and 15%, respectively, from the base year.

Mumbai (where average cost of buying a 1,000-sq. ft house is Rs.1.91 crore), Delhi-NCR (Rs.1.18 crore) and Chennai (Rs.75.6 lakh) have been expensive cities for buying, while rentals here have undergone only a marginal change in the past two years. Rising inventory levels in these cities indicate that supply is available, but it is unaffordable to many. So, people rent instead of buying.

In Bengaluru, inventory levels remained the same, but given that people prefer to rent than buy, rental values over the past four years have increased.

In Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, both property prices and rental values haven’t undergone any significant change in two years. Ahmedabad has, in fact, seen a negative growth in property rents since 2012, thus placing it high on the affordability-to-rent scale. Hyderabad has seen a fair increase in rental values despite a drop in property prices, which makes it affordable for buy a property in.

Cities such as Mumbai and Delhi-NCR stand to be very expensive both in terms of buying and renting a property, a trend that has been consistent year-on-year. Chennai continues to be at the sixth position like last year in the affordability-to-buy (ATB) ranking, while there is step-up in the affordability-to-rent (ATR) ranking from fifth to fourth position making it better placed for renting. Pune, over the past four years, has come down in its ranking due to a constant increase in property prices while it retains the thrid position for ATR ranking.

The current economic scenario, along with the ongoing trends in the realty market make the buy-versus-rent decision more complex for individuals. Among the top eight cities researched for this report, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR clearly stand out as places where buying a home has gone beyond the reach of many individuals.

Telangana Govt announces land, building regularisation scheme for Greater Hyderabad

Source: Business Line

HYDERABAD, NOVEMBER 2:  

In a major relief to land and building owners in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits, the Telangana Government has today announced a scheme that enables people to regularise their land and buildings.

In an announcement made today, the Government has kept open the validity of the regularisation scheme for 60 days from November 2. Under the land regularisation Scheme (LRS) and Building Regularisation Scheme (BRS), all lands and buildings, the latter constructed as of October 28 are eligible to avail the provisions of the scheme.

As per the scheme, applicants under the LRS/BRS scheme can apply online by paying Rs. 10,000. After being examined at various departments, within six months it would be finalised.

The State Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, basing on a number of representations for land and building regularisation, had appointed a Committee headed by the State Minister Srinivas Yadav as Chairman to look into various aspects and come out with appropriate suggestion for regularisation.

Based on the suggestions by the Committee for Regularisation, the Chie Minister today formally approved the scheme.

The panel also decided to come down heavily on illegal constructions and layouts and cases would be filed against those who violate various provisions.  It is also proposed to set up a separate tribunal after consulting the law department.

In order to curb illegal construction, the committee suggested a separate enforcement wing. It is proposed to come out with a single window clearance for building and house approvals, which is aimed at expediting the process of clearance with least interference.

The Government has come out with a detailed table for regularisation of land starting from 100 sq.yards with a nominal amount of Rs. 15 and Rs. 30 for residential and commercial respectively and this goes up to Rs.200 and Rs. 400 for plots up to 1000 sq.yards.

In the case of apartments, it is proposed to lay penalty of Rs. 12,500 for 600 sq.ft and it goes up to Rs.60,000 for 2000 sq.ft.

Hyderabad MMTS-II to be launched in 2017

The phase II of suburban rail Multi Modal Transport System (MMTS) in Hyderabad, which has been pending for the last 12 years, will be launched in 2017.

A decision in this regard was taken in a review meeting on MMTS with railway and other officials chaired by Bandaru Dattatreya Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour and Employment here on Sunday.

Estimated cost

The total cost of the project is estimated at ₹820 crore, including ₹150 crore for coaches. In the last Budget, ₹120 crore was sanctioned. The State government has provided ₹60 crore and was asked to provide ₹100 crore more.

It was decided in today’s meeting that the Union Railway Minister will be requested to provide ₹200 crore for the project. There has been 9 per cent increase in traffic in Hyderabad per annum.

The traffic congestion is going to be a major issue for the city and the government has to study the total transport policy and come up with an integrated plan.

Railway terminals

It was observed during the meeting that there was a need to increase the Railway terminals in the city. Cherlapalli and Nagulapalli terminals needto be developed immediately and integrated with the Outer Ring Road.

The minister was also informed that the railway line between Peddapally and Nizamabad will be commissioned by March 2016, for which funds have been provided this year by the Railway Ministry.

The ₹500 crore Kaziguda-Mahabubnagar line doubling project will be taken up this year, according to a release.

Source: The Hindu Business line

13 cities on Hyderabad Outer Ring Road

13 cities on Hyderabad Outer Ring Road. Most of the people looking for Ghatkesar on Warangal Highway ( NH - 163 ) because of ITIR and Road & Rail Transport facilities.
Contact for plots in Ghatkesar : 9912043000

Land Auctions Point to Rosy Future for City Realty

Source: Nyoooz.com

Summary: Rosy Picture? City realtors and builders foresee positive growth after TSIIC’s e-auction? An acre of land costs between `6 and 18 crore in hotspot locations in the city? Yet, land prices here are 30 to 40 pc cheaper than those in Bangalore, Chennai? Cheaper land prices and better facilities make Hyderabad preferred location We have been saying for the past six months that Hyderabad is going to experience a positive recovery and the TSIIC’s e-auction has proved it. The last stretch of ORR will be completed soon and metro rail will also come into operation. “While an acre of land at Raidurgam was sold for `30 crore, the highest price recorded till now in Hyderabad, in the same location some lands fetched between `6 and 12 crore. This has surely given the required boost to Hyderabad realty,” says Gummi Ram Reddy, president of the Telangana chapter of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India.

HYDERABAD: The mind-boggling price at which lands in the western Hyderabad region were sold in the recent e-auction held by the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) has given boost to the city realty which is on the path of recovery. The question that sprang in the minds of investors and realtors after the e-auction was “Is it just an isolated case of a few prime lands fetching a fancy amount or is it a sign of the things to come in the near future?” Not just the realtors in Hyderabad but those from other parts of India also think that the prices commanded in e-auction were in tune with the positive trend to be witnessed by Hyderabad realty in the coming days. “While an acre of land at Raidurgam was sold for `30 crore, the highest price recorded till now in Hyderabad, in the same location some lands fetched between `6 and 12 crore. Similarly, an acre at Manikonda was sold between `7 and 14 crore. We have been saying for the past six months that Hyderabad is going to experience a positive recovery and the TSIIC’s e-auction has proved it. 

This has surely given the required boost to Hyderabad realty,” says Gummi Ram Reddy, president of the Telangana chapter of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India. A positive outcome of TSIIC’s e-auction was local companies like Aurobindo Pharma bought the lands for office space by paying a whopping sum, thus showing the willingness and capacity of the local investors to invest in Hyderabad. Western Hyderabad, which comprises real estate hotspots like Madhapur, Gachibowli, Raidurgam, Hitec City and Manikonda, is considered a real estate hotspot not just in Hyderabad but in the entire South India. Though these lands in the hotspot areas commanded fancy prices, the prices are cheaper than the prices of similar prime lands in cities like Bangalore and Chennai, thus making Hyderabad a favourite for realtors from all over India. Areas such as Raidurgam, Manikonda and Gachibowli in western Hyderabad have IT companies, a good environment, are in proximity to the airport and Outer Ring Road, and some other advantages. The last stretch of ORR will be completed soon and metro rail will also come into operation. Rosy Picture ? City realtors and builders foresee positive growth after TSIIC’s e-auction ? An acre of land costs between `6 and 18 crore in hotspot locations in the city ? Yet, land prices here are 30 to 40 pc cheaper than those in Bangalore, Chennai ? Cheaper land prices and better facilities make Hyderabad preferred location. . 

NEW TOWNSHIP ON HYDERABAD OUTSKIRTS TO BOOST REALTY

Source: sakshipost

Hyderabad: Real estate industry has a major role to play in the development and success of any international city, believes the Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Barely two months after forming the first government in Telangana, KCR dished out a slew of programs and policies that were to benefit the real estate sector with a particular focus on Hyderabad.

Some of the highlights were abolition of the value added tax (VAT), extension of the single-window clearance system for the industrial sector, promises to remove encroachments that waterlogged roads and colonies, special growth clusters along the ORR and plans of building 4-lane roads linking east-west, north-south corridors in the next five years.

The CM's vision and priorities seemed to be in the right direction with policies that sought to help out the realtors such removal of double taxation and rationalisation of seigniorage fee to Rs.3 per sft besides helping out the daily commuter by easing traffic congestion and providing better quality roads, street lights and storm water drains.

The chief minister seemed determined to place Hyderabad on the list of international cities that attracted a cosmopolitan crowd and investment. His plans however did not seem to go as well as he would have intended. There is a regressive slump in the real estate market as a result of capital outflow to the real estate sector of the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. The investor sentiment of watch and wait during the days of agitation did not really hop back into a realty frenzy that was initially predicted.

His innovative move to develop the temple town of Yadadri (earlier Yadagiri gutta) backed up by quick marketing for spiritual tourism and a general boost to the tourism industry in Telangana has seen limited response for the skeptical investor. Free housing for the poor has been replaced by low cost housing where the beneficiary bore part of the cost.

4000 acre township near Hyderabad proposed

KCR however seems to be resolute! In a meeting with the captains of the real estate industry on Saturday, KCR invited them to play a participatory role in the development of the industry. He proposed to develop a 4000 acre township on the outskirts of Hyderabad. He wants more focus on greenfield projects and said that the government would play a supportive role in this objective.

The meeting at the CM's camp was attended ex-president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) C.Sekhar Reddy, its Telangana president G.Ramireddy and its Hyderabad president S. Ramireddy.

Focus on skyscrapers, adviced KCR. They will stand as a testimony to a city's progress and development he added. Hyderabad will be surrounded by Health City, Pharma City and Cinema City and since Bengaluru is facing the challenge of overcrowding, companies are now preferring to move to Hyderabad he stated. He invited to the real estate developers to become part of this strategical expansion of the city.

The chief minister revealed that HMDA is working on a report called 'Hyderabad Today and Hyderabad in Future' and wanted the real estate captains to participate and contribute to this report. He pointed out that it was necessary to completely understand Hyderabad before adopting from other cities plans.

It remains to be seen how the real estate developers who are already riding the slump with projects in various stages of development and not enough buyers, will respond to these new initiatives of the government.

E.P.Yesudas