Horizons Dec-Jan 2013

D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2 - J a n u a r y 2 0 1 3 1

A P ’ s m o s t c r e d i b l e r e a l e s t a t e m a g a z i n e

ANDHRA PRADESH REAL ESTATEDEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION

www.apreda.org

V o l u m e 2 I s s u e 8 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2 - J a n u a r y 2 0 1 3R s . 5 0

HorizonsHorizons

Biodiversity pylon harbinger of a safe tomorrow(See page 56)

Bright days ahead for HyderaBad

Hyderabad looking at ‘mega status’

gacHiBowli looking up

H O R I Z O N S A P ’s m o s t c r e d i b l e r e a l e s t a t e m a g a z i n e2


meticulously craFted

Flats Featuring

3 BHK DELUXE APARTMENTS @ 471&484-C, RAGHAVENDRA SOCIETY, KONDAPUR

sirisampada constructionsFlat 401, Sirisampada Hi-tech, Plot 2&4, Kavuri Hills

Jubilee Hills Post, Hyderabad-500 033Phone: Office: 040-42200009, 9866622877

Site: 9676749359,E-mail: [email protected]

Possession by December 2012.

Flats availaBle

Flat No. Type SBU Area Floor Main Door Facing

301 3 BHK 1600 Third South facing401 3 BHK 1600 Fourth South facing501 3 BHK 1600 Fifth South facing402 3 BHK 1625 Fourth North facing502 3 BHK 1625 Fourth North facing

SIRISAMPADA SAMVRUDDISIRISAMPADA SAMVRUDDI

POP false ceiling designer work for all bedrooms ad halls

RCC partitions for beroom and kitchen

Main Door: Specially designed and polished teak veneer door with groovesInternal: Specially designed pre-laminated doors with standard hardware

JOHNSON LIFT WITH V3F FACILITY for smooth landing and power saving

EICHER GENERATOR back up for LIFT and common areas and five points in each flat

GRANITE Flooring for corridors and stairs

STAINLESS STEEL RAILING for the staircase

Granite Cladding for LIFT frontage.Specifications are indicative and subject to changes

Conduit provision for home theatre and TV

Specifications are indicative and subject to change


c o n t e n t sAPREDA TOUCHING NEW HORIzONS

The Andhra Pradesh Real Estate Developers’ Association, popu-larly known as APREDA, was established in 1995. APREDA today has a majority of leading builders and developers as a part of

its over 400 strong membership. It has branches/associates in Vizag, Vijayawada, Guntur, Kakinada and Tirupati. Over the years, APREDA has emerged as an effective, self-regulatory promoter body of the real estate industry in Andhra Pradesh.APREDA has been effectively working with the Government and other institutions and taking an active role in shaping real estate policies, development control rules, rationalising the taxes and fees like VAT, Service tax, stamp duty, and other registration charges, Impact fee and other develoment charges, etc., benefiting all the stake holders.APREDA has been organising conferences and property shows to make the public aware of the products, numerous offerings and vari-ous options from the real estate industry in AP.To enrich the members’ knowledge on the latest trends and technolo-gies, APREDA has been organising conferences each year since 2010. The theme of the conference in the previous years was, “Green Build-ings, Townships and Destination, Hyderabad” and “Vibrant cities for vibrant economy -- Galvanizing for action“This year, APREDA is organising a conference on “Real Estate -– Ac-celerating the Growth Story” with Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) as the Knowledge Partner. The conference is being held at the National Academy of Construction Auditorium on November 10, 2012. Regis-trations and other details are available on www.apreda.org.The first APREDA Property show in 2010 was conducted on October 30-31, 2010, at HITEX and was a huge success with about 20,000 home seekers attending the event. It was inaugurated by Dr K Ro-saiah, then CM of AP. This show was the harbinger for other events to be showcased. This success was replicated in the year 2011, when the second property show was organised on 15th & 16th October 2011. The property show was inaugurated by Sri N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. This time around APREDA had over 150 properties on display. Despite the fact that the exhibition was conducted during a season of political unrest, it attracted over 40,000 visitors. Conservative figures indicate that about 1,500 people purchased properties during this two-day event. The APREDA property show is undoubtedly the biggest event in any year. For the third year in succession, the property show is being organised at HITEX on Novem-ber 10th and 11th this year. APREDA as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility took up many activities like contructioon of free houses for tsunami victims in Prakasam district, flood-hit people of Kurnool and Mahaboobnagar districts, translocation of full-grown trees from the ESI premises and Hyderabad Metro Corridor, beautification of both the entrance roads of Hitex and HICC, Hyderabad, ahead of the CoP-11 Summit .APREDA has been publishing APREDA Horizons, maintaining a web site, organising technical and product presentation sessions, foreign study tours, etc for the benefit of developers and general public at large.

From the news pages & sites... Page 8

HYDERABAD on the threshold of a BREAKOUT Page 12

HYDERABAD seeking WORLD-CLASS STATUSPage 18


Printed, published by P. Prem Kumar on behalf of AP Real Estate Developers Association, owned by AP Real Estate Developers Association,

printed at Paper Craft Center, 2-3-514/4, Umanagar, Ameerpet, Hyderabad, A.P. Published from AP Real Estate Developers Association,

# 102, Tirumala Shah Apartments, Yellareddyguda, Ameerpet ‘X’ Road, Hyderabad, A.P.- 500 073. Tel: 65572184, 9989844467

email: [email protected] www.apreda.orgEditor: Chalapathi Rao Raidu, RNI. No. APENG 03278/01/1/2011-TC

Sole distributor: Shams News Agencies, Abids, Hyderabad. Ph: 9247750770

c o n t e n t sNew SAND MINING policy in placePage 28

SBI India’s No. 1 HOME LOAN PLAYER Page 30

PRAGATI sends out clear message at BIODIVERSITY CONCLAVE Page 34

Incredible ‘earth-scraper’ in mexico cityPage 36

Motorcycle DIARIESPage 38

The Grace of GREEN LIVINGPage 42

APREDA DiaryPage 46

Shopping EtiquettePage 48

Occupiers set their sights on GACHIBOWLIPage 50

BUILD GREEN,Whatever Maybe the COLOUR!Page 52

Monument which reflects CRUCIAL MESSAGE Page 56


additional housing demand to be 2.1 million units in 5 years: c&w

Major Indian cities are estimated to see additional demand for housing around 2.1 million units in the next five years and more than 50% of this will be in the mid-income segment, property consultant Cushman & Wakefield said in a report. Around 18% of pan-India additional demand during these five years is likely to be concentrated across the top eight cit-ies including Mumbai, National Capital Region, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata.Of the total additional demand in the top 8 cities, demand for mid-income housing is estimated to be highest at 1.3 mil-lion units, while high-end segment demand is estimated to be 451,000 units and 362,000 units in low-endsegment. “The residential housing demand can be seen as an indication of the current and future economic activities in these cities. Majority of the growth in demand (in the top 8 cities) is expected to come from the services sector.Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and NCR, Pune and Chennai will see demand on account of both services as well as manufacturing sectors,” said Sanjay Dutt, Executive Man-aging Director, Cushman & Wakefield India.During these years, the total demand for housing units is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate ( CAGR) of 2.8% across India, with Bangalore expected to record the highest rate of 4.1% followed by Pune andHyderabad.NCR is expected to see the highest demand of 381,000 units in mid and high-end segments during 2012-2016. In the western region, Mumbai is expected to see demand of 188,708 for mid and high-end housing, while the demand inAhmedabad for the same category will be 173,394 units,

and Kolkata’s mid and high-end demand is touted to be about 77,000 units.The three southern cities namely Banga-lore, Chennai and Hyderabad will account for nearly 45% of the demand in mid and high-end segments.

centre gives in, allows states to set up real estate bodies

Buckling under pressure from the States, the Centre has decided to allow them to set up their own grievance redressal mechanism to protect property buyers’ interests from realtors. In a U-turn, the Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Min-istry, which has finalized the draft of Real Estate Regulatory Authority Bill, has dropped the original provision to set up a Central real estate appellate tribunal.Apprehending that the bill might face opposition over this clause, the Ministry has decided to allow States to set up their own appellate authority.The Ministry had earlier received several representations from the States demanding to set up their own grievance redressal mechanism.The tribunal’s role will be to adjudicate any dispute between a developer and an allottee as also between the developer and the real estate regulatory authority. “We have agreed to the States’ demand to set up their own appellate tribunal,” said a Ministry official.The bill proposes setting up a real estate State. All such builders developing a project where the land exceeds 1,000 square metres will have to register themselves with the body before launching or even advertising theirproject.Failure to do so will invite up to a maximum of three years’ imprisonment or fine of up to 10% of the total project cost. The developer will also have to submit project details, including approved layout plan, timeline, cost and the sale agreement that prospective buyers will have to sign to the proposed regulator.Only developers who fulfil this disclosure clause will be per-mitted to advertise their project to prospective buyers.

ap, washington ink pact to improve ties

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and Washington State Governor Christine O. Gregory recently signed a statement of joint interest between Andhra Pradesh and Washington State, USA. Speaking after signing the agreementin Hyderabad, the Chief Minister said that Washington select-

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From the news pages & sites...


ing AP as the partner and giving an opportunity for trade and business would go a long way in improving Indo-US relations.“We have a single window clear-ance system for investments. It is not merely business, trade, etc, it is a good chance for exchange of culture and education,“ Mr Reddy said.He hoped that since both the States have lots of advantages in the part-nership they will have long cherished benefits for both the States. Ms

Gregory said that the agreement will strengthen ties between AP and Washington State. “Investments in agriculture and IT sectors have a bright future. Trade relations with India, par-ticularly AP, will go a long way. We have in our State massive hydel power and are number one in renewable energy, good education system with renowned universities. Major cities are connected by air and now we should have a direct flight to Hyderabad,“ she said. “My goal is to make Hyderabad number two after Mumbai in promoting ties with Washington state,“ she added.Major Industries Minister J Geeta Reddy, several Ministers, the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretaries of various depart-ments, and representatives of FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM par-ticipated in the meeting.

real estate demand to see surge during festive season

As the festive season is an auspicious time to make investments, a large number of fenc-esitters jump into the fray if the options are good enough. With the onset

of the festival season, the real estate market gets a boost

in India. But, interestingly, as the demand soars, instead of increasing the prices, it has been seen in the past that devel-opers give concessions to buyers to push sales. Even banks and finance companies cut their interest rates, or remove the processing fees, so as to help more and more customers close deals.On the whole, during the festive season between October and December, the environment in the real estate market is very upbeat.A major developer says that during the festival season almost all developers offer bonanzas owing to stiff competition, which they cannot factor into their cost and which cut into their margins. Therefore, this could be the right time to do a bargain and purchase a house.In the festival season, most developers either cut the price of their product or offer buyers the option of not paying the

EMIs of the first two years or till the possession is not given, or hold out other inducements like free modular kitchens, LCD TV sets, gold coins, or foreign junkets.These offers, if analysed closely, do not seem to reduce prices substantially, but clearly act as a catalyst in the prospective buyer’s decision to purchase a house.Consider the offer of delaying the payment of EMI for two years: This may enable you to buy a house even if your income is not adequate to pay the EMI today, on the premise that your income could rise sufficiently in the next two years to help you pay up. However, this depends upon your judgment about your future income. But clearly, if you postpone the decision to purchase today, you will find it difficult to buy the same house after two years.The price of the same house will go up so high in two years that even with an increased income you will find it difficult to close the deal - the trend in the last 10 years suggests that this is certainly the case for most prospective buyers.

Hyderabad among top 10 ‘must-see’ cities in 2013

San Francisco is the place to go next year, according to Lonely Planet’s latest list of top 10 cities to visit. One of the most densely populated cities in the United States, San Fran-cisco will host the 2013 America’s Cup, the yacht race that was first contested in 1851. Amsterdam comes second in the list of must-see cities. The Dutch capital has a festive year ahead in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the construction of the city’s iconic canal ring. It will also be the 160th birthday of the legendary artist, Vincent van Gogh.Although Lonely Planet’s latest list did not contain as many surprises as last year’s choices, the selections still contain a few eyebrow-raisers.Hyderabad is the top Asian city, ranking third overall. The historic Indian city is currently refurbishing many of its monu-

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ments back to their former glory. The Falaknuma Palace has already been revamped by the Taj group of hotels.Off the usual Brit tourist trail is Londonderry, which comes fourth in Lonely Planet’s list for being the United Kingdom City of Culture in 2013. The All-Ireland Fleadh will be held there as well as awards ceremonies for the Turner Prize, Brit Awards and the Man Booker Prize next year.Just making it into the top 10 is Argentina’s Puerto Iguazu, famous for the Iguazu Falls. The city is said to be the best for families and adventure in 2013.

Jll voted top real estate advisor in asia pacific region again

Rating and research agency Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has been awarded number one

overall real estate advisor in the Asia Pacific region in the Euromoney Real Estate Awards 2012. This is the second year running that JLL has received this award and it is a great achievement as the winners are voted by clients and industry peers. In addition, JLL was awarded a number of awards across the country categories, securing first or second overall advisor in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, New zea-land, The Philippines, Singapore and Thailand; in India JLL was also number one in agency/letting and research. JLL’s success in the 2012 Euromoney Awards, along with its clean sweep at the International Property AwardsAsia Pacific earlier this year proves its leadership position in the Asia Pacific region.

rooting for planned urbanisation

The revenues from the IT sector alone will be around $ 225 billion by 2020 which translates into enormous economic de-velopment in terms of office space, housing, transportation, etc, according to a release from GIREM (Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management). GIREM is an industry body focused on urbanisation, future cities, and eco-socio-economic infrastructure and represents industries, real estate space developers and service providers.The refrain at the fifth GIREM Leadership Summit held in New Delhi recently was that the major cities had enormous capacities and all they needed was ‘proper planning’ and a coordinated effort on the part of the government and the private sector.The Urban Development Secretary, Sudhir Krishna, who released a GIREM-Cushman & Wakefield report on ‘Top 10 Emerging Business Destinations,’ said, “Planned urbanisation

is the call of the day, keeping in mind the massive migration that is going to take place from rural areas. The cities can handle the migration and there is an urgent need to look at a model that has a good transportation network.”Mr. Krishna further said, “Urbanisation is inevitable and it will lead to development,” dismissing the earlier model that India lived in villages and they had to be developed.Presently, only 31 per cent of the population lived in urban areas and this figure would increase phenomenally and unless there was planned development, “there would be widespread discontentment.”Stating that the key to urban development was transporta-tion, Mr. Krishna remarked ‘Metro will drive development’. By putting up transport connectivity within and outside the city limits, the city’s development would be faster. “The govern-ment was keen on working with organisations such as GIREM for looking at emerging destinations, borne out of specific strengths of these destinations.The GIREM-Cushman & Wakefield report has identified Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Kochi, Indore, Nagpur, Vadodara and visakhapatnam as the next most promising business destinations offering long-term investment potential. In the last two years, the volume of investment by various companies in these 10 cities has increased by over seven times.

Home insurance gains importance

Much is being written and published on the housing sector these days — land development, construction and dos and don’ts while investing in homes, but too little has been circu-lated about insurance cover for a home and its contents. For a good number of years after India became independent, only life insurance remained the focus, spearheaded by the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India. Property insurance received attention once banking institutions started granting loans against immovable property, as primary or collateral security. Globally, the issue of separate policies for different perils was the practice. House insurance policy per

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se is found to have become a regular feature only around the 1950s in the U.S.Property owners these days come forward voluntarily to cover various risks, both natural and man-made. Many banks now offer a package of insurance cover along with the home loans they sanction, which will cover the life of the loanee, and comes handy for repayment of the loan in case of emer-gencies like accident, incapacity or death. Growth of real estate sector has opened up new opportunities for insurance companies. The ASSOCHAM recently hosted the sixth Global Insurance Summit in Mumbai. The main objective of the summit was to identify the reasons for the poor growth of the micro insurance sector, innova-tions needed for serving the lowest segment of society, reforms required in promoting the sector, etc. Some papers presented at the summit reveal that the annualised growth in the fire and allied peril segment of the general insurance in-dustry registered a mere 7.5 per cent growth over the last few years. It is also reported that during some years the premium income even shrunk by 10-15 per cent.Home insurance generally covers fire-related loss, damage to structure/con-tents, burglary/theft, breakages, breakdown of appliances, baggage loss, injury to people and death.Some critical issues relating to home insurance are age of the building (older buildings attract higher premium) and contents (based on the age of the inventory). Partially used home space for office purposes is not eligible for home insurance cover, and apart-ments where residential/welfare associations cover the whole complex by insurance are not eligible for additional cover by individual owner/s, etc.A home insurance policy for a sum of Rs. 40-50 lakh with fire peril may not cost a premium of more than Rs. 2,500 per annum. Including theft/burglary and damage to contents like furniture may attract a premium of Rs. 3,500 to Rs. 4,000 pa. Natural calamities such as floods, cyclones, earthquakes and tsunami will cost more.

steel is the core of a building

It is common knowledge that steel is an indispensable part of

any construction process. But what is its role?The answer to this question lies in the difference between concrete and reinforced concrete. While a mixture of cement, sand and coarse aggregate (small rock pieces) is termed concrete, the introduction of iron bars into the mixture makes it reinforced concrete or RCC.The RCC revolutionised construction technology and made multi-storey buildings possible, says a Hyderabad-based construction material expert L.H. Rao. It is not common knowledge that the basic bulwark of a mod-ern building is not strong concrete, but the framework of steel rods that acts as a skeleton and gives the structure flexibility and tensile strength.A building may have strong concrete, but it will not survive if the steel framework is weak, says Dr. Rao. The primary job of concrete is to act as a strong envelope for the steel framework protecting it from damage and atmo-spheric elements.The major reason for steel to go weak is corrosion. “Corrosion is like gangrene and once it starts it will eat away the entire structure. Because of this, one should be extra cautious,” says Dr. Rao.Porous or cracked concrete, water seepage or incomplete work wreaks havoc with steel rods. A damp spot or exposed rods in a building can be easily identified through visual examination, and usually indicates a possibility of the building having a serious defect.The real problem, however, is with damage that cannot be detected by the naked eye. “To detect these minute indicators, we use technologies and tests like the resistivity method and the half-cell electrical potential method,” Dr. Rao says.Both tests are non-invasive and use the conductivity of steel rods as a benchmark for calculating their health.As he points out, “Because steel is a good conductor of electricity and because this conductivity changes as corrosion seeps in, we can easily measure the health of the rods based on the amount of electricity that passes through them.” One should always use these tests before moving into a building, particularly if the building is an old one, he adds.

Brazil eyes infra investments

“The next soccer World Cup and Olympics will be held in Brazil and we will be making massive investments in infra-structure. India, which has been an important trade partner, is surely expected to play a big role in that,” Carlos Sergio Sobral Duarte, Ambassador of Brazil to India, said recently. He was in India to attend a seminar organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce on India’s trade with Latin American countries.He said Brazil has planned investments to the tune of $16.2 billion (nearly Rs 1,620 crore) for expansion of three airports and $66.5 billion (nearly Rs 6,650 crore) to improve rail and road connectivity.


HyDeRAbAD on the threshold of a bReAkoUt



this article tries to put in perspective the liveability indices of this great city and why it is one of the most attractive destinations to set up home and do business




Cover Story

With novel and forward-looking Development Control Rules in place and a real estate boom sweeping across India, Hyderabad in

2006 and thereafter turned out to be the “Darling of developers.”However, with a little inertia in the realty sector combined with political unrest it turned into a

“damsel in distress” from 2009.But Hyderabad’s realty sector has put all this behind it, has taken all adverse issues in

its stride and is now about to break free with a plethora of positive developments happening. Some of the key features why you can safely bet on this surging metropolis are listed below.

1) Best of infrastructure facilities among the top six cities in the country2) Top-drawer international airport (one of Asia’s best) with excellent facilities3) A plethora of hotels ranging from budget and boutique to comfortable and uber luxury

4) Endowed with an excellent climate and ample natural resources

5) Least polluted among the top six metros6) Location advantage of being the gateway of

the South and not too distant from the North7) Cosmopolitan city with several heterogenous groups making it their home and an amiable people8) Best of social infrastructure, i.e. health (destination of medical tourism), offering treatment at top hospitals; world-class scientific labs and research institutes such as CCMB, IITC, NGRI, etc.9) Well-known education and training hub with world-class institutes such as ISB, IIT, Bits Pilani, Nalsar, Gitam etc.)10) A real estate scenario, which is about to break free and see unhindered growth11) Well-meaning developers having transparency

PROPERTY RATESS.No. City Premium Segment Affordable Segment1 Mumbai 23000-32000 4800-70002 Bangalore 10000-20000 2500-35003 Chennai 9500-16500 3500-45004 Delhi 12000-16000 3500-40005 Hyderabad 5500-10000 2000-33006 Kolkata 10000-15000 2500-4000


and fair business practices with help from professional bodies such as APREDA and others12) After the successful conduct of the Biodiversity Conclave, Hyderabad has been billed as a top convention hub13) The city is home to some half-a-dozen universities and deemed varsities14) Within a short span of time, Hyderabad has gained currency as a leading IT destination employing thousandsof young professionals in the IT and ITeS sectors why Hyderabad?If one were to rate Hyderabad, vis-a-vis its infrastructure, civic amenities, climate, educational facilities, cost of living, public transport, etc., one can safely say that in the cuurent scenario, this city wins hands down. Given its location and a conducive investment climate, security and the MOST IMPORTANT element of affordability -– which currently is the premium here -- for any property buyer, Hyderabad comes a cropper! According to a Central Government survey, Andhra Pradesh and Hyderabad have been placed at the second position with regard to the mega infrastructural and development projects under implementation across the country.act at most opportune moment NOW is the time to buy property in Hyderabad, cries many a seasoned realty watcher. Additionally, almost all the top-notch real estate research agencies such as Jones Lang LaSalle,

Cushman & Wakefield, Knight & Frank, and Makaan.com have in their recent periodic reviews given a thumbs up to buyers, reflecting the healthy rental and occupancy patterns in the commercial as well as residential sectors.Some other experts believe that the current political uncertainty is only a temporary phenomenon. What’s more, post the Central Government’s announcement on the FDI entry into retail, Hyderabad looms prominently on the radar of foreign players. Once the entry of these entities begins, property rates in Hyderabad are sure to witness a meteoric rise, experts say. So this is one more reason why property buyers need to act swiftly.According to Mr Sunil Dahiya of NAREDCO, FDI in retail will bolster the next property boom. Mr Dahiya has included Hyderabad, along with Gurgaon, Pune and Bangalore, to give a push to the IT/ITeS business in this second wave due to their large inventory. He also cites how the expansion in the airport proximities of Hyderabad, Pune, Gurgaon and Bangalore had spurred an enviable increase in land and realty around.infrastructure indexOne of the key factors why Hyderabad scores is the fact that its cityscape is changing at a frenetic pace. The Metro project is under way at breakneck speed, the ORR and radial roads are also witnessing feverish activity, transport hubs are being planned at Miyapur and Nagole, which would ease the traffic and safety situation and improve the

overall standard of life.The Centre’s decision allocating 50,000 acres of land for the IT sector is another landmark for Hyderabad and the State. This is certain to give a shot-in-the-arm to the hiring scene and boost the economy.Finally, the Biodiversity Conclave held in October has put Hyderabad on the convention map of India and shown how a world-class conclave such as the CoP-11 was successfully conducted in Hyderabad. Thanks to this UN-backed conclave with some 93 nations participating, infrastructure wise Hyderabad has become the quiet gainer.residex and HyderabadJust as the ‘thermometer’, so to say, for the stock market is the Sensex, indicating in points the ‘health’ of the market, a small beginning has been made in tracking the movement of prices in the residential housing segment through a mechanism called Residex, which has been set up by the National Housing Bank (NHB). An analysis of the Residex for the period 2007-2012 throws up some interesting revelations with regard to Hyderabad.The NHB Residex study initially covered five cities and as of now covers 63 cities in India. The RESIDEX takes the year 2007 as the base year and indicates the movement of the residential price index on a scale of hundred.The RESIDEX has increased by three times in the case of Chennai, and almost two times in the case of Mumbai. In Delhi it has increased by 2.5 times to 267 from 100 whereas in Bangalore it


has remained stable. Considering the major cities, it is interesting to note that the only in the case of Hyderabad the RESIDEX has reduced to 79. Barring the year 2009 the RESIDEX was at its lowest point in the year 2011.When we look at the short-term and track progress of the RESIDEX from Jan-Mar 2010 to Jan-Mar 2011, we also notice that it has largely been constant at the 75-80 level and has stayed below the 100 points base figure of 2007. What conclusions can we draw from these statistics? We can make inferences on the basis of two factors. One is that Hyderabad as a destination

for investment and the other is to consider whether this is the right time for investment. Favoured destination When comparing the statistics of 15 cities in India, barring Jaipur, Hyderabad has the most buyer friendly RESIDEX in India. As can be seen from the table given in the preceding page residential spaces are still available in the range of Rs. 2000 Rs. 3500 per square foot in good localities with all amenities in Hyderabad. Even in the premium segment the residential space rates in Hyderabad are the lowest when compared to other metros. This information is tabulated below.timing for investment

When we compare the rise and fall of RESIDEX in the case of Hyderabad, we notice that there has been a decline from the base year of 2007 up to the year 2009 when it was the least. From the year 2009 the index has been in the 80 to 90 zone and in October December 2011 has again touched a low point of 79. Based upon these figures it is obvious that this year is a very good time for anyone considering purchasing residential property to invest in Hyderabad before the prices go up due to increases in the input costs. Additionally, prices in the premium sector are almost half that of Bangalore, which is a very attractive proposition for investors looking for attractive returns. This sector, hand in hand with the affordable segment, is certain to see a boom in Hyderabad.

Cover story


Cover Story


Hyderabad is known for its diversi-fied cultural attributes, rich heri-tage, cosmopolitan character,

amiable people and above all a rap-idly developing infrastructural apparatus which is sure to place this historical city on the map of the world’s greatest cities. It is the destination of many a leading multi-national company, home to world-class pharma companies, a medical hub, a leading educational centre and an ev-ergreen and vibrant city. It is a charming mix of the traditional and modern, pro-viding unlimited opportunities for those with initiative and dreams.Endowed with world-class facilities, viz.

auditoria, sports complexes, financial centres, entertainment hot spots, a mod-ern airport, and most importantly the city has a big heart to receive and recipro-cate.Hyderabad, the administrative capital of Andhra Pradesh, as of 2011, has a pop-ulation of nine million in its Metropolitan Region, is the fourth largest city and sixth largest urban agglomeration in India. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Region (HMR) has an area of 7,228 sq. km., encompassing Hyderabad, Rangareddy (part), Medak (part), Nalgonda (part), and Mahabubnagar (part) districts, and has seven Master Plans in force with the

eighth one being in the offing as stated below. We give you a brief chronology of Hyderabad’s planning process.

Development Plan for erstwhile MCH area was approved vide G.O.Ms.No.414 MA, dt: 27.09.1975, which was revised and approved vide G.O.Ms.No.363 MA, dated: 21.08.2010. Master Plan of Non Municipal areas of Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) was approved vide G.O.Ms.No.391 MA, dated 23.06.1980, which was revised and approved (Pre-expansion areas of Hyderabad Urban Development Authority excluding the pre-expan-sion areas of GHMC), vide G.O.Ms.No.288 MA dated 3.04.2008. Cyberabad Development Author-ity (CDA) Master Plan was notified

HYDERABAD seeking world-class status

Timmapur

Mangalpalli

Koheda Batasingaram

EdulabadAushapur

Muneerabad

Somaram

Rudraram

Fatehpur Kollur

DMDP - 2031 FOR HYDERABAD METROPOLITAN REGION PROPOSED LOGISTIC HUBS

Hameedulla nagar

S.no

Name of the Logistic

Hub Mandal Village1 Timmapur Kothur Timmapur

2 MangalpallyIbrahimpatnam Mangalpally

3 Koheda Hayatnagar Koheda

4 Batasingaram Hayatnagar Batasingaram

5 Edulabad GhatkesarEdulabad,Ghatkesar, Annojiguda

6 Aushapur Ghatkesar Aushapur

7 Munirabad Medchal Munirabad

8 Somaram Medchal Somaram

9 RudraramPatancheruvu Rudraram

10 FatehpurShankarpally Fatehpur

11 Kollur R.C.Puram Kollur

12Hammedullanagar

Shamshabad

Hameedullanagar,Rasheedguda / Kothaguda , Gollapally Kalan

Future scenario


in 2001 vide G.O.Ms.No.538 MA, dated 29.10.2001. Master Plan for Hyderabad Airport Development Authority was notified vide G.O.Ms.No.287 MA, dated 03.04.2008. Outer Ring Road Growth Corridor (ORRGC) Master Plan was notified vide G.O.Ms.No.470 MA, dated 09.07.2008. Master Plan for Bhongir was noti-fied vide G.O.Ms.No.242, MA dt.11.05.1989. Master Plan for Sangareddy was notified vide G.O.Ms.No.32 MA, dt.12.01.1988.

The eighth Master Plan, viz. Draft Met-ropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) – 2031 which may be notified any time

has an area of 5,965 sq. km., including the area of Outer Ring Road, Growth Corridor, Master Plan, Bhongir Mas-ter Plan, Sangareddy Master Plan, part of HUDA, HADA Master Plans and ex-tended HMDA area for which there is no Master Plan/Development Plan.

The main strength of HMR is its favour-able climate, linkages, availability of plenty of land for rapid development, hu-man resources, etc., which facilitates the region’s potential for all-round growth in line with the aid of planning interven-tions. The projected population of HMR for 2031 is a whopping 18.5 million. To maintain the status of Hyderabad as a world-class city and improve facilities by providing opportunities to all sections of society, DMDP-31 has taken a series of steps as detailed below.

lThirteen Urban Nodes, viz. 1) Fa-

rooqnagar (2) Shabad (3) Chevella (4) Sangareddy (5) Jeedipalle in Toopran Mandal (6) Toopran (7) Bibinagar (8) Bhuvanagiri (9) Malkapur of Chou-tuppal Mandal (10) Choutuppal (11) Ibrahimpatnam (12) Gundelaguda of Maheswaram Mandal and (13) Daudguda of Kandukur Mandal, varying from 7.5 sq. km. to 42.0 sq. km. all over the region have been proposed with meticulous planning to provide vast scope for development. l35 Urban Centres viz. (1) Mogalgidda of Farooqnagar Mandal (2) Chegur of Kothur Mandal (3) Tadlapalle of Shabad Mandal (4) Kanduwada of Chevella Mandal (5) Aloor of Chevella Mandal (6) Dhobipet of Shankarpally Mandal (7) Ismailkhanpet of Sangareddy Man-dal (8) Chintalcheru of Hathnoor Man-dal (9) Daulatabad of Hathnoor Mandal (10) Narsapur (11) Gummadidala of

DMDP - 2031 FOR HYDERABAD METROPOLITAN REGION PROPOSED RAIL FREIGHT TERMINALS

Timmapur

Bhongir

Manoharabad

EdulanagulapalliRavulapalli

Passenger-Cum-Freight Terminal

Passenger-Terminal

Freight Terminal

S.no

Name of the Logistic Hub Mandal Village

Passenger-Cum-Freight Terminals1 Timmapur Kothur Timmapur,Kothur

2 Bhongir BhongirHanmapur,Bhongir, Anantharam

Passenger Terminal

1 Manoharabad Shivampet

Parkibanda, Manoharabad, Jeedipalli

2 Edulanagulapalli R.C.PuramVelumula, Edulanagulapalli

7 Munirabad Medchal MunirabadFreight Terminal

1 Ravulapalli ShankarpallyRavulapalli, Ravulapalli Kalan

Future scenario


Rachna Gupta


Jinnaram Mandal (12) Shivampet (13) Donthi of Shivampet Mandal (14) Men-tur of Wargal Mandal (15) Wargal (16) Mulugu (17) Turkapalle of Shamirpet Mandal (18) Markoor of Mulugu Man-dal (19) Kothial of Mulugu Mandal (20) Cheekatimamidi of Bommalaramaram Mandal (21) Bommalaramaram (22) Maryala of Bommalaramaram Mandal (23) Chinaravalpalle of Bibinagar Man-dal (24) Pochampally (25) Nelapatla of Choutuppal Mandal (26) Chinnakondur of Choutuppal Mandal (27) Panthangi of Choutuppal Mandal (28) Dandu-mailaram of Ibrahimpatnam Mandal (29) Manchal (30) Gungal of Yacharam Mandal (31) Yacharam (32) Mirkhanpet of Kandukur Mandal (33) Kandukur (34) Rachlur of Kandukur Mandal (35) Ye-liminedu of Ibrahimpatnam & Kandukur Mandal have been proposed and the number may go up further, encompass-ing all Mandal Headquarters and other areas all over the region to give a boost to balanced development. lTransport, which is one of the major engines of growth and development, has been given a lion’s share by pro-posing Railway Passenger Terminals in Edulanagulapally (R.C.Puram Mandal), Manoharabad (Toopran Mandal) in Medak District in addition to already existing Secunderabad, Nampally and Kachiguda major passenger terminals. It is also proposed to develop Railway Freight Terminal at Ravulapally (Shan-karpally Mandal) in Rangareddy District and Passenger-cum-freight terminals at Timmapur (Kothur Mandal in Mahabub-nagar District) and Bhongir in Nalgonda District. lTo further promote transport sector, 12 Logistic Hubs are planned.1.Edulabad (V), Ghatkesar (M), Ranga Reddy (D).2.Somaram (V), Medchal (M), Ranga Reddy (D).3.Munirabad (V), Medchal (M), Ranga Reddy (D).4.Kollur (V), R.C.Puram (M), Medak (D).Koheda (V), Hayathnagar (M), Ranga

Reddy (D).5.Hamedullanagar (V), Rasheedguda (V), 6.Gollapally Kalan (V), Sham-shabad (M), Ranga Reddy (D)7.Aushapur (V), Ghatkesar (M), Ranga Reddy (D).8.Mangalpally (V), Ibrahimpatnam

(M), Ranga Reddy (D).9.Thimmapur (V), Kothur (M), Maha-boobnagar (D).10.Batasingaram (V), Hayathnagar (M), Ranga Reddy (D)11.Rudraram (V), Patancheruvu (M), Medak (D). and

Future scenario


12.Fatepur (V), Shankerpally (M), Ranga Reddy (D).

lHyderabad being a radial concentric city hav-ing a 150 metre wide Outer Ring Road (ORR), another 90 metre wide Regional Ring Road (RRR) has been added connecting various ur-banisable areas such as Farooqnagar, Daud-guda, Gundelaguda, Rachlur, Ibrahimpat-nam, Bibinagar, Bommalaramaram, Mulugu, Wargal, Tupran, Donti, Shivampet, Narsapur, Daulatabad, Ismailkhanpet, Eddumailaram, Shankerpally, Chevella, Tadlapalle, Shabad etc. to have balanced development, improve regional connectivity and decongest the core areas. l33 Radial Roads having varied widths from Inner Ring Road (IRR) to Outer Ring Road (ORR) and 25 Radial Roads from ORR to Re-gional Ring Road (RRR) have been planned to have smooth flow of traffic. lTo provide employment and sustainable in-dustrial growth, 209 sq. km. area is provided outside ORR Growth Corridor for industrial de-velopment.lTo facilitate township development all over the region, it is proposed to allow development in a minimum area of 100 hectares and above having a minimum 80 feet wide road access in Conservation (Agriculture) use zone. lTown Planning Schemes/Land Pooling Schemes are in the offing for major develop-ments in different sectors. lTo give a boost to IT & ITES sectors, activities of the same are permitted in most of the land use zones. lTo make vibrant Hyderabad more liveable and environmentally sustainable, more than 3,800 sq. km. area in the region is kept un-der forests, water bodies, bio-conservation use zone, conservation (agriculture) use zone, etc.,Now it is the turn of all sections of society to make use of the opportunities provided by Hy-derabad Metropolitan Development Authority/State Government to make Hyderabad hap-pening and transform it into world-class city.

- v.v.l.n.sarma, Planning Consultant, HMDA

starting point on ending point at

inner ring road outer ring road

1 Aramghar Kishanghad

2 ANG Ranga Agr.University Himayat Sagar

3 Rethibowli Junction A.P.Police Academy

4 Cantonment ‘Y’ Jn.At Langar House Gandipet T Junction

5 Shaikpet Kotapet

6 Nanal Nagar Junction HCU Depot

7 Panjagutta(Tellapur) Edulanagulapally

8 Moosapet BHEL in (IRR Jn on NH-9)

9 Panjagutta Muttangi(NH-9)

10 Paradise Junction

(Via Bowenpally Junction) Godrej Y Junction

11 Balanagar Saragudem

12 Tadban Kandla Kooi(NH-7)

13 Cantonment Jn.(Secunderabad) Old Alwal

14 Patni Junction Thummukunta

15 Mettuguda Yadgiripally Junction

16 Tarnaka Near to Cherial X Road

17 Habsiguda Charlapally

18 Survey of India Mazneerguda Rly

19 Uppal Junction Anojiguda

20 Nagole Bridge Singaram

21 Nagole Bridge Gourelly

22 Nagole Junction Gourelly X Road

23 Mansoorabad Thattiannavaram X Road

24 L.B.Nagar Tohas(NH-9,H-V)

25 Biramalguda Manneguda

26 Kanchanbagh(Kharmanghat Jn) Nadargul(Adibatla)

27 Midhani Junction Nea to Pungulur

28 Chandrayangutta Srinagar

29 Laxmiguda X Roads Mamidipally

30 HCU Depot Near to Vattinagulapally

31 Taranagar Davaraguda

32 Nizampet X Road Near to Kazipalle

33 Extension Financial District Road to Kokapet

Future scenario


Luxe story

List of Radial Roads description length of the width of the road in Kms road 1 N.H.-7, Bangalore Highway- ORR in at Shamshabad via Palmakkula, Kothur joined at RRR Farooqnagar urban nodes. 23.27 60 Mtrs2 Shamshabad via Ammapally, Narkoda, Kanduwada joined at RRR at Pamena village 27.28 36 Mtrs3 From APP junction (Peerancheruvu) via Moinabad, joined at Chevella urban node 26.33 60 Mtrs4 From Manchirevula, Shankerpallly via Janwada, Mokila joined RRR at Shankerpally 26.27 45 Mtrs 5 From Velmula via Bhanoor joined RRR at Singapur 10.28 30 Mtrs 6 From Muthangi junction N.H.9 via Rudraram joined RRR at Rudraram village (near Koulampet hamlet) 0.81 60 Mtrs 7 Rendlagadda, INOLE, joined RRR at Edthanur 16.67 30 Mtrs & 45Mtrs 8 Delwarguda, Kodakanchi, Amdoor joined RRR at Arutla near Ismailkhanpet 22.7 18 Mtrs 9 From Sultanpur via Ootla, Chintalchreru joined RRR at Macherla 24.81 18 Mtrs10 SH- Dommara pochampally junction via Gagilpur, Gummadidala joined RRR at Narsapur 24.36 60 Mtrs 11 NH-7 Kandlakoi junction via Medchal, Kallakal, Manoharabad joined RRR at Tupram urban node 26.25 60 Mtrs12 From pudur via, Raj Bollaram, Ravalkole, Baswapur, Meenjipally, joined RRR at Shankaram 24.92 18 Mtrs13 Karimnagar SH-From Thumkunta junction via Shamirpet, Aliabad, Turkapall joined RRR at Mulugu 20.78 60 Mtrs14 From Shamirpet, Sampanbole, Anantharam, joined RRR at Aliabad (Adavi Majd) 17.84 30 Mtrs15 Narsampalle via Adraspalle, lingapur joined RRR at Muduchintalpalle 12.33 30 Mtrs 16 From Keesara Daira, junction Keesara, Rangapuram joined RRR at Bommalaramara 12.21 30 Mtrs17 NH-202 from Ghatkesar junction via Aushapur, Rangapur, joined RRR at Gudur village near pagidipalle settlement 18.03 60 Mtrs18 From Bacharam junction via Bandla ravirayal, Juloor joined RRR at Ravalpally village 17.36 30 Mtrs19 NH-9 from Amberpet Kalan junction via Abdullapur, Tupranpet joined RRR at Malkapur urban node. 16.18 60 Mtrs20 From Koheda via Anjipur, Polkampally joined RRR at Dandumailaram 14.86 18 Mtrs21 From Bongulur junction via Chintakpallyguda, Ibrahimpatnam joined RRR at Aghapally 15.22 60 Mtrs22 From Adibatla via Ferozguda,Yeliminedu, joined RRR at Gummadevelli 16.77 30 Mtrs23 From Raviriyal via lemoor joined RRR at Rachloor 11.74 18 Mtrs24 From Mankhal junction via Mohabatnagar, Thummaloor joined RRR at Kothru near Gundelaguda urban centre 12.86 60 Mtrs25 From Golconda Kalan via Nagireddypally, Penjerla joined RRR at Dooskal village boundary 19.83 45 Mtrs


The Industries and Commerce De-partment has issued Review of Sand Mining Policy in the State – Method

of Lease by draw of lots – Revised Policy guidelines vide their G.O.Ms No. 142 dated 13.110.2012. The new sand pol-icy has been welcomed by APREDA and all the stakeholders involved in building activity. The new policy is friendly tothe environment and stops the indis-criminate mining of sand in river beds which in turn contributes greatly to envi-ronmental protection.the salient features of the new sand policy are enumerated be-low:-• The allotment of feasible sand bearing areas shall be through selection processby way of draw of lots from the date of issue of notification by amending theexisting rules.• The District Authority shall fix sale prices of sand at pit head not exceeding 20% on Standard Scheduled rate from the date of issue of notification amend-ing the existing rules.• The extraction activity of sand from the specified sand bearing areas shall be restricted to the quantities confirmed; in the notice inviting applications.• The extraction of sand shall be by manual means only. The usage of ma-chinery shall not be permitted except in specific sand bearing areas where there is no impact on groundwater table and with the prior approval of the District Collector and Ex-Officio Chairman.• The Divisional/District Authority may consider issue of short term permits to meet any exigency/immediate sand re-quirement under special circumstances by recording the reasons for specific pe-riod as a measure of contingency plan.• Sand extraction shall not be permitted in overexploited notified areas except for local use in the villages or towns border-ing the streams for bonafide purposes other than commercial operations/trad-ing/stocking, etc.,• The extraction of sand from in-stream/underwater specified areas shall be car-ried out by local registered Boatsmen

Co-operative Societies/Non-local Reg-istered Boatsmen Co-operative Societies selected by draw of lots by rotation.• Irrigation and Command Area De-velopment Department shall undertake de-silting of water bodies/reservoirs as a part of their annual maintenance opera-tions to enhance the storage capacity of the reservoirs and augment groundwa-ter recharge in water bodies/reservoirs. Sand sourced from out of de-silting op-erations shall be utilized for various civil works.• Transportation of sand shall be regu-lated by evolving suitable mechanism in thefollowing manner.• To prevent indiscriminate removal of sand from patta lands from the river bed, care and caution shall be taken to ensure that no agent/GPA/Lease holders other than the farmer himself is involved in the process to eliminate vested inter-ests.• No sand shall be transported from the State to any other State.• Transportation shall be permitted through bullock carts/tractors only, but not in bulk quantities for rading/com-mercial purposes.• 100% Seigniorage fee shall be remit-ted to the General funds under the Head of Account of z.P concerned.• As an alternative to river sand, the manufacture of crushed stone sand (rock sand) shall be ensured from the conservation point of view to River bed/in-stream sand quarrying operations to make it available to meet the require-ment of bulk consumers at affordable prices. To encourage the activity, concessions and incentives shall be worked out in consultation with the industry.• No person/firm/ society shall stock sand• Leases for whatever reason, which have not yet started, shall come into the ambit of the new policy and the amounts if any remitted as per the earlier policy shall be refunded.• The Government may review the New

Sand Policy in future as and when re-quired

extension of lrs The Department of Municipal Adminis-tration and Urban Development (MA & UD) has issued Andhra Pradesh Regula-tion of unapproved and Illegal Layout Building Rules, 2007 – Layout Regulari-sation Scheme – Extension of time limit

– Orders in the form of G.O.Ms.No.397 dated 18.10.2012. Vide this GO, the last date for submission of applications for Layout Regularisation has been ex-tended up to 31.12.2012.

vat- ctd order no.a.r.-67 The Authority for Clarification and Advance Ruling issued Proceeding No.A.R.Com/66/2011 dated 16-10-2012. The gist of the case is as follows.The dealer has sought Advance ruling on the following issue.Whether a registered dealer who has opted to pay VAT under Section 4(7) (d) (composition scheme) can pay tax on “finishing agreement” also at the same rate of 5% on 25% as applicable to sale deed or has to pay 5% of the total value/consideration as applicable under Sec-tion 4(7) (c); now merged with Section 4 (7) (b). The summary of Advance ruling reads as follows. (This is applicable w.e.f. 01.04.2005) “The main contractor is eligible to opt for payment of tax @ 5% of the 25% of the total consideration, as per Section 4(7) (d) of the Act, if he is engaged in the construction and sale of apartments, residential complexes, etc. and opts for payment of tax by way of composition. Further, it is also clarified that the trans-action of the incorporation of goods in the course of execution of the contract, subsequent to the registration of the im-movable property in the form of apart-ments, residentuial complexes, etc. is taxable under either Sec 4(7) (a) or Sec 4 (7) (b) of the APVAT Act, depending upon the fact as to whether the contrac-tor has opted for composition or not.”conclusion: Since it is complicated to arrive at the tax as per Sec 4 (7) (a) and that it is not possible to file under Sec 4 (7) (b) with retrospective effect the authorities may insist on paying the tax under Sec 4 (7) (g), i.e an effective VAT rate of 10.15% (i.e.14.5% on 70 %) of the value of the finishing/construction agreement or work order.

New sand mining policy in place

GO Watch


Classifieds


Advertorial

The State Bank of India is the most preferred home loan provider today with

a market share of 26% as on 31.03.2012. A banker to ev-ery Indian, the SBI has 20 lakh happy families enjoying 1 lakh crore rupees from it. The home loan portfolio of the bank grew by Rs. 12,826 crore during FY 2011-12 to Rs. 1,02,739 crore, against the to-tal home loan sanctions of Rs. 28,036 crore. About 2 lakh new home loan cus-tomers were added to the portfolio dur-ing the same period. The SBI continues to be the ‘No. 1 Home Loan player’ in terms of the size of the individual home loan portfolio among all players in the Home Loan market.AttractionsThe SBI offers the lowest interest rate of 10% for loans up to Rs. 30 lakh and for above Rs 30 lakh it is 10.15%. No oth-er Home Loan provider comes at such a best rate. Our over 14,000 branches

and Home Loan Sales Teams across the country serve

the entire population as a Relationship Man-ager. Our entire force is with the customers to explain the advantages

of our Home Loan prod-uct and also available for

after-sales service. This is the greatest USP of our product. Customers

can visit any of our branch, office, sales team for any requirement. Generally, we as a sales team encounter a FAQ over an individual’s loan eligibil-ity. I give hereunder the EMI chart for a simple understanding.Loan eligibilityA person approached for a Home Loan of Rs. 70 lakh having net monthly income of Rs. 0.90 lakh per month. Loan tenure is 30 years, while the rate of interest is

emi rs. per montH per laKHrate of interest 10% p.a. 10.15% p.a. person of loan Below rs. 30 lakhs above rs. 30 lakhs

30 years 878 889

25 years 909 920

20 years 966 975

15 years 1075 1084

EMI/NMI Ratio will be 90000 * 65% / 889 = 65.80 * 100000 = 65,80,000.00Loan Eligibility as per the table below = 68,79,000.00EMI for 360 months @ 10.15% = 61,133.00EMI will be lowest in the industry and SBI Life Premiem will be lowest in the industry.

SBI India’s no. 1 HOME LOAN PLAYER


1 Cost of land/Flat/Construction (Rs. In lakhs) (as per Sale Agreement or Estimates as applicable A Rs. 80.00*2 Valuation of the property as per valuation report B Rs. 90.00 3 Lower of A & B C Rs. 80.00 4 Registration Charges, Stamp Duties, Service Tax, Property Insurance, etc D Rs. 8.00 5 Total Project Cost (C+D) E Rs. 88.00 6 Less : Stipulated Margin # (15%) F Rs. 13.20 7 Eligible Loan Amount G Rs. 74.80 8 Loan Value Ration (LTV) @ (80% of B) H Rs. 72.00 9 Loan eligibility as per EMI/NMI Ratio $ I Rs. 65.80 10 SBI Life Opted YES 11 SBI life premiem amount for 30 years of age J Rs. 2.99 12 Loan applied for K Rs. 70.00 13 Permissible Loan Amount (least of G, H, I, & K) L Rs. 65.80 14 Sanctioned loan amount including SBI Life Premiem (L+J) M Rs. 68.79 15 EMI FOR Rs. 68.79 Lakhs for 360 months @ 10.15 N Rs. 61,133.00 * Registration Charges and Stamp Duty are Rs. 8.00 lakhs# Margin (i.e. customer contribution) Loan Upto Rs. 75.00 lacs - 20% & Above Rs. 75.00 lakhs – 25% for house flat under construction and Ready to Occupy possession margin will be 15%@ LTV Ratio for Home/Flat under construction for loan upto Rs. 20.00 lacs 90% And Above 20.00 lacs 80%$ EMI/NMI Ratio will be for Net Income Above 2 lakhs to 5 lakhs - 50% Above 5 lakhs to 10 lakhs – 55% Above 10 lakhs - 65%

10.15%, EMI per lakh from the above table is Rs. 889.00 per month.Loan eligibility can be increased by adding income of spouse, children, parents, siblings. Reasonable expected rent can also be added to the income.Maximum repayment tenure for new Home Loan borrowers has increased from 25 to 30 years to help youngest customers get maximum loan amount.Extension of repayment tenure up to 5 years keeping EMI unchanged, subject to maximum tenure of 35 years, in case of hike in the interest rates.Existing borrowers on floating rate loans have been given a one-time option to switch over to current interest rates by paying a 0.50% of loan outstanding/drawing power as switchover fee.Insurance cover Life Insurance Cover “Rin-Raksha” with nominal premium from SBILIFE to all our home loan bor-rowers so as to legal heirs inherit the property not the burden of liability in case of death of the borrower. The bank provides additional loan for payment of premium at same rate of interest over and above the loan eligibility.Free accident insurance to home loan borrowers up to Rs. 50.00 lakh from SBI General Insurance is an added ad-vantage of our Home Loan Product.The SBI provides home loan by way of Maxgain (i.e. surplus funds/entire sal-ary can be credited to the loan account and is available for withdrawal when-ever they require), to take advantage of interest burden by way of overdraft ac-count. The Home Loan account can be operated through cheque/debit card/In-ternet banking. SBI interest application is transparent and calculated on daily product basis.Long repayment tenure SBI Yuva Home Loan is another variant, wherein salaried applicants who are be-low 45 can get 120% of loan eligibility with repayment of 35 years.SBI has lot of tailor-made products to suit the requirements of types of custom-ers in a convenient mode. There is SBI Realty Loan for acquiring a site to con-struct a building. Home Equity Loan up to a maximum amount of Rs. 2 crore by way of top-up loan after one year sat-isfactory repayment of existing loan is

another option. SBI meticulously implements the Gov-ernment’s policy on 1% interest subven-tion to eligible borrowers, i.e., Project Cost up to Rs. 25 lakh and loan amount of Rs. 15 lakh. During FY 2012-13, the Government of India allocated Rs. 400 crore for this purpose.The SBI has set up Retail Asset Process-ing Cells across India, and in Hyder-abad we have these at Secunderabad and Madhapur. The SBI has also set up Lean Work Cell to deal with High Value Proposals and also specialised service to all builders having tie-up with our bank.The USP of our Home Loan Product is (1) Lowest Rate of Interest, (2) Transparency in dealings, (3) No hidden charges, (4) Quick Sanction (5) Interest calculated on daily reducing balance. As per the RBI directives no pre-payment penalty

for loans sanctioned under floating rate only. Banks can impose pre-payment penalty on fixed rate loans. SBI is not offering loans under fixed rate. Some banks offer loans under fixed rate and charge pre-payment penalty.The SBI is committed to uninterrupted customer service for long years, bundled with other products like Car Loans, SB Account without minimum balance, ATM-cum-Shopping Card, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, SMS Alerts, Trading and Demat Accounts, what not. Think of financial service, remember SBI. The SBI has a 200-year-old history, and now our technology is above par with any bank in the world.

- s. satisH Kumar,Head & Chief Marketing Executive,

State Bank Of India, Hyderabad.

Advertorial


PRAgAtI sends out clear message at bIoDIVeRSIty ConCLAVe

A true pioneer in endorsing a natural lifestyle, Pragati comes out with flying colours at the prestigious CoP-11

Pragati Resorts has carved a niche for itself at the prestigious International Biodiversity Conference of Parties

(CoP-11) and Member of Parties (MoP-11) held in Hyderabad from October 1 to October 19, 2012. Pragati Green Meadows and Resorts Ltd, Poddutur and Tangutur, was chosen for the Special Jury Award for Preservation and Promotion of Biodiversity presented by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Sri E.S.L Narasim-han, during the side event of ‘Cities for Life’, City and Sub-national Biodiversity Summit held on October 16. Additionally, Pragati received a Me-mento of Appreciation and Gold Medal from the UN Convention on Biological Diversity Executive Secretary, Mr. Braulio Ferreira De Souza Dais, on the occasion of the side event “Living in Harmony” of CoP-11 held at Shanti Sarovar, Hyder-abad. In more than five events of CoP-11, important speakers commended Pragati for its remarkable work on bio-diversity. Further, the current and former Execu-tive Secretaries, Convention on Biologi-cal Diversity, United Nations, Mr. Brau-lio Ferreira de Souza and Mr. Ahmed Djoglaf, have recognized Pragati as a role model for biodiversity and a trend-setter for the realty sector and on their recommendations to the local authori-ties, an International Mayors meet was conducted at Pragati on October 17 where many national and international delegates participated. United Nations Biodiversity speakers and delegates said Pragati was the highlight of their trip and wondered why Pragati Resorts was not chosen for their stay.promoting a wholesome lifestyle Living in Pragati Resorts gives you oppor-tunities and advantages that can make your lifestyle healthy, more meaning-ful, enjoyable and memorable. What is more, as the residents of Pragati Resorts

live amid the pristine environs of the herbal healing environment, one realizes that making Pragati Resorts their home is more than a lifestyle –- it is about life itself. the benefits of living in

pragati Pragati’s vision is to create a natural and green environment, which promotes a sustained living style so that everyone can enjoy and experience the advantage of being in the lap of nature. Pragati is a premier environmental institution where one can gain very useful insights into green building concepts, aromatic herbal and medicinal plants, religious

heritage plants, gurgling waterfalls and fountains, creeks, natural manure prep-aration and a goshala. The Pragati Herbal Healing Garden is a role model for many people and aims at promoting this concept to the whole world. Pragati’s slogan is ‘Go Green, Go Organic Food’ and ‘Green the Earth, Clean the Mind’. Pragati maintains its own nursery and a plant gene bank. It also grows rare me-dicinal and aromatic plants. Apart from growing avenue trees, disease-free aro-matic plants, mosquito repellant plants, foliage plants, heritage plants such as Pavithra Vrikshalu, Navagrhavanam trees, Panchavati, Raasivanam, Kadam-ba, and Parijatha. Pragati also boasts a food Spa and health Spa, again a novel

concept in this part of the country.

Pragati has identified and cultivated these plants in 2500 acres of land which has now become a healthy gene bank. The two top-ranking Executive Secretar-ies of CBD understood the importance of ozone plants and wanted to green the earth with Pragati’s ozone mother plants because they are self-resistant.Equipped with over 700 species of vari-ous plant groups such as ornamental, medicinal, aromatic, shade giving, flow-ering and fruit bearing plants, Pragati has forayed into avenue plantations.An investment opportunity that cannot be missed

An investment in Pragati property is a lifetime’s opportunity which one cannot afford to miss. A villa/plot in Pragati en-sures multifold benefits which are listed below.

1. appreciation value is very high2. you can enjoy yield of fruits from your land3. you can enjoy free resort membership with family4. you can build a farmhouse and live peacefully like many others See it yourself, enjoy and purchase a villa/plot in Pragati. The resort already has 10,000 happy customers who own plots in the different layouts of Pragati.

Accolade

mr g.B.K. rao with dignitaries at pragati.


Architects have designed an in-credible 65-sto-

rey ‘earth-scraper’ which plunges 300 metres below the ground.The stunning upside down pyr-amid in the middle of Mexico City is designed to get around height limits on new buildings in the capital.The subterranean building will have 10 storeys each for homes, shops and a museum, as well as 35 storeys for offices.Deep: The 65-storey ‘earth-scraper’ is set to plunge 300 metres into the ground beneath Mexico City.pic scale: The enormous complex is in-tended to get around the city’s planning laws, which state that buildings can be no more than eight storeys high.Landmark: The earth-scraper would be located in the city’s main square, and topped with an enormous Mexican flag. A glass floor covers the massive 240m x 240m hole in the city’s main square to filter in natural light from the world above.The design has been crowned with a Mexican flag.Esteban Suarez, from the architecture firm BNKR Arquitectura, said the build-ing would also house a new cultural centre.Scary: The core is fully made of glass to ensure that all parts of the building receive natural sunlight from the world outside.Relaxing: Designers expect the public ar-

eas o f

t h e build-

i n g to be-

c o m e a popu-

lar des-t i n a t i o n

for those wishing to

escape the bustle of the

city.Heritage: The

earth-scraper is e x - pected to contain a museum and cultural centre which will explore the history of Mexico and its pyramids. Mr Suarez s a i d : ‘New infrastructure, office, retail and living space are re-quired in the city but no empty plots are available. Federal and local laws pro-hibit demolishing historic buildings and even if this was so, height regulations limit new structures to eight storeys. The city’s historic centre is in desperate need of a makeover but we have nowhere to put it, this means the only way to go is down.’Mr Suarez added that the ‘the Earth-scraper preserves the iconic presence of

Incredible ‘earth-scraper’

in mexico city

the city square and the existing hierar-chy of the buildings that surround it. It is an inverted pyramid with a central void to allow all habitable spaces to enjoy natural lighting and ventilation. It will also allow the numerous activities that take place on the city square year round such as concerts, open-air exhibitions and military parades to go ahead.’Unobtrusive: One advantage of the unusual structure is that it would cre-ate space in the centre of Mexico City, which is full of historic buildings which cannot be demolished.Green: The interior of the building is supposed to look natural and welcom-ing.Efficient: The creative use of space would allow the plaza to be used for events such as concerts and military pa-rades.Massive: The space covering the earth-scraper will take up to 240 square me-tres in the heart of Mexico’s CapitalPyramids, which play a large part in the architectural history of Mexico, as the country’s anicent civilisations have often built huge pyramid structures.When the Aztecs first came into the Val-ley of Mexico they built their pyramids on the lake they found there.As the Aztec Empire grew in size and power they conceived a new and big-ger pyramid, but instead of looking for a new site they just built it on and around the existing one.The traditional pyramids are therefore composed of different layers of histori-cal periods.Shopping: The earth-scraper would al-most certainly become one of the city’s top retail destinations as soon as it opened.Connected: This picture shows the pro-posed metro station which would pass through the earth-scraper just below ground level.When the Spanish arrived in America and ultimately conquered the Aztecs, they erected Christian churches on top of the pyramids.Eventually their whole colonial city was built over the Aztec one. In the 20th cen-tury, many colonial buildings were de-molished and modern structures raised on the existing historic foundations.Mr Suarez added that the ‘The Earth-scraper digs down through the layers of cities to uncover our roots.’

Rare phenomena


‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ in Buddhist scriptures means ‘Behold the Jewel in the

Lotus’. And this is what the three of us experienced on this most exciting trip, which took us from the National Capital through the rugged terrain of Himachal Pradesh to Manali and back. Well the most astonishing part of this trip was that we decided in five seconds flat to make it to Manali and back on our bikes, cover-ing a distance of nearly 2,000 km in a span of just four days.The next day we made the bikes “trip ready,” fitted a Ladakh carrier onto it, got riding gear, jackets and a massive 15-foot tarpaulin to cover the bags.

day one and twoWe left early to avoid the crazy Delhi traffic, but got caught midway in it. We decided to make the 250 km trip to Chandigarh and stay there overnight. The roads were quite good, but the traf-fic crazy, which slowed us down, taking about five-and-a-half hours for us to reach Punjab’s capital. On the next day, we left early again by 6 a.m. for Manali. The roads were pretty bad, especially near Kullu where they rattle your bones to pulp.We reached Manali early in the evening, and seeing how commercial and crowd-

ed the place looked (it was off season) we moved to Vashisth, a tiny and clean village just above Manali. We found an amazing room for just Rs.250 a night. The next day we went Manali hopping, met some happy locals, had the very tasty momos in the old market and as we were trudging along I spotted the Hi-machal Pradesh tourist office. We were introduced here to our guiding light, ‘the road map’. Our original plan was to go up to Chandra Taal lake and get back. But the map showed a pictureof the Kee Monastery, which forced us to change our plan by about a few days. That day we bought jerry cans, warm clothing and filled our tanks.

day threeWe left on the breathtaking route to Rohtang pass that opens up the Kullu valley into the surreal Spiti valley. Half the route has some absolutely amazing roads, and then the pass looms. With slush nearly two feet deep, visibility of just five feet, the mind-boggling traffic and a cavalcade of tourist cabs and trucks, we had a tough job driving thebikes. A distance of 10 km took us two hours. We finally reached the summit at nearly 4,000 metres and crossed over to the Lahaul valley. The flip side here was barely any greenery unlike the Kullu val-

ley on the other side, clear skies, a wind-ing river running through the valley,the worst roads on the planet, wild horses and the Chandra river.There’s hardly any civilization here and barely any life because of the lack of vegetation and shortage of oxygen. We continued through the valley and reached a bypass where one road leads to Lahaul and Spiti Valley and the other to Keylong, one of the routes to Ladakh. There is a difference in some popular terms in these regions. A roadis just a way that can be passed, a vil-lage can be just one house, and good weather is no landslides. The few people who live here are used to a life unlike ours. They are blessed because there is always fresh water from the melting snow caps all the year round. We continued to Batal 90 km away crossing Chatru and Gramphu. We traversed a water cross-ing that makes its own road. Cold and with a massive force this water crossing made us bow down in respect (andfear). We nearly got bogged down for a good 15 times. But the sturdy bikes made their way. The trip took us about six hours to complete and we reached Batal by evening. Batal is a one-hut vil-lage run by an enterprising couple who keep the place open to travellers for three months that is deemed passable.

Travel

motorcycle DIARIeSwe bring you a first person account of a biking enthusiast who, alongwith two friends of his, travelled from delhi to manali and back on their royal enfield classics


Travel

Vegetarian food, happy people, sleep-ing in stone huts on stone slabs, doing our ablutions alongside a river in pre-sumably single digit temperatures was quite an experience.

day FourNext morning we loaded up and left for Chandra Taal lake, which we were told was about 16 km away. It took us two hours and a 3-km trek to the most amaz-ing views we had ever seen. A massive valley to the left, sedimentary rocks left after a glacier’s demise, a river run-ning through and a pristine lake to our right. Clear as a holy man’s conscience, the water was cold and reflected like the clearest mirror. We stayed for a few hours wading in the water, walking around the lake and just taking in the incredible sights. We had some Maggi (a life-saver in this region) and contin-ued on our journey. We met no one throughout. One bike lost a clutch wire, the other a fuse. We crossed the Kumzun pass at 4,590 metres into the Spiti val-ley. We crossed the valley at our constant pace of 5-15 km an hour and reached Losar. From there we found patches of road and reached Kaza in the evening. This valley holds towns like Kee, Kibber, Dhankar and is the largest district in In-dia. This is monastery country and also called Western Tibet by many, where the food is vegetarian. We stayed in Kaza for the night.

day FiveWe got up early like the people inhab-iting this re-

gion and left for Kee monastery. We did a tour of the monastery and saw in this the 11th century Gompa, ancient tab-lets, scriptures, paintings and revered statues. The Monkshere live on the very basics and the place is built like a fort because of attacks throughout history. This Gom-pa is often visited by the Dalai Lama. We then left for Kibberat at 4,270 metres, a quaint town, last on theroad but again full of smiling people ev-erywhere. We left Kibber and travelled through the day and stopped at Tabo. We were planning to reach Rekong Peo but time made us alter our plans again. Tabo is a village, which is a peaceful place at the base of a valley. Most tourists you find here are Israelis and we met quite a few of them here. Vegetarian food, a relaxed feel, winds blowing away our jackets, happy kids running around was every-thing we liked.Next day we toured Tabo monastery, one of the 108 structures built around a thousand years ago. This one, com-pletely built of clay in 996 AD, has some exquisite wall paintings and clay statues and has been referred to as one the most beautiful monasteries by the Dalai Lama.day six

W e reluc-

tantly left the village and moved to our next des-

t i n a t i o n , Rekong Peo. The roads were just as bad, traffic increased e x p o -nentially, h e a t w e n t up, the terrain

changed to absolute green and we could breathe properly. Along the way landslides were follow-ing us like a loving dog and after cross-ing Poo we had to wait at Spillow for a few hours as a bridge had been washed away. The Army and Border Roads Or-ganisation move quickly here as this route is the only one to China (in this region) and its border. As they made way for us, one of us found a signal in our mobile and we called home. We reached the absolutely dirty, commercial town of Rekong Peo and after a bad din-ner found a place at 11 in the night.

day sevenAfter an uneventful night, we woke up and climbed the mountain to Kalpa. Good, tiny roads and cleanliness greet-ed us. From Kalpa one can see Kinner Kailash. People travel to this hilltop very often to perform ceremonies.We left for Solan, but the traffic slowed us down. We got stuck at Rampur where we were greeted by a puncture and a protest that closed the highway for three hours. But after constant pleading, we were given a pass. Then some amaz-ing roads greeted us, and after riding at 10-15 km an hour we opened throttle and reached Narkanda,a beautiful town high above Shimla. Fog descended on us and we did 30 km in 3 hours. We reached Shimla at 11 in the night and at about 2 a.m. found a hotel.

day eightWe left for Chandigarh about 120 km and from there to Delhi, about 250 km. The ride was boring and uneventful to say the least. Delhi greeted us with rain, traffic and pollution. And just as we touched ‘civilisation’ a certain sadness descended on us like a black veil. After traversing nearly 2,000 km, meeting happy, contended people, roads that gave new meaning to life, old monasteries and sights that can make the most talkative persons quite, the trip had ended and we were back to reality. Being avid photographers we took some fantastic pictures to bring back with us. There is lot more to say about the trip, but some things are better experienced than said.

- animesh Kundaji (A travel enthusiast based in Hyderabad)


Green Living, caring for the plan-et, preserving and nurturing bio-diversity are not new to Hy-

derabad. Even before the recently held Bio-Diversity Conference, the concept of Green Living was introduced to Hyder-abad and integrated into living spaces.green in constructionS&S Green Projects Pvt Ltd., a Hyder-abad-based construction company, has adopted Green as its defining creed. It is just not fortuitous that it chose to have Green in its name itself. Much before anyone else, it was S&S Green Projects that responded to the new wave of en-vironment-friendly building techniques. They foresaw that the construction indus-try will not be able to escape the ecology consciousness that had begun permeat-ing all spheres of life worldwide.green grace

Their ongoing project, Green Grace, is an exemplary demonstration of how caring for the planet, its resources, and its species can be integrated into responsible living. Green Grace com-plies with IGBC standards and is actu-ally the second building in Hyderabad that is a Platinum pre-certified building. It has several advantages. A family can have an operational savings of 40 per cent with regard to water consumption. Your power bills will be up to 50 per cent less, compared with living in a non-green building. Green Grace has made a provision to recycle water to meet all the gardening requirements as well as flush tank needs, thus saving water for personal use.S&S Green Projects made sure that your water is heated by solar power in Green Grace. This has two advantages: hot

water is available throughout the day. And more importantly, your power bills will sharply come down. Reflective paints are used to ward off terrace heat. This ensures that the homes are cooler and use of air-conditioning will be minimal. Ventilation from all the four sides will fur-ther help in bringing in more light as well as fresh air into the home.green is savingGreen Grace conforms to international green standards that provide you with most hygienic and healthy living con-ditions. It is proven that these standard living conditions will help in reducing sickness by 20 per cent, 60 per cent re-duction in heat ingress as well as 100 per cent improvement in natural ventila-tion. Green Grace is designedin such a way that the rooms are sized perfectly so that they let in fresh air and

The Grace of green living

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Travel


cut out the heat. There is one more fea-ture which is not usually found. Green Grace uses VOC paints which don’t let toxins out so that the residents breathe easy.green is luxuryWith all these green features, Green Grace doesn’t compromise on luxury. In fact, Green Grace proves that one can

live in luxury while being completely re-sponsible towards the planet and its ecol-ogy. It is endowed with large landscaped areas, swimming pools, state-of-the-art club house, gymnasium, health club, modern gym, a club house, a health club with yoga centre, sauna, swimming pool, a jogging track which will go to enhance the well being of the residents

by giving them enough physical ac-tivity in a congenial atmosphere. Of the 5.8 acres of land in which Green Grace is coming up, 71 per cent of the land is open with wonderfully landscaped gardens. Every apartment has a lawn. Even in the apartments on the 15th floor one can have this unique experience.Green Grace provides a full power backup, including for air-condition-ers. It has RFID controlled parking for your vehicles.close to nature, not far from workGreen Grace is strategically located. It is located in the Gachibowli area, very close the Financial District, and a stone’s throw from the express way that connects with the International Airport. Most of the happening places are only a short drive from Green Grace: Hi-tech City, Indian School of Business, University of Hyderabad. Equally importantly, some of the best schools in Hyderabad such as Delhi Public School, Oakridge School, are just a walk from Green Grace. In fact, your children will walk to their school and run back home!

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APREDA

Mr. P Prem Kumar, President of APREDA, presenting a bouquet to Mr. Sandip Patnaik, MD, JLL, at the monthly meeting on Oct. 30.

Mr. Prem Kumar welcoming Mr. K Sitapathi Raju, Host, Member APREDA.

Mr. K Sreedhar Reddy, Secretary of APREDA, presenting a bouquet to Mr. Sandeep Singh Narayan Deo, JLL.

Mr. P Dasharath Reddy, Secretary General, APREDA, presenting a bouquet to the host, Mr. V Venkata Krishna Prasad, APREDA Member.

Mr. Prem Kumar greeting the host, Mr. P Harinath Babu, Member of APREDA.

Mr. Prem Kumar presenting a bouquet to the host, Mr. Sunder Boddupalli, Member of APREDA.

Mr. Dashrath Reddy and Mr Prem Kumar welcoming Mr. Daggupati Sundeep.

D I A R Y


The holding of the presti-gious Biodiversity Conclave in Hyderabad in October provided APREDA the right opportunity to showcase its CSR side. Continuing its multi-faceted activity, APREDA carried out beautification of the road from HITEX Entrance, venue of the conclave, to the Exhibition Entrance Grounds gate.


Etiquette

-By Carolann Philips

Going by the number of cars lined up outside the various shop-ping malls around town, I can’t

help but conclude that shopping is the country’s favourite pastime. I happened to read somewhere that the second most dangerous place in the world to drive is on the “roads” in supermarkets and malls. With children running around, babies in carts, senior citizens treading precariously on slippery or wet floors, with all types of obstacles, unattended carts in the middle of the aisle, the list goes on and on about the environs at these places.The first requisite for a supermarket is that it should be safe, friendly, and present a courteous ambience where everyone is able to pick their favourite things or wares without fear of injury or unpleas-antness. If everyone adopts some rules of etiquette, we could all collectively en-joy the pleasure of shopping. Akin to driving First of all, pushing the shopping cart is like driving a car and the aisles are like lanes on the road. It is both impolite and unsafe to leave a cart across the middle of the aisle to

chat with a friend or browse through the shelves. Instead, proper ‘cart’ driv-ing protocol suggests pulling over to the side of the aisle. When passing, keep to the right. This will avoid collision with another cart. It is not only courteous but safe to leave a con-siderable distance between your cart and the shopper in front. In this way there will be fewer hurt toes or bruised shins! It is rude to peer into someone else’s shopping basket or cart -– as if taking an inventory of everything or trying to figure out what the person might hypothetically be doing with that stuff! Helping oneself to grapes, nuts or other displayed wares is poor etiquette besides being unhy-gienic. Asking a shop assistant to check in the back for an item, and then not waiting for him or her to return is rude. It means that the service effort was a waste, and that time could have been spent on an-other customer. If you change your mind about the pur-chase, wait for the assistant’s return and apologise for the inconvenience whilst thanking him or her for the service. It is improper to stand with the freezer doors open while deciding whether to take Va-

nilla or Butterscotch; chicken nuggets or shrimps. The freezer doors are made of glass so one can look through them and decide what to buy.It is considerate to give coupons, credit cards or anything pertinent to the pur-chase to the cashier before the sale is made. Not doing so may require the transac-tion to be cancelled or changed and this usually involves getting the manager’s signature -- wasting everyone’s time in line and also the effort and time of the cashier. Speaking on the cell phone whilst check-ing out shows disrespect for the cashier who is offering you a service. It is also considered improper to place money on the counter while making payment. Most cashiers find picking up the money a problem -- especially coins! Give it in the cashier’s hand. Shopping etiquette, however, works two ways. Cashiers and sales assistants must also be courteous, polite and helpful. And that is a topic for another column. These are just a few basics of shopping eti-quette. Follow them and justify the idea that the customer is always right!

Shopping etiquette


Occupiers set their sights on gacHiBowli

Pulse


Living with utmost concern for the planet is no longer an option of some faddists. It is an imperative need of the day. Melt-ing of glaciers, depletion of the ozone layer, disappearance of a variety of spe-cies from the face of the earth, rivers changing course, climate change, hur-ricanes, etc are some of the things that are increasingly driving home a point: planet earth is no longer tolerant of man’s irresponsible lifestyle.

green is necessaryIn every aspect of our living, we have realized the need for conservation. To be friendly to the ecological system. To respect our rich biodiversity. To be responsible towards the fast depleting non-renewable sources of energy. Talk-ing about carbon credits is not anymore a fad. It is the dire necessity of the 21st century.It has strongly impacted our thinking about how to live, how to work, how to travel, how to produce, how to transport, how to distribute, and how to dispose of the vast waste that we continuously pro-duce worldwide.

inescapable for Building indus-tryGlobally, the building industry cannot remain untouched by these global con-cerns. International concern is echoed in India too. As a result, the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has been set up which laid down rigorous norms for con-structing green buildings that preserve and nurture the environment, render the

buildings healthier to live in, and at the same time help people in realizing the need to save on operational costs in terms of water and power bills.The vision of the Council is: To enable sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in sustainable built environment by 2025.

not Just colourMore often than not, the image of a green building conjures images of vast green spaces, by way of plush and well-kept lawns, a large number of potted plants, and a lot of sprinklers gushing water to maintain these large lung spaces. How-ever, these are only green to look at. In colour, perhaps only in colour.A green building is much more than lush green lawns and flowers and gardens in and around our living spaces. It is a philosophy behind construction. It is a deliberate choice that informs the selec-tion of materials. It is the thinking that determines the sizes of rooms. It is the policy that harnesses solar power to light our lamps and heat our water. It is the decision to invest in paint that doesn’t exude toxic fumes. It is an architectural skill to let in a lot of fresh air into our rooms from all sides. It is the determina-tion to recycle water and use it to flush our toilets and wet our lawns. It is the re-solve to use the reflective tile that wards of terrace heat.In a green building, the last thing is the colour green. Before the colour, it is the brick, the wiring, the layout, the water,

the tile, the heating, and a host of other things. Green in a building is engineer-ing, it is planning, it is architecture.Typically, in a green building light weight bricks are used. They generate less heat. The paints are carefully selected so that they don’t emit VOC. And the residents breathe easy because of that. Green buildings don’t pollute. Not only they don’t pollute, they use materials that have not polluted while being manufac-tured. This leads to less consumption of energy so that fewer resources are con-sumed. Less fuel is burned and less car-bon is let out into the atmosphere.

green benefitsA Green Home can have tremendous benefits, both tangible and intangible. The immediate and most tangible benefit is in the reduction in water and operating energy costs right from day one, during the entire life cycle of the uilding.

tangible benefitsEnergy savings : 20 - 30 %Water savings : 30 - 50%

intangible benefitsEnhanced air quality,Excellent day lighting,Health & wellbeing of the occupants,Conservation of scarce national re-sourcesEnhance marketability for the project.

Green building is the need of the hour. It respects the planet, and benefits the user in more waysthan one.

Build green,Whatever Maybe the colour!

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December 2012Date Day Time (IST) A.M. P.M.3/12/2012 Monday 09:00 to 10:30 04:00 to 07:005/12/2012 Wedbesday 09:00 to 10:30 04:00 to 07:009/12/2012 Sunday 06:00 to 10:30 02:00 to 04:3010/12/2012 Monday 09:00 to 10:30 04:00 to 07:0016/12/2012 Sunday 06:00 to 10:30 02:00 to 04:3017/12/2012 Monday 09:00 to 10:30 04:00 to 07:0023/12/2012 Sunday 06:00 to 10:30 02:00 to 04:3030/12/2012 Sunday 06:00 to 10:30 02:00to 04:30

January 2013 A.M. P.M.

17/01/2013 Thursday 07:14 to 11:14 -

18/01/2013 Friday 07:14 to 12:57 -

22/01/2013 Tuessday 07:13 to 12:45 -

29/01/2013 Monday 07:11 to 18:40 -

31/01/2013 Tuesday 07:11 to 11:40 -

Auspicious dAys

Humour corner

Auspicious days


MArk

et r

Ates

Locality Price(Rs/Sq.Ft.)

Alwal 1895-2300Attapur 2800-3100A S Rao Nagar 3000-3200Barkatpura 4000-4800Bachupally 1500-2100Bandlaguda 2000-2200Bibi Nagar 2000-2500Banjara Hills 3700-7500Bollaram 1800-2200Chandanagar 2000-2200Chintal 1800-2000Dilshugnagar 2200-2800Domalguda 3500-4500East Marredpally 4200-5000Erragadda 3200-3800Gujularamaram 1500-2000Gachibowli 3000-4500Hi-Tech City/Madhapur 3600-4500Habshiguda 3000-3500Hyderguda 3000-3500Himayath Nagar 4000-5500Hasmathpet 2300-2800

Hydernagar 2500-2800Jeedimetla 1800-2100Jamai Osmania 2300-2500Jubilee Hills 6800-7800JNTU Road/Kukatpally 3200-3800Kompally 2200-2500Kondapur 3600-4200Kavuri Hills 4000-5000Lingampalli 2000-3400L B Nagar 2500-2800Marredpally (Secunderabad) 3400-4300Mehdipatnam 3000-4200Nampally 2800-3900Madhapur 3500-4000Mallapur 2000-2700Manikonda 2200-3600Nagole 2200-2800Appa Junction 2500-2900Sainik Puri 1655-2200ShaikPet 2000-3000Srisailam Highway 2500-2900Thirumalgiri 2200-2650Uppal 2000-2900Yapral 2100-2400

Market rates


There are many monuments and memo-rials across the world. The Statue ofLib-erty, the Washington Memorial, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumphe, and Trafal-gar Square are some of the edifices in Europe and America that dominate the cities in which they are built. Nearer home in India, the various Buddhist stu-pas, the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, the Gateway of India, the India Gate, spring to mind as structures that remind us of our country’s rich history and heritage. In Hyderabad, the marvellous Charmi-nar and the Qutb Shahi Tombs adorn the skyline of the City of Pearls. They earn the city a place of pride in the map of the world’s heritage structures. Now the city has yet another monument which can compete with any other monument on the planet in grandeur, dignity, and above all for thedepth of the message that it symbolizes;

the Bio-diversity Pylon.The Pylon is built to commemorate the 11th Conference of Parties to the Con-vention on Biodiversity (CoP-11 to CBD) held in October 2012 in Hyderabad. The international conference was at-tended by about 8,000 delegates from 193 countries. It is the largest gathering that met for nearly a fortnight to deliber-ate on the state of the planet and the measures that each country should take to preserve the bio-diversity of our plan-et. The Conference not only reiterated the world’s commitment to the preser-vation of the fragile ecosystem of the earth, but also extracted commitments from the governments of all the partici-pating countries to allocate resources to execute theircommitments.After about a century, if we are able to look back on the way we could preserve

planet earth’s delicate ecological bal-ance and nurture its bio-diversity we will have owed a lot to the Hyderabad Bio—diversity Conference. It is to remind posterity of the seeds of the commitment which made possible the achievement of the grand objective that this Bio-diversity Pylon was built. The pylon has been built on a 15-acre Bio-Diversity Complex in Gachibowli. Designed by Hyderabad based architec-tural firm ‘Genesis Planners Pvt Ltd’., the structure is an architectural representa-tion of the grandestconception of cosmology. The structure is conceived to depict the story of evolution and its diversity with an artistic amalgam of scientific symbolism on a mythologi-cal canvas. The edifice captures the full gamut of ideas that represent the con-cept of Bio-diversity. The term bio-diver-sity is used to denote richness of species

Monument which reflects a securetomorrow

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and the diversity. Biologists often define it as “the totality of genes, species, and ecosystems of a region.” This definition presents a unified view of the traditional as well as modern conceptions of bio-diversity.Base of the PylonThe Pylon base is composed of concen-tric circles representing the five elements: Pridhvi (Earth), Vayu (Air), Jala (Water), Agni (Fire), and Akasa (Ether). These are the essential elements of creation. And every living organism is composed of these fundamental elements. The base has five rings, each representing an ele-ment and capturing its essence.The ring of Air – Vayu Mandala. This is the outermost ring. It is represented by 12 trees. The number 12 is arrived at by multiplying four cardinal directions with 3 types of wind on the planet – Polar Easterlies, Westerlies, and Trade winds. The ring of air is 108 feet in diameter. The sacred number 108 becomes a cru-cial dimension for the pylon base. We all know that it takes 108 seconds for the sun to pulsate once and hence it signi-fies the cosmic blue print of creation.The ring of Earth – Pridhvi Mandala has an ambulatory path engraved with 191 classifications of the Tree of Life. It is a humbling experience to see homo sapi-ens as a part of 101 names. The am-bulatorypart is 6 feet wide and has been symboli-cally proportioned to human height and the circumference of the path is 224 feet at the centre of the path.Along the ambulatory path there are three viewing decks representing the three qualities that characterize every liv-ing entity on this planet: Satwa, Guna, Rajo Guna, and Tamo Guna.The Ring of Fire – Agni Mandala: An in-ward sloping grass from the ring of Earth meets the next element, the Ring of Fire. Fire is symbolized by the Sun with radiat-ing lines in the colours of fire. It has 108 lights, which is exactly the amount of time taken for one heartbeat of the Sun.The Ring of Water – Jala Mandala is a water bowl signifying incubator of life. In Indian system human mind is the incu-bator. Only through the mind it is pos-sible to be aware of the creation. Hence taking the diameter of Moon as one unit

and multiplying this by 30 the diameter of the ring of water is arrived at. Inciden-tally, the Earth is 30 times the size of the Moon.The water has a floating map of the world without political boundaries.The Ring of Ether – Akash Mandala: The fifth element Ether is invisible to the eye. This is represented by a fan like struc-ture. The fans of ether by themselves are not representative of Ether, but the empty space between the three fins represent the element Ether. The fans are two in number (Etheric double of the spiritual parlance), one over the other and slight-ly eccentric giving a visual impression of dynamic movement even though they are static.The Pylon: The Pylon itself is composed of the same three divisions of biodiver-sity, namely System (Prakruthi), Species (Prani) and Structure (Antaralaya).The System Pylon – Prakruthi Sthambha is represented by a 46 foot tall steel structure that mimics a wire frame. A wireframe is an abstract definition for a space holder in the computer terminol-ogy.This structure has Boomerang shaped plan, symbolizing the concept that it never goes away, always returns to the origin and is non perishable. The 46 feet height of the Pylon represents the 23 male and 23 female chromosomes.The Species Pylon – Prani Sthambha mimics an extruded Shaligramam. It is 32 feet tall elliptically shaped stone py-lon and stands next to the steel pylon.

The number 32 represents 32 million species on the planet earth, of which only a little over 8 million species have been identified. Down from the 32 feet datum level to the level of 26 feet level datum on the steel pylon, a section of 8 feet is internally lit, signifying the identi-fied 8 million species. The species pylon is adorned with graphics symbolizing the story of biodiversity.Structure Pylon – Antarlaya Sthambha is a 7 feet tall structure. It represents DNA double helix and sits on the top of the stone pylon representing the pylon at a dna/genetic level. In an esoteric sense it also symbolizes the seven chakras and the future possibilities of evolution that remain as potentiality.A mural gives a detailed and graphic de-piction of the whole concept. The proj-ect was executed by Hyderabad based construction firm, S&S Green Projects, whose team consisted of Naveen Kumar Potluri, V.R.K.Murthy, K. Suryanarayana, Y. Phanindranath. S&S Green Projects is a pioneer in executing Green Buildings in Hyderabad. They have very ablymarried Green to Luxury in creating resi-dential accommodation. The Pylon de-sign was conceived by Genesis Planners consisting of Anujay S Vootla, NVS Raju, Ananth Eyunni and Maheshwar Goud.Ramesh Ravipudi and Sundeep Daggu-bati of Ram Digi Medias Pvt Ltd werethe Project Management Team.

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Horizons Dec-Jan 2013

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Transcript of Horizons Dec-Jan 2013