HYDERABAD BEATS METROPOLITAN CITIES IN DEMAND FOR OFFICE SPACE: CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

Source: Sakshi Business 5.7.16 

Hyderabad: At a time when metropolitan cities are suffering from either modest or decline in demand for office space, Hyderabad is leading the country as commercial space requirement is rising significantly.

During the first half (H1) of 2016, Hyderabad recorded a whopping growth of 55 percent during the first half thanks to the efforts of Telangana government for creating infrastructure and framing an industry-friendly TSiPASS. During the period, the net demand for office space across eight cities fell 18 percent.

According to a latest report by real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield, the Telangana government's efforts to create more visibility for 'Brand Hyderabad' in fact generated more demand for office space in H1 2016. During the past two years, Telangana government has succeeded in improving the business climate in the State and more particularly Hyderabad.

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As a result, Hyderabad witnessed more demand for office space to the tune of 2.9 msf (million square feet), a 55 percent increase when compared with the corresponding period in 2015.

The report observed that competitive rentals in the city, quality infrastructure and a proactive government are major attractions for global companies for setting up offices in the city.

Cushman & Wakefield in its reports further forecasts that Hyderabad continues to witness a strong demand for office space from the IT-ITeS sector. Three global majors accounted for office space of 7.89msft during the first half. The top three transactions during the first half of 2016 came from Amazon with 3.5 lakh sft in Madhapur, Value Labs with 2.25 lakh sft in Gachibowli and JP Morgan with 2.14 lakh sft in Madhapur.

During the first half of 2016, Chennai suffered a steepest fall of 51 percent in net absorption to 0.6 msf, while Bengaluru's net absorption fell by 34 percent to 4.5 msf. Overall, the net absorption of office space declined by 18 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) at 14.5 msf across the top eight cities.

The first half of the year was marked by unavailability of quality Grade A space in many cities. Other cities recorded small-sized deals during the first half. This caused a steep fall in the overall net absorption. Delhi - NCR recorded a growth of 39 percent, Ahmedabad witnessed a rise of 27 percent and Kolkata grew 10 percent in net absorption of office space in the first half of the year.

Real estate on a comeback mode: CBRE report

Source: The Hindu  2.7.2016

Hyderabad's real estate is turning out to be a leading market in south India, according to the CBRE India's latest report. Titled, The Comeback of Hyderabad , the report projects the city as regaining prominence as one of the leading destinations for the real estate. The report lists out political stability, State Government's pro-active policies, growing occupier demand, improved infrastructure, quality educational institutions and the availability of a large talent pool as the reasons for bringing back attention to the city's real estate market.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and MD, CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd. Said: With the various investor-friendly policies initiated by the State Government, and the planned infrastructure development, Hyderabad will be a destination of choice for a number of corporates looking to expand or enter the south India market. The proposed infrastructure development planned for the city is creating a conducive environment and will spur further investment inflow into the city and the State. According to the report, the IT/ITeS boom several years ago, coupled with the development of HITEC city, has made Hyderabad the preferred location for technology firms to set up their operations. In 2008, office stock stood at 23 million sq. ft., and by 2015, this had doubled to approximately 47 million sq. ft. Total organised retail space in the city stood at 2.7 million sq. ft. as of June 2016, majority of which is concentrated in western and central Hyderabad. This is likely to go up by almost 4 million sq. ft. of additional supply in key markets over the next two years paving way for the entry of global retailers into the city.

Information and Communication Technology in Bangaru Telangana

Source: The Hans India 30.6.2016

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

ICT industry in Telangana State consists of Business Processing Organisations and Knowledge Processing Organizations, providing professional services across the globe. State’s ICT services is mainly oriented towards foreign markets and contributes largely to India’s IT exports. Over a period of time, Hyderabad has become a premier global destination for IT and ITeS industry of India, next only to Bengaluru. 
The IT industry in the State has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. There are 1,300 IT units employing about 3.7 lakh professionals in the State, with an annual export turnover of Rs. 68,258 crore in 2014-15. About 89 new units were established during 2014-15.

Table : Performance of IT Industry in 2014-15

S. No.	Description	Total
1	Total number IT units in the State	1300
2	New units registered during 2014-15	89
3	Total Employees engaged	3,71,774
4	Exports earnings from IT (in Rs. crore)	68,258

Source: Department of Information Technology, Electronics, and Communications, Government of Telangana.

The State Government has taken proactive initiatives to create state-of-the-art physical infrastructure for the growth of the Sector. However, in the wake of global economic slowdown, resulting in weak global demand for software exports, companies have adopted various methods  such as diversification of market base towards emerging and developing countries, product diversification and cost reduction etc.

Major Initiatives to boost ICT Sector: 

The State Government with an objective to provide a congenial environment to services producing companies to start and grow their business, has initiated policy initiatives in this direction, some of them are mentioned below: 

T-HUB: T-Hub was launched on November 5, 2015 as a unique public/private partnership between the Government of Telangana, three of India’s premier academic institutes (IIIT-H, ISB & NALSAR) and key private sector leaders. T-Hub aims to be the catalyst in building Hyderabad as a start-up city and Telangana, as a start-up State. 

T-Hub located in the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) campus, in Gachibowli, Hyderabad dedicated solely to entrepreneurship. An overwhelming number of startups registered to be a part of the T-Hub community. Extending to various fields like agri-tech, life sciences, financial technology, smart cities, IoT, clean technology etc, the startup community in Hyderabad has shown their interest in being a part of T-Hub. Within a short span of time, over 900 applications were received by the T-Hub team from startups across the country. T-Hub aims to become the largest innovation ecosystems in the country and eventually globally. The project aims to build upon Hyderabad's natural strengths in IT & entrepreneurship and intends to nurture a vibrant innovation ecosystem by providing all the requisite support to unleash the latent entrepreneurial spirit amongst the new-age youth, thereby driving job growth and wealth creation.

Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) at Hyderabad: 

Government of India has cleared Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR), Hyderabad. As per the Draft Project Report (DPR), ITIR would export IT products worth Rs. 2,35,000 crore with additional direct employment to 15 lakh people and indirect employment to 53 lakh people. This is expected to generate about Rs. 30,170 crore additional tax revenues to the State Government. 

IMAGE Incubation Centre: 

Gaming and animation sector has a potential of over US $42 Billion worldwide and about $ 1 Billion in India. Hyderabad region has been identified as one of the potential places for the growth of gaming and animation industry due to the presence of a vibrant industry and talented IT professional workforce. Hyderabad has a number of Gaming & Animation companies working at present and the region has potential to grow if right kind of infrastructure is made available. Keeping in view the potential of this sector, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), in association with the State Government developed a state of the art incubation facility “IMAGE” at STPI complex, Hyderabad. This incubation facility is specially designed to support the SMEs working in gaming, animation, multi-media and entertainment industry.

Promotion of Tier-II/ III IT Locations: 

Warangal town has been identified as Tier-II IT hub with suitable infrastructure facilities to IT companies to start their operations through TSIIC. 

New Policy framework for ICT, Animation & Gaming and Electronic Hardware: 

New policy framework for ICT, Animation & Gaming and Electronic hardware is being prepared by the State Government and expected to be announced shortly.  

Telangana Academy for Skill & Knowledge (TASK): 

Telangana Academy for Skill & Knowledge (TASK) is non-profit organizations created by Government of Telangana for bringing synergy among institutions of government, industry and academia with an objective of offering quality human resources and services to the industry and enhance the employability quotient of youth in the State. 

Many new course models are being offered by reputed educational institutions under the TASK programme for enhancing the skills of students to meet the requirements of the industry.

G.Rajendera Kumar

Butterfly park opens in Hyderabad

Source: Deccan Chronicle

The Butterfly garden at Sanjeevaiah Park was opened to the public on Thursday. Some of the species identified were the striped tiger butterfly, the pioneer, the plain tiger, the crimson rose, the blue tiger, the common bush brown and the common evening brown.

The park has been developed over 4.5 acres at the site. There are about 60 varieties of flowering and nectar-yielding plants and trees. These and other plantations play the important role of attracting butterflies.

The Urban Forestry wing of HMDA has  developed  an arboretum consisting of tree species as well as seven theme parks inside the Sanjeevaiah park. HMDA commissioner Mr T. Chiranjeevelu said that at least 50 species of butterflies have been recorded in and around Hussainsagar.

“The butterflies are  also attracted to the Sanjeevaiah Park, which has flowering trees, creepers and shrubs. At least 30 varieties of butterflies have been recorded at the site. Butterfly gardening is often aimed at inviting butterflies and moths to lay eggs as well. The Hussainsagar and its surroundings have very wide diversity of butterflies. This ecosystem must be maintained and developed to improve bio-diversity.”

Danish firm Ramboll opens engineering centre in Hyderabad

Aiming to fuel its telecom business both in India and other markets, Danish multi-disciplinary engineering, design and consultancy company Ramboll has launched a brand new engineering centre at Gachibowli here.

Source: Economic Times

Aiming to fuel its telecom business both in India and other markets, Danish multi-disciplinary engineering, design and consultancy company Ramboll has launched a brand new engineering centre at Gachibowli here. 

Ramboll Group Executive Director for Markets and Global Practices, Soren Holm Johansen, formally inaugurated the facility on Wednesday. 

The 230-strong Ramboll Hyderabad team focuses on tower engineering which involves the analysis and design of masts, towers and monopoles in addition to tower marketing and technical support, manufacture and sale of towers. 

Ramboll's telecom services range from tower solutions including design, smart site, rapid deployment, camouflaged and individual solutions, tower reverse engineering (TLVA), software engineering services to radio frequency and electromagnetic field related services. 

Along with this, Ramboll will also provide its engineering and design expertise in transport and planning and urban design sector from its Hyderabad centre, Johansen told media after inaugurating the facility. 

He claimed that Ramboll had built a strong presence in the market worldwide as sustainable society consultants. 

"India is a key market for us and we will continue to make strategic technological infrastructure investments and pick top engineering talent in India," he noted. 

Founded in Denmark in 1945, the Euro 1.4 billion enterprise Ramboll operates more than 300 offices in 35 countries and employs more than 13,000 experts globally. 

In India, Ramboll employs more than 800 employees working from five principal offices in Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, with Gurgaon being the head office. 

Apple Opens its Development Centre in Hyderabad; Focus on Maps and Navigations Services

Source: Track.in

The centre has been opened in WaveRock SEZ area in Gachibowli, Hyderabad. The city is slowly becoming the tech-hub of the country and this is a prime example of the same.

Talking at the inauguration, Tim Cook said, “Apple is focused on making the best products and services in the world and we are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad which will focus on Maps development.”

So what went wrong with Apple Maps?
In 2012, Apple released its own version of Maps to take on Google Maps and in fact replaced the default Google Map services to Apple Maps. It received a lot of criticism from users and reviewers both, owing to the fact that there was clear disfiguration of locations.

The maps were not accurate enough either, usually providing the wrong direction to the users, causing discomfort. Apple acquired some companies as well to improve its services, but all efforts went in vain.

In subsequent iOS updates, the maps improved and Apple added a 3D look as well to make the locations look more fancy and real-like. Apple also added full-screen mode, night mode, navigation for pedestrians and real-time traffic information.

What still made people angry was the fact that Apple’s service was no competitor to Google Maps, which was no longer a default option. Finally in 2015, public transport was added to the maps, making the life of an iOS user a lot easier.

Even now Apple Maps have not yet made a mark and Google Maps seem to dominate the navigation space. Hyderabad’s facility is expected to ramp up the Maps operations and significantly upscale the features, considering the abundance of talent here.

Apple’s plan in India going forward

Apple has also shared that the Cupertino-based company is going to open a technology centre in Bengaluru, silicon valley of India, to nurture app developments for iOS.

A developing economy with so many talented computer science graduates makes India an attractive location to invest into. Apple is also going to open a manufacturing unit in India with Foxconn to produce its iPhones locally and bring down the exorbitant price one has to pay for its smartphone.

Tim Cook is also going to talk to Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, about opening Apple stores in the country and plans to expand these stores throughout India.

All these developments are exciting and definitely something Indians should look forward to. Not only will the iPhones become cheaper, but the company will sell its devices through its own retail stores, leading to better customer satisfaction and experience.

Hyderabad Becoming the Preferred Choice for Biggies

Hyderabad seems to be the favourite place for all the Tech biggies. It has Amazon’s biggest campus outside of USA with an investment of 1800 Cr, So does Uber. What’s more even Google’s largest campus out of US is located in Hyderabad. Microsoft too has a huge facility there.

With Apple coming in – Hyderabad now has development centres of all the top 4 global technology companies!

Apple to launch development centre in Hyderabad on May 19

Source: Business Standard

US technology giant Apple Inc will launch its development centre here on Thursday, officials said.

The facility will commence operations on one lakh square feet leased space in WaveRock, a building owned by real estate giant Tishman Speyer at Nanakramguda.

However, it was not confirmed if Apple CEO Tim Cook will be present to inaugurate the company's first development centre in India.

Cook is expected to visit India later this week and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. He is also expected to visit Mumbai and Hyderabad.

While officials in Telangana government's information technology department confirmed that the facility will be launched on Thursday, it has not made any official announcement.

"Will share a big news with you all day after tomorrow. Suspense till then," tweeted state IT minister K.T. Rama Rao.

The US-based firm, which owns iPhone, iPad and other popular consumer electronic brands, plans to expand the facility to 2.5 lakh square feet by next year. It will have 2,500 employees, sources said.

The company, which has taken the space on lease at WaveRock, is also planning to build its own campus.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao or his son IT minister K. T. Rama Rao may make an announcement for allocation of land to Apple for its campus.

Cook is also expected to meet Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is trying to attract big ticket investments for his state.