Track2Realty Exclusive: Social activist Medha Patkar has rather questioned the need of SEZs and acquisition of such huge tracts of land. Referring SEZs as “pervert corporate projects” Patkar points out that the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) had about 80,000 acres of unutilised land – information unearthed through the Right to Information Act.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Catering to the rapidly urbanizing consumers and emerging economies will hit the demand pressure for natural and capital resources. In cities, one billion people will enter the global “consuming class” by 2025, with incomes high enough to become significant consumers of goods and services.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Property market in India is no more metro centric as major national players have already made an entry into tier II and III cities across India. An extended period of high interest rate have dissuaded buyers in metros to move towards more affordable housing in tier II and III cities, as these cities have the potential to fetch higher rentals as well.
Track2Realty: In a continuation of the company’s global growth plan, Cushman & Wakefield has entered into an agreement to acquire Singapore-based project management specialist company Project Solution Group (PSG).
Track2Realty Exclusive: The fact that SEZ story in India was left on the private hands, the key policy plank of SEZ policy, to promote manufacturing and hence create jobs (both skilled and semi-skilled) for the rural masses took the back seat. IT/ITeS with limited scope of job creation, compared to manufacturing, started dominating the SEZs.
Track2Realty Exclusive: When the issue of Maharashtra Government levying 5 per cent Value-Added Tax (VAT) surfaced and the MCHI-CREDAI and a couple of other developers’ and trade associations moved to the court, a consumer group called FORAM–Flat Owners’ Rights protection Action committee in Maharashtra – was formed with consumer interest groups coming together and seeking to fight the vexed VAT issue on flats in Maharashtra.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Some of the factors that vociferously call for apartment culture. New initiatives like the construction of a metro in cities like New Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, suburban railway in the areas like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata and Bus Rapid Transit System taken by the various state governments to improve the public transport systems in cities has raised the interest among people in the surrounding areas so as to save the commutation time.
Track2Realty Exclusive: In China, SEZs were developed along its southern coast in the areas of Shenzhen, Shantou, Zhuhai, Hainan and Xiamen which were backward small villages lacking in basic infrastructure and industrial resources. These zones were developed as manufacturing hubs and the open access to international trade sea lanes led to their success.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Commerce Ministry data fails to give a comprehensive picture where many grandiose plans have failed to tap the potential that actually existed. Several SEZ projects and the expansion plans, like the SEZs at Navi Mumbai, Jhajjar in Haryana, Adani’s Mundra, DLF’s Cyber City in Gurgaon, Mahindra World City in Chennai, K Raheja Universal and Flagship Infrastructure in Maharashtra are facing difficulties. The SEZs cumulatively have been losing ground over the past couple of years.
Track2Realty: India has been ranked as the second most risk prone location for hosting Datacentre Operations according to the annual ‘Datacenter Risk Index 2013’ survey released by international consultants Cushman & Wakefield in association with hurleypalmerflatt and Source8. The ‘Data Centre Risk Index 2013’ identifies risks likely to affect the successful operation of data centre facilities in the 30 most important global markets.