Missed out on the recent boom in real estate due to fund shortage? Now, a few thousand rupees will be all that takes to profit from getting a real estate exposure.
With stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India putting out the much-awaited regulations for real estate mutual funds (REMFs) on Friday, retail investors can now invest in real estate without buying land and apartment by going in for these funds.
“This opens up a new avenue for the common investor,” said AP Kurian, Chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India. “He can now access the real estate market with whatever small amount he has by buying units of such funds. It works just like any other mutual fund, but with real estate and related securities as the underlying assets.
”REMFs pool investors' money and buy varied real estate assets and related securities. These funds are required to invest at least 35 per cent of their net assets directly in real estate assets. The balance may be invested in mortgage-backed securities or securities of a company involved in real estate assets or development projects.
Mutual fund industry expects plenty of takers for REMFs among retail investors, who until now, had to invest huge amounts to get the benefits of real estate investments.
“REMFs will give the average small investor an access to the real estate sector by investing small amounts,” said Sandesh Kirkire, CEO of Kotak Mutual Fund. “Until now, he had only the option of investing directly in real estate properties, which involved huge sums. The investor can now have a share in real estate properties by buying units of REMFs.
”While REMFs help retail investors diversify their investments among residential properties, malls and so on across cities with the help of a professional fund manager, the move will also result in a better price-discovery mechanism in the real estate market.
“The entry of institutions will broaden and deepen the market and also create liquidity,” said Sumeet Mehta, Vice President, Capital Markets, Jones Lang La Salle Meghraj (India), a leading real estate consultancy firm. “Scientific investment methods and financial models will be used widely, which will result in a better price-discovery mechanism. Further, institutional money will bring in more transparency and better disclosures in the market.
”REMFs will be close-ended funds with units listed and tradeable on stock exchanges. They should get each asset valued every 90 days by two valuers accredited by a credit rating agency and take lower of the two for computing the net asset value (NAV). NAV of the scheme will be declared on a daily basis.
Further caps will be imposed on the fund on investments in a single city, project or securities issued by associate companies and sponsors. Funds are not allowed to invest in assets owned by the sponsor or the asset management company or any of its associates during the last five years the aforesaid entities hold tenancy or lease rights.
REMFs cannot undertake lending or housing finance activities as well.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
India makes a breakthrough in LCA
India finally seems to be on the threshold of making it to the exclusive club of countries that boast of having the technology to manufacture combat aircraft indigenously.
India's light combat aircraft (LCA) programme, launched in 1983 with the dual goals of replacing the country's aging MIG fighters as well as a general advancement of our aerospace industry, became the subject matter of derisive debates largely due to the fact that it took us over two decades to prototype it.
So, it was interesting to read in today's Times of India that the LCA was well on course for the final clearances having completed the landmark of 850 successful test flights over the Bangalore skies without a single hitch. The next stage obviously is to obtain final operational clearance which would probably require another 1000-plus hours of flight trials.
The newspaper quoted Air Marshal Raj Kumar to say that a minimum of 1500-2000 flying hours are mandatory before a final clearance comes forth. With an average of 25 tests per month, he claimed that the LCA, also known as "Tejas", would get the nod within the next two years and make it ready for induction in 2010-11.
India's LCA programme has a chequered history, having begun with Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru's vision of the country becoming self-sufficient in weaponry immediately after Independence. It all began in 1955 with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) decided to take up the challenge of an LCA based on their experience with production of the de Havilland Vampire FB.52 and T.55.
The result was India's first aircraft the HF-24 Marut which flew in June 1961 but had to wait till 1967 to make it to the IAF. Then came the modified Gnat called Ajeet and the turbojet trainer Kiran in 1968. It was a year later that the HAL obtained permission to develop an advanced fighter aircraft with proven engine technology sourced from outside.
Though the project fell through for want of engine technology, in 1983 the DRDO came up with the idea of a Light Combat Aircraft of LCA as it came to be known. Government set up the Aeronautical Development Agency with HAL holding responsibility as the prime mover for design, systems integration, testing etc.
What was different this time round is that the ADA was asked to develop not just the aircraft but also the flight control systems, the radar and the engine. Though the project was conceived in 1983, it got delayed by two years as the IAF could not finalise its requirements for the LCA till 1985. Thereafter, the project definition began and got completed in 1988.
The design was finalized in 1990, while development of the engines got off the blocks four years ago. The testing continued till 1998 and initial flights were planned a year later, when the Nuclear Tests and the sanctions that followed delayed the process once again. Continued snags here meant that the government went ahead and ordered engines from General Electric. The first prototype called Tejas PV-1 flew in November 2003. Thereafter PV-2 and PV-3 underwent trials at sea-levels to test reliability under hot conditions.
Finally, it was on September 7, 2007 that the LCA made its successful maiden flight and a month later a missile was fired from it. Last February, the Tejas made a sortie lasting an hour and 24 minutes using two drop tanks carrying 800 litres of fuel. The LCA was scheduled to debut at the Paris Air Show in 2007 and at the Singapore Air Show earlier this year, but failed to make it due to test schedules.
It remains to be seen whether the Tejas would be unveiled at any of the upcoming Air Shows. However, it has proved beyond doubt that India does have the potential to develop an LCA and may be also an indigenous power train in the years ahead.
India's light combat aircraft (LCA) programme, launched in 1983 with the dual goals of replacing the country's aging MIG fighters as well as a general advancement of our aerospace industry, became the subject matter of derisive debates largely due to the fact that it took us over two decades to prototype it.
So, it was interesting to read in today's Times of India that the LCA was well on course for the final clearances having completed the landmark of 850 successful test flights over the Bangalore skies without a single hitch. The next stage obviously is to obtain final operational clearance which would probably require another 1000-plus hours of flight trials.
The newspaper quoted Air Marshal Raj Kumar to say that a minimum of 1500-2000 flying hours are mandatory before a final clearance comes forth. With an average of 25 tests per month, he claimed that the LCA, also known as "Tejas", would get the nod within the next two years and make it ready for induction in 2010-11.
India's LCA programme has a chequered history, having begun with Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru's vision of the country becoming self-sufficient in weaponry immediately after Independence. It all began in 1955 with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) decided to take up the challenge of an LCA based on their experience with production of the de Havilland Vampire FB.52 and T.55.
The result was India's first aircraft the HF-24 Marut which flew in June 1961 but had to wait till 1967 to make it to the IAF. Then came the modified Gnat called Ajeet and the turbojet trainer Kiran in 1968. It was a year later that the HAL obtained permission to develop an advanced fighter aircraft with proven engine technology sourced from outside.
Though the project fell through for want of engine technology, in 1983 the DRDO came up with the idea of a Light Combat Aircraft of LCA as it came to be known. Government set up the Aeronautical Development Agency with HAL holding responsibility as the prime mover for design, systems integration, testing etc.
What was different this time round is that the ADA was asked to develop not just the aircraft but also the flight control systems, the radar and the engine. Though the project was conceived in 1983, it got delayed by two years as the IAF could not finalise its requirements for the LCA till 1985. Thereafter, the project definition began and got completed in 1988.
The design was finalized in 1990, while development of the engines got off the blocks four years ago. The testing continued till 1998 and initial flights were planned a year later, when the Nuclear Tests and the sanctions that followed delayed the process once again. Continued snags here meant that the government went ahead and ordered engines from General Electric. The first prototype called Tejas PV-1 flew in November 2003. Thereafter PV-2 and PV-3 underwent trials at sea-levels to test reliability under hot conditions.
Finally, it was on September 7, 2007 that the LCA made its successful maiden flight and a month later a missile was fired from it. Last February, the Tejas made a sortie lasting an hour and 24 minutes using two drop tanks carrying 800 litres of fuel. The LCA was scheduled to debut at the Paris Air Show in 2007 and at the Singapore Air Show earlier this year, but failed to make it due to test schedules.
It remains to be seen whether the Tejas would be unveiled at any of the upcoming Air Shows. However, it has proved beyond doubt that India does have the potential to develop an LCA and may be also an indigenous power train in the years ahead.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Is this Lashkar chief deadlier than Dawood?
Kozhikode: He is one of the “most wanted” terrorists in the country. Whenever a terror attack takes place in the southwest region, intelligence officials religiously raid the modest house of C.A.M. Basheer in Aluva, Ernakulam district. They rate the key Lakshar-e-Tayyeba operative deadlier than the elusive Dawood Ibrahim. Basheer, who fled to West Asia in the 1990s, is the southwest operations chief of the Lashkar. He is said to be the main fund-raiser of the terror network in the country.
After the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was banned in 1991, Basheer played a crucial role in ensuring a steady supply of funds to its terror cells in the country. A former state president of SIMI (1987), he was instrumental in placating radical elements and getting them closer to other extremist organisations. He is said to have sent money to SIMI leader Saquib Nachan for the 2003 Mumbai blasts. He is also said to have been the key remote handler of the SIMI and other fringe outfits since 1995, when he slipped out of the country.
Belonging to a middle class family, Basheer is a post-graduate diploma holder in aeronautical engineering. After finishing his studies, he joined a flight training institute in Bangalore and worked at the Mumbai international airport. He went underground in 2002 after he was accused in a case registered by the CBI.
Yahya Kammukutty, alias Yahya Khan, who was recently arrested in Bangalore, is said to be Basheer’s protégé. At his instance, Yahya made a couple of trips to Kerala to recruit operatives. He was reportedly accompanied by the Lashkar’s southern commander Mahmud Faizal Khan, alias Abu Sultan, who was later shot dead by the Maharashtra police. The duo recruited 32 men, all in the age group of 20 to 30 years.
“Basheer had the uncanny knack of attracting youth, especially educated ones,” said a special branch officer of Ernakulam. After the Mumbai train blasts, there was a move to slap a red corner notice on him, but it was reportedly shelved after the central agencies failed to get evidence against him.
After the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was banned in 1991, Basheer played a crucial role in ensuring a steady supply of funds to its terror cells in the country. A former state president of SIMI (1987), he was instrumental in placating radical elements and getting them closer to other extremist organisations. He is said to have sent money to SIMI leader Saquib Nachan for the 2003 Mumbai blasts. He is also said to have been the key remote handler of the SIMI and other fringe outfits since 1995, when he slipped out of the country.
Belonging to a middle class family, Basheer is a post-graduate diploma holder in aeronautical engineering. After finishing his studies, he joined a flight training institute in Bangalore and worked at the Mumbai international airport. He went underground in 2002 after he was accused in a case registered by the CBI.
Yahya Kammukutty, alias Yahya Khan, who was recently arrested in Bangalore, is said to be Basheer’s protégé. At his instance, Yahya made a couple of trips to Kerala to recruit operatives. He was reportedly accompanied by the Lashkar’s southern commander Mahmud Faizal Khan, alias Abu Sultan, who was later shot dead by the Maharashtra police. The duo recruited 32 men, all in the age group of 20 to 30 years.
“Basheer had the uncanny knack of attracting youth, especially educated ones,” said a special branch officer of Ernakulam. After the Mumbai train blasts, there was a move to slap a red corner notice on him, but it was reportedly shelved after the central agencies failed to get evidence against him.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
I went to make peace with violence: Priyanka
New Delhi/Chennai: Priyanka Vadra, who has created a flutter by meeting one of the conspirators in her father Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, today said she does not believe in anger, hatred and violence and will not allow these to overpower her.
"It was a very personal visit and completely on my own individual initiative. I would be deeply grateful if this could be respected," she told PTI about her meeting with Nalini Sriharan in Vellore jail in Tamil Nadu last month.
Nalini, married to Murugan, sentenced to death in the assassination case, was also awarded capital punishment for involvement in the killing on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in the state. Her sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after Sonia Gandhi pleaded for clemency for the sake of the convict's daughter.
"It is true that I met Nalini Sriharan in Vellore central jail on March 19, 2008. It was my way of coming to peace with the violence and loss that I have experienced," she said.
Recalling her mother's intevention in getting Nalini's death sentence commuted to life imprisonment, Priyanka said she did not believe in hatred and violence.
"I do not believe in anger, hatred and violence and I refuse to allow these things to overpower my life," she said. Her brother Rahul Gandhi said "I have a different way of looking at these things. I don't have a problem either".
"It was a very personal visit and completely on my own individual initiative. I would be deeply grateful if this could be respected," she told PTI about her meeting with Nalini Sriharan in Vellore jail in Tamil Nadu last month.
Nalini, married to Murugan, sentenced to death in the assassination case, was also awarded capital punishment for involvement in the killing on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in the state. Her sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after Sonia Gandhi pleaded for clemency for the sake of the convict's daughter.
"It is true that I met Nalini Sriharan in Vellore central jail on March 19, 2008. It was my way of coming to peace with the violence and loss that I have experienced," she said.
Recalling her mother's intevention in getting Nalini's death sentence commuted to life imprisonment, Priyanka said she did not believe in hatred and violence.
"I do not believe in anger, hatred and violence and I refuse to allow these things to overpower my life," she said. Her brother Rahul Gandhi said "I have a different way of looking at these things. I don't have a problem either".
Did Priyanka Gandhi Vadra meet her dad's assassin?
This is a question that a Chennai-based lawyer has reportedly sought to know as part of an application in court under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
A report published in the Times of India said on Tuesday the lawyer D. Raj Kumar, claims that Priyanka Vadra met Nalini Sriharan, one of the accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination conspiracy case, at Vellore prison last month. The applicant has asked for a response from the prison superintendent of the prison to his queries.
Nalini was one of the co-accused in the conspiracy case and was sentenced to death by the special court, though it was later commuted to life sentence. At that time, Nalini who was 33 and had a baby, reportedly got the support of Sonia Gandhi, who sought clemency for her on grounds of her motherhood.
The newspaper said their efforts to verify the event came to nought as the jail superintendent refused to discuss the matter. Times of India has quoted Nalini's mother to confirm the meeting as did two of Nalini's lawyers. The lawyers have told the paper quoting Nalini that Priyanka Vadra wanted to know why her father was assassinated despite being a good person.
They claimed that the meeting, which lasted about an hour, said preparations for the face-to-face began early in March with a visit to the jail by an intelligence official who asked Nalini whether she wanted to meet Priyanka. The meeting was thus arranged and Nalini was quoted as saying by the lawyers in the newspaper that she had even prepared some sweets for her visitor.
Giving details of the meeting, the newspaper said that Priyanka got Nalini to sit next to her and asked her several questions including the reasons for targetting the former Prime Minister and the modus operandi of the assassins. Nalini, who is the only surviving member amongst the five who purportedly planning the strike, admitted to being at the site in Sriperambudur but denied all knowledge of the plot.
Another related report in the Times of India said that Priyanka sought to know about the kingpin behind the attack and whether it was the handiwork of the LTTE. Nalini's lawyers claimed that she denied any knowledge of the plot and said she got involved only because the alleged mastermind Sivarasan (also known then as the one-eyed Jack) and the human bomb Dhanu and Murugan used to visit her house regularly.
She further claimed that even Murugan was not in the know of the plot which was a secret between Dhanu, Sivarasan and Shubha. The latter two were found dead in their house at Konankunte on the outskirts of Bangalore by the Special Investigation Team, who had tracked them and surrounded their hideout.
A report published in the Times of India said on Tuesday the lawyer D. Raj Kumar, claims that Priyanka Vadra met Nalini Sriharan, one of the accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination conspiracy case, at Vellore prison last month. The applicant has asked for a response from the prison superintendent of the prison to his queries.
Nalini was one of the co-accused in the conspiracy case and was sentenced to death by the special court, though it was later commuted to life sentence. At that time, Nalini who was 33 and had a baby, reportedly got the support of Sonia Gandhi, who sought clemency for her on grounds of her motherhood.
The newspaper said their efforts to verify the event came to nought as the jail superintendent refused to discuss the matter. Times of India has quoted Nalini's mother to confirm the meeting as did two of Nalini's lawyers. The lawyers have told the paper quoting Nalini that Priyanka Vadra wanted to know why her father was assassinated despite being a good person.
They claimed that the meeting, which lasted about an hour, said preparations for the face-to-face began early in March with a visit to the jail by an intelligence official who asked Nalini whether she wanted to meet Priyanka. The meeting was thus arranged and Nalini was quoted as saying by the lawyers in the newspaper that she had even prepared some sweets for her visitor.
Giving details of the meeting, the newspaper said that Priyanka got Nalini to sit next to her and asked her several questions including the reasons for targetting the former Prime Minister and the modus operandi of the assassins. Nalini, who is the only surviving member amongst the five who purportedly planning the strike, admitted to being at the site in Sriperambudur but denied all knowledge of the plot.
Another related report in the Times of India said that Priyanka sought to know about the kingpin behind the attack and whether it was the handiwork of the LTTE. Nalini's lawyers claimed that she denied any knowledge of the plot and said she got involved only because the alleged mastermind Sivarasan (also known then as the one-eyed Jack) and the human bomb Dhanu and Murugan used to visit her house regularly.
She further claimed that even Murugan was not in the know of the plot which was a secret between Dhanu, Sivarasan and Shubha. The latter two were found dead in their house at Konankunte on the outskirts of Bangalore by the Special Investigation Team, who had tracked them and surrounded their hideout.
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