Archives for 2018

The Indian government plans to open a ‘Passport Seva Kendra’ in each of the 543 parliamentary constituencies across the country by March next year to ensure convenient passport services to its people, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said here.

The government is trying to ensure that Indian citizens do not face any difficulty in obtaining their passports whether in India or abroad, he said as he launched the ‘Passport Seva’ programme at India’s Consulate here on Wednesday.

The ‘Passport Seva’ programme has brought in a huge transformation towards delivery of passport services in India, Singh said while handing over passports to a few Indian citizens who had used the new programme to renew their passports.

The new system will ensure an easy and convenient application submission process, usher-in standardisation, digital overhauling, end-to-end status tracking and enhance security, the minister said.

The government plans to have a ‘Passport Seva Kendra’ in each of the 543 parliamentary constituencies across the country by March, 2019 to ensure convenient passport services to its citizens, he said.

“We plan to have a Passport Kendra in each head post office (in India) so that any citizen doesn’t have to travel beyond 50-60 km for his or her passport services,” Singh said.

The government aims that by March next year, each of the 543 Parliamentary constituencies in the country should have one ‘Passport Seva Kendra’ for the benefit of the citizens, he said.

The year 2017 registered a 19 per cent growth in passport related services. The monthly submission of applications has crossed one million mark for the first time and more than six crore passports have been issued through the ‘Pasport Seva’ system, the minister said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has taken several measures to improve the passport service delivery experience, including by simplifying several passport rules and doing away with cumbersome requirements that delayed the process and led to unnecessary hurdles, he said.

The MEA with the Department of Posts took the decision to start ‘Passport Seva Kendars’ in head post offices.

As a result, 236 ‘Post Office Passport Seva Kendras’ (POPSKs) have been operationalised to date and many more are in the pipeline. This, when added to 36 passport offices and 93 erstwhile ‘Passport Seva Kendras’, makes a total of 365 passport offices for public.

The MEA has also initiated the integration of ‘Passport Seva Programme’ at all Indian Embassies and Consulates across the globe.

The MEA has successfully initiated a pilot project at the High Commission of India in London followed by the Consulate General of India in Birmingham and Edinburgh.

After launching the global ‘Passport Seva’ programme at the Consulate General of India in New York for the Indian diaspora, the MEA will launch the programme at the Indian Embassy in Washington followed by the Consulate in Atlanta. It aims to operationalise all Embassy/Consulates in the US during the course of next 15 days.

The Indian government plans to roll out the global ‘Passport Seva’ programme at all Embassies/Consulates within the next three to four months, a move that will ensure that “our ‘Passport Seva’ globally is inter-linked and centrally controlled,” Singh added.

PTI

Despite the crisis in realty space in the country, which is home to the largest number of homeless in the world, networth of top 100 realtors has jumped 27 per cent to Rs 2.37 trillion in 2018, as per a report that’s led by Lodha group founder Mangal Prabhat Lodha.

Significantly, the country’s largest developer DLF group and its founder KP Singh, who was the richest real estate entrepreneur in 2017, does not find a place among the top 10 developers in the country this year.

According to the Hurun rich-list 2018, the 62-year-old Lodha, who is also a senior BJP leader, is the richest real estate entrepreneur in the country with total wealth of Rs 27,150 crore.

Lodha is followed by Jitendra Virwani of the Bengaluru-based Embassy group with total wealth of Rs 23,160 crore in 2018.

The city-based Lodha was at the second position last year with a wealth of Rs 18,610 crore, while DLF’s Kushal Pal Singh, who had topped the list last year with a wealth of Rs 23,460 crore, does not figure in the year’s top 10 list. However, his son Rajiv Singh comes third with wealth of Rs 17,690 crore this year.

It can be noted that the senior Singh has moved out of daily operations of DLF and has transferred his shares to his son Rajiv and daughter Piya.

“Total wealth of the top 100 real estate developers stood at Rs 2,36,610 crore or USD 32.7 billion in 2018, up 27 per cent from Rs 1,86,700 crore or USD 28.6 billion in 2017,” says the Hurun-Grohe India (German sanitary ware maker) rich-list 2018.

The list relates to those realtors born and brought up in the county, and the valuation of these individuals is as of end-September 2018 when the rupee averaged at 72.46 to the dollar, according to the publishers.

Almost 59 per cent of the names featured in the report are first-generation entrepreneurs, says the report.

From a city-wise perspective, Mumbai is the most preferred city of residence for the real estate tycoons with the city being home to 35 of them, followed by Delhi (22) and Bengaluru (21) and Pune which is home to five of the richest 100 realtors.

At the fourth slot is Chandru Raheja of the city-based K Raheja group with a networth of Rs 14,420 crore, followed by Vikas Oberoi (Rs 10,980 crore).

The Hiranandani brothers, Niranjan of Hiranandani Group and Surendra of House of Hiranandani, come at the sixth slot with a wealth of Rs 7,880 crore each, and the billionaire brothers Manoj and Raj Menda of Bengaluru are at the ninth position with a wealth of Rs 5,900 crore each. Ajay Piramal and family are the seventh slot with a combined wealth of Rs 6,380 crore.

While the average age of the participants is 59 years, 24 year old Kunal Menda of RMZ Group of Bengaluru is the youngest among of them and Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi of East India Hotels is the eldest at 89.

Only four names under-40 are featured in the list indicating that the experienced and long standing names build wealth in the long-run from this sector.

The list also features nine women entrepreneurs, with Renuka Talwar of DLF ranked at 19 topping the list.

Among the 10 debutants, Rameshwar Rao Jupally of My Home Constructions leads the list at 14.

Anas Rahman Junaid, managing director and chief researcher at Hurun Report India said, “realty sector has always been among the key wealth creators in the country, though it also accounts for the largest number of homeless in the world. He expressed hope that value creation by the realty sector will continue given the regulatory environment (mandatory Rera registration) which in turn will bring in greater transparency in the sector.

PTI

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday gave its ex post facto approval to a MoU between India and Tajikistan on cooperation on youth affairs. The MoU shall be valid for five years.

“The areas of cooperation on youth matters include exchanges of youth representatives of youth organisations and government officials in-charge of youth policy-making, extension of invitations to international conferences and seminars and research and other information,” an official statement said.

The MoU was signed on October 8 by India’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Somnath Ghosh and Chairman of the Committee for Youth and Sports Affairs for Tajikistan, Abdullozoda Ahtam Rustam, to promote cooperation on youth matters.

IANS

Bengaluru is the third most preferred city of residence for real estate tycoons in India as 21 names from the city have been featured in the GROHE Hurun India Real Estate Rich List 2018. In terms of net worth, three real estate developers from Bengaluru are among the top 10 in the country.

Bengaluru-based Jitendra Virwani of Embassy Group has been ranked number two in the list with a net worth of Rs 23,160 crore. The list is topped by Mangal Prabhat Lodha of Lodha Group.

Among other Bengalureans, Manoj Menda and Raj Menda of RMZ Group share the No 9 rank with the net worth of Rs 5,900 crore each.

Hurun Report and GROHE India on Wednesday released the second edition of the rich list featuring the richest real estate entrepreneurs in India. While Mumbai stood first with 35 names hailing from the financial capital, it was followed by Delhi with  35 names hailing from the financial capital, it was followed by Delhi with 22 names.

The total wealth of top 100 real estate barons featured in the list accounted for Rs 2,36,610 crore ($32.7 billion) in 2018 – up 27% against 2017 edition’s cumulative wealth of Rs 186,700 crore ($ 28.6 billion). The List was compiled on the basis of of the net worth of living Indians as on September 30, 2018, when the rate of exchange to the US Dollar stood at Rs 72.46.

Only four names aged below 40 years were featured in the list and nine women were featured on the list – with Renuka Talwar of DLF being the richest woman ranked at No 19.

Anas Rahman Junaid, MD, and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report India, said “Real Estate sector in India has always been among the key wealth creators in the country. The combined wealth of the top 100 names
listed by us in 2018 stands at $32.3 billion. It is also an industry that demands patience and persistence – with an average age of the participants on the list hovering around 59 years and accounting for 59% of the first generation entrepreneurs.”