Bengaluru, May 8 : New Executive Committee Members for Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), Bengaluru were selected in the recently held Annual General Body Meeting and Kishore Jain has been sworn as its new President.
Speaking on assuming his new role, Jain said he would work with other members and the government to come up with new strategies to address problems faced by the realty sector.
”We will work towards changing the perception of people about the real estate sector in India and become the market leader with our knowledge and analysis about the industry,” he said in a statement here on Wednesday.

 Godrej Properties Ltd (GPL) on Friday said it has bought Mumbai’s iconic R.K. Studios, founded by legendary film actor Raj Kapoor, for an undisclosed amount.

The company will develop the property, spread across 2.2 acres, into a project spanning 0.35 million sq ft of saleable area comprising modern residential apartments of various configurations as well as a luxury retail experience, Godrej Properties said in a filing to the BSE.

Mint reported on 27th October, 2018, that the company was in talks with the Kapoor family to buy the property for nearly₹200 crore.

R.K. Studios was the headquarters of Raj Kapoor’s film production company R.K. Films and was a hub of film shoots, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s.

“We are happy to add this iconic site in Chembur to our development portfolio. This fits well with our strategy of deepening our presence in key locations across India’s leading cities,” said Pirojsha Godrej, executive chairman, Godrej Properties, in the filing.

The company said the site was strategically located on the main Sion-Panvel Road in Mumbai and offers a well developed social and civic infrastructure with multiple schools, hospitals, retail malls, residential, and commercial spaces in close proximity.

“We will seek to ensure we celebrate the remarkable legacy of this site with the goal of delivering an outstanding lifestyle for its residents,” Godrej said.

Randhir Kapoor, son of late Raj Kapoor, said the property has been of “tremendous significance” to the family over many decades. “We are excited to have chosen Godrej Properties to script a new chapter for this location and build upon its rich history,” Kapoor said.

In an interview published on 26 August, Rishi Kapoor, brother to Randhir Kapoor, told Mumbai Mirror that the family has collectively decided to sell R.K. Studios as it was no longer economically viable to rebuild after severe damage from a fire a year ago. Kapoor also said the family had considered renovating the property with a state-of-the-art technology.

Shares of Godrej Properties traded at ₹832 per share, up 1.37% from previous close, while Sensex was at 39,067.09 points, up 0.24%.

Agencies

Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said India’s second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2, which is scheduled to be launched between July 9 and 16, will look for specific minerals on the surface of the moon.

Speaking to media, Nair said, “Chandrayaan-2 is going to be an exciting mission as far as the Indian space programme is concerned. In 2008, we had sent our first satellite to the moon successfully. It has collected a lot of information about the surface of the moon, its mineral contents and so on. Also, we had the opportunity to place the Indian national flag on the surface of the moon. “

Elaborating on Chandrayaan-2, he said, “There were a lot of complexities associated with this mission. Since the development of the system is complete, we are ready for the mission. More importantly, it is important to carry a rover and make it land on the surface of the moon and then move around for about 300-500 meters and collect samples from the surface of the moon.”

ISRO on May 2 said the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLVMKIII) will carry three modules of this lunar mission- Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyam).

“All the modules are getting ready for Chandrayaan-2 launch, with an expected Moon landing on September 06, 2019,” ISRO said in a statement.

ISRO had initially planned to launch the mission in April this year.

“The Orbiter and Lander modules will be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as an integrated module and accommodated inside the GSLV MK-III launch vehicle,” read a statement issued by the Department of Space.

“The Rover is housed inside the Lander. After launch into earthbound orbit by GSLV MK-III, the integrated module will reach Moon orbit using Orbiter propulsion module. Subsequently, Lander will separate from the Orbiter and soft land at the predetermined site close to the lunar South Pole. Further, the Rover will roll out for carrying out scientific experiments on the lunar surface. Instruments are also mounted on Lander and Orbiter for carrying out scientific experiments,” the statement further read.

Chandrayaan-2 comes 10 years after ISRO launched its first lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1, in 2009. The mission included a lunar orbiter and an impactor but didn’t include a rover like Chandrayaan-2. 

Agencies

Chennai, Apr 29 : In view of the recent ruling of the Supreme Court, the government has to amend the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act sooner or later and publish the names of loan defaulters periodically, a top official of the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) said on Monday.

Welcoming the apex court order directing the RBI to disclose its inspection reports of banks and the names of loan defaulters, AIBEA General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam said the Supreme Court has vindicated the long standing stance of the AIBEA on the issue of banks’ non-performing assets (NPAs or bad loans).

“Sooner or later, the government and the RBI have to come out, amend the RBI Act and publish the names of defaulters periodically to let the country know who are these defaulters and cheaters of people’s money,” he said.

Venkatachalam said the total amount of loan outstanding from 9,331 willful defaulters as on March 31, 2018, stands at Rs 1,22,018 crore.

Gross NPAs in the Indian banking system have grown beyond proportion over the years to touch a staggering Rs 8,95,600 crore as at the end of the financial year 2017-18.

U GRO Capital Launches SME Lending Operations 

U GRO Capital, small business lending platform listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, launched its operations in Karnataka.

Opening their Bengaluru office is part of U GRO Capital’s strategy to disburse loans between INR 10 lakhs & 5 crores to small businesses operating in 8 identified sectors.

Founded by Mr. Shachindra Nath, a financial services veteran, U GRO Capital aims to create highly customized customer journeys by building sector specific products, assessment frameworks & distribution networks.

U GRO Capital has developed a truly next generation, big data driven lending platform which leverages digital capabilities across the value chain – customer acquisition, credit underwriting & post-disbursal monitoring.

In the initial phase, U GRO Capital will have 9 branches in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Jaipur & Mumbai, which will overlap with large SME clusters. The company has evaluated 1,300 channel partners (basis multiple parameters like portfolio performance, technology readiness), of which the company has narrowed down on approximately130 partners.

With relation to Avantha Power (Jhabua) an Rs. 100 crore settlement for PFC got stalled after one of the operational creditors took the asset to NCLT.

[Nasheman news] NEW DELHI:

Lenders will cite one day default clause under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to defend their action against erring promoters taken to insolvency under the now defunct February 12, 2018 circular of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Sources said promoters of about half a dozen stressed power entities referred to National Company Law Tribunal have approached the bankruptcy court to quash insolvency proceedings against them as it has become non-maintainable following the Supreme Court order declaring the RBI circular ultra vires.

But banker’s are confident that stressed assets referred to NCLT will continue to face bankruptcy proceedings as IBC clearly states such referral even if there is one day delay or default by any entity in meeting its loan commitments.

“There is no question that stressed assets referred to NCLT will come out from there following the apex court’s ruling. These assets continue to remain stressed and lenders are sure that resolution under IBC framework would work best for all stakeholders,” said chairman and managing director of a leading state-owned financial institution asking not to be named.

“If need be, lenders would also file an affidavit with NCLT to continue the bankruptcy proceedings in the case of companies that faced such action over the earlier RBI circular,” he added.

Five stressed power producers, including 3,600 MW KSK Mahanadi Power Co. Ltd., 1920 MW Lanco Amarkantak Power Ltd., 600 MW Avantha Power (Jhabua), 1350 MW Rattan India Nashik Power Ltd. (formerly Indiabulls) and 1,350 MW Rattan India Power (Amravati project) are preparing to oppose insolvency proceedings as lenders filed petitions against them as per February 12 RBI circular. The projects owe about Rs. 50,000 crore to banks.

Lanco Amarkantak has sought time from the NCLT to submit documents that suggests that Axis Bank had initiated insolvency proceedings against it under the now-defunct RBI circular. KSK Mahanadi and Avantha Power have also cited the apex court order in earlier NCLT hearing. The other projects are also thinking of taking up the matter in the court.

The February 12 RBI circular had also mandated resolution process by lenders even if there was one day delay in repayment by debtors. This stands annulled by Supreme Court. 

However, IBC gives powers to any creditor to take a company to NCLT even if there is one day delay in repayments and the outstanding amount is in excess of Rs. 1 lakh. As this provision stands, lenders want to maintain bankruptcy proceedings against assets that remain in stress.

In all about 70 cases with total bank exposure of about Rs. 4 lakh crore was declared as stressful by the banks post the RBI circular. This included 34 stressed power projects worth 40,000 MW having total bank of close to Rs. 1.8 lakh crore.

Its not that institutions, including PFC did not try to resolve certain power projects, but none of the attempts remained successful. In the case of KSK Mahanadi, Adani Group showed interest but it soon withdrew from the race as lenders were divided on the level of hair cut and UP state regulator sought cut in tariff for the project. 

In case of an Rs. 600 crore one time settlement scheme worked out for Lanco Amravati, the sole investor backed out from the race at the last minute.C

With relation to Avantha Power (Jhabua) an Rs. 100 crore settlement for PFC got stalled after one of the operational creditors took the asset to NCLT.

Bengaluru, April 18 : HAL recommenced flight testing of modified Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) on Wednesday from its facilities here and the flight test was flawless.
The flight testing of IJT (HJT 36), designed and developed by HAL for the stage-II training of IAF pilots was put on hold after the aircraft had encountered problem in the spin test flights in the year 2016, according to a press release by HAL here on Thursday.
HAL CMD R Madhavan said that ?HAL continued its R&D efforts and undertook modification of IJT LSP4 aircraft based on extensive and comprehensive wind tunnel studies?.
HAL’s research, design and technical teams carried out the modifications required with more challenges ahead, he added.

Suresh Prabhu said he had asked the civil aviation secretary to take necessary steps to protect passenger rights and safety.

Cash-starved Jet Airways is grappling with a debt burden of $1.2 billion

The government said on Tuesday that it had directed the secretary of Ministry of Civil Aviation to review the issues related to Jet Airways. In a tweet on Tuesday morning, Union Minister Suresh Prabhu said that Pradeep Singh Kharola will review the issues ailing the airline, especially increasing fares and flight cancellations. The statement from the government comes at a time the cash-starved carrier is grappling with a debt burden of $1.2 billion, and owes vast sums to lessors, suppliers, pilots and oil companies.

He further said that Mr Kharola had been asked to “take necessary steps to protect passenger rights and safety” and work with the stakeholders for their well-being.Directed Secretary to review issues related to Jet Airways, especially increasing fares, flight cancellations etc. Asked him to take necessary steps to protect passenger rights and safety; and to work with all stakeholders for their well being.

The airline is operating with less than 10 planes, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

Jet Airways has been losing planes in recent weeks as lessors scramble to de-register and take back their aircraft, even as Jet’s lenders have sought expressions of interest in the carrier from potential investors. It has also suspended its international operations for the time being.

Jet has been struggling after failing to receive a stop-gap loan of Rs. 1,500 crore from its lenders as part of a rescue deal agreed in late March.

Lenders, led by the State Bank of India (SBI), want a new investor to buy a stake of up to 75 per cent in Jet and initial expressions of interest were submitted last week.

Shares in Jet Airways dropped as much as 4.43 per cent on Tuesday, underperforming a broader market that scaled new record highs.

Indigenously developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the Nirbhay missile can carry warheads of up to 300 kg, the sources added.

It can travel with a turbofan or turbojet engine and is guided by a highly advanced inertial navigation system.

India successfully test fired a sub-sonic cruise missile Nirbhay off the Odisha coast on Monday.

The 1,000-km range missile was fired for a shorter range from a launch pad from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore district, said informed sources.

Indigenously developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the Nirbhay missile can carry warheads of up to 300 kg, the sources added.

It can travel with a turbofan or turbojet engine and is guided by a highly advanced inertial navigation system.

The last successful test launch of the missile took place in November 2017.

By: Faizan Rizwan

 FCA India’s Retail Distribution Network Expands

 FCA India, the manufacturer of the award-winning Jeep Compass today announced that its retail network has expanded to 82 points of sale across 70 Indian towns & cities. This includes FCA all-brand showrooms that sell Jeep, Fiat & Abarth vehicles in major Indian cities & Jeep Connect showrooms, which are premium retail outlets that cover the customer base in satellite cities & towns.  

With this expansion, FCA has 4 all-brand showrooms in Bengaluru. MPS Motors Pvt. Ltd., has opened 2 showrooms, 1 located in GR Grand Plaza, JP Nagar Phase 6, Kanakapura Main Road, Bengaluru & the 2^ndnear Electronic City, Luvkusha Nagar, Hosur Road. The other 2 existing showrooms of KHT Agencies Pvt. Ltd. are located in Koramangala & Yeshwantpur. FCA has 7 all-brand showrooms now in Karnataka, including presence in Hubli, Mysore & Belgaum. 

  A new FCA all-brand showroom, MVR Auto is now open at Caranzelan, Panjim, Goa. 

2 new Jeep Connect showrooms are now open, one, Nidhi Kamal Company located near the Parbatpura Bypass, in Ajmer, Rajasthan & the 2^nd WSL Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. in Bahadurgarh, Rajpyra Road, Patiala, Punjab. Jeep Connect is a network expansion strategy to take the Jeep® & Mopar® premium brand experience closer to customers’ homes, which may be located far away from the hubs of big cities.

 Jeep Connect outlets offer sales as well as service & are already open in Pune, Rohtak, Ahmedabad, Muvthpuzha, Panipat, Bilaspur & Warangal. 

Besides expanding the retail network, FCA India has been working towards adding to its after-sales presence across the country. The Company now has 84 Mopar workshops which are equipped with trained technicians to provide service & care to Jeep, Fiat & Abarth customers.

 FCA produces the Made-in-India Jeep Compass in their Ranjangaon joint venture manufacturing facility near Pune city. The same plant also produces Fiat &  Abarth carlines.