Telangana Government Sops to Give Boost to Realty Sector

Source: The New Indian Express

HYDERABAD:  The announcement of sops for real estate sector by the government has given a boost to the sector in Hyderabad as new projects, which have been held up for a year and a half, are getting ready to launch soon.

With the government relaxing most of the rules on common built-up area, reduction in the impact fee and non-agricultural land assessment tax, builders are expected to gain considerably.

“Due to relaxation given by TS government, the sector will come out of the deadlock kind of situation witnessed for the past four to five years. The reduction in the impact fee is expected to transform the skyline of Hyderabad, ensure ease of doing business and attract national players to the city,” said K Sreedhar Reddy, vice-president of Telangana Real Estate Developers Association (TREDA).

The relaxations were announced after many rounds of deliberations between the government and realtors and the CM okayed most of the requests. Though most of the sops announced had been agreed to by the government long ago, the announcement was delayed due to various reasons.

“The new rules and relaxation will apply only for new projects. Therefore, many builders and developers have held up their layouts and constructions. Now, they are ready to take up work,” said Gummi Rami Reddy, president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association, Hyderabad chapter.

For instance, in the case of NALA tax itself more than 600 cases are pending in court where builders have held up their launches. With reduction of NALA tax all these pending cases will be cleared.

Similarly, compulsory allocation of a part of land for the housing of economically weaker sections in case of layouts with open plots, collection of value addition charges in Cyberabad Development Area, provision of 40-ft peripheral road in gated communities and others were also abolished.

Besides doing away with certain compulsory provisions, the government has also taken some decisions which will bring about major changes like allowing construction of floors above multiple portions, allowing  stilt floor in smaller plots of 200 square metres, allowing amalgamation of plots in congested areas like old city subject to the condition that maximum plot size before amalgamation shall be 100 square metres and minimum plot size after amalgamation be 300 square metres.

Major Relaxations

• Construction of floors above multiple portions and stilt floor in smaller plots of 200 sq mt will be allowed
• Impact fee, non-agricultural land assessment tax reduced
• Buffer strip along Musi river reduced from 100 to 50 metres
• No compulsory allocation of a part of land for housing of economically weaker sections in case of layouts with open plots
• Collection of value addition charges in Cyberabad Development Area
• Provision of 40-ft peripheral road in gated communities

‘Rising Costs Causing Project Delays’

B Seenaiah, former president of the Builders Association of India and chairman of the organising committee of All India Builders Convention being held in Hyderabad from Friday to Sunday, explains about the problems being faced by builders. Excerpts:

How is the building sector now?

The building and construction sector is plagued with various problems, the major being rising costs and project delays. As a result, several builders and contractors are unable to recover the amount they have invested in projects.

What are the reasons for it?

There are many reasons ranging from huge rise in the cost of construction material to lack of proper planning by the government and other agencies which award contracts. For instance, in some cases governments call tenders for contract works even though they do not have a budget allocated for it. This pushes the contractors into trouble.

What then is the solution?

The system of contract works needs streamlining. We need the support of the central and state governments to solve issues. There is great need for protecting the interests of the construction sector which one of the highest tax-generating sectors for the government and is also labour-intensive and creator of jobs.

How is the sector faring in Hyderabad?

Clarity is yet to emerge after bifurcation. People, builders and investors are in two minds whether to prefer Hyderabad or AP.

Isn’t construction of the AP capital an opportunity for builders and contractors?

AP capital will provide opportunities but it will take a long time for it to be developed. The government has to shift employees and administrative machinery before any construction activity can start there in real sense.

GO issued on property tax relief; Hyderabad home owners to benefit

Source : ET Realty

The latest sop by the state government is likely to benefit about five lakh house owners in Greater Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: Just days before releasing the notification for elections to the GHMC, the state government issued orders reducing property tax to a nominal Rs 101 per year from house owners who have been paying tax up to Rs 1,200 per annum till now. The latest sop by the state government is likely to benefit about five lakh house owners in Greater Hyderabad.

The Municipal Administration and Urban Development department issued the GO on Thursday amending Section 202 A (1) of the GHMC Act. According to the amendment, "The government may exempt any residential building occupied by the owner from property tax where the Annual Rental Value does not exceed Rs 4,100 (i.e. Rs 1,200 property tax per annum) subject to the condition that the beneficiaries of exemption shall pay a nominal amount of Rs 101 per annum towards property tax."

KCR, a couple of months ago, announced the decision to reduce the property tax mainly to woo voters. Whether the government would adjust the amount in future for those who have already paid the amount for the current financial year is not known.

The department also made amendments raising the cost limit of works being taken up by the GHMC. Until now, the standing committee has powers to sanction works up to Rs 50 lakh and works costing above Rs 50 lakh require administrative sanction from the government.

As several projects are piling up for clearances, the powers of the standing committee have been raised up to Rs 3 crore. Similarly, works up to Rs 6 crore can be taken up with the approval of the standing council. Any developmental works costing more than Rs 6 crore need to be sent to the state government for clearance.

76th All India Industrial Exhibition Numaish 2016 To Begin In Hyderabad From 1st Jan

Source: allindiaroundup.com

HYDERABAD: The 76th All India Industrial Exhibition, 2016, organized by the Exhibition Society will begin from January 1 at Exhibition Grounds here. Telangana Chief Minister KCR will inaugurate the one-and-half-month long shopping event, popularly known as ‘Numaish,’ said Finance Minister and Exhibition Society President Eatala Rajender.



About 2,500 stalls, (with representation from different states across the country) have been allotted to various exhibitors including State and Central govt Departments and PSUs besides Corporate and MNCs, Rajender said adding free Wi-Fi service will be provided to visitors this year.

The Exhibition Society has been conducting the expo at Hyderabad for the past 75 years. The earnings from this exhibition are utilized to support 18 educational institutions in Telangana with special emphasis on girls and women education, Exhibition Society President said. The Numaish will be held from Jan 1st 2016 to Feb 15th 2016 and the exhibition’s daily timings are 3:00 pm to 10:30 pm.

Stallholders are expected to erect the stalls at their own expense. The organizers shall provide electricity on a pay per use basis. Common amenities such as washrooms, drinking water and campus wide security shall be provided and the charges for the same are included in the stall space fees.

The Exhibition Society, a non-profit organization was started in 1938 to promote industrial development in the erstwhile Hyderabad state by organizing industrial exhibitions to promote products manufactured by small and medium scale industries within the country.

PM Modi reviews infra projects, wants early completion of Hyderabad Metro

Source: Business Today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pushed for early completion of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project as he reviewed the progress of vital infrastructure projects in road, railway, metro rail, power and food processing sectors spread over various states.

The projects in the states like Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Telangana were reviewed by Modi at the eighth meeting of PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation), an IT-based platform of tele-conferencing with top officials of states.

Reviewing the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project, the Prime Minister exhorted all authorities concerned to complete this PPP project at the earliest and with the best possible quality, a PMO statement said.

Among other significant projects reviewed were the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor and the Delhi-Haryana-Uttar Pradesh Eastern Peripheral Highway, it said.

Reviewing the Food Park Scheme, he called for a comprehensive evaluation of the benefits from the Parks that have already been completed.

Modi also reviewed and pressed for early completion of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport and Rih-Tedim Road Project in Myanmar, which he described as one of the corner stones of India's 'Act East' policy, the statement said.

He also took stock of the progress towards Direct Benefit Transfer under MNREGA, and end-to-end computerization of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) operations. PRAGATI meetings are held on last Wednesdays of every month. 

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.