Landmark reforms like RERA and GST, as also demonetization, have brought about much-needed transparency in transactions, helping the real estate sector to free itself of fraud, malpractices and other problems faced by consumers and investors. Yet, the sector needs more reforms to break free of the various ills that still plague it in order to realise its full potential as a major contributor to the country’s GDP.

The reform-oriented Narendra Modi government, which is fine-tuning and reinforcing the reforms undertaken by it to increase their on-ground efficacy, has its task cut out to free real estate from high transaction costs, especially to achieve the success of its flagship mission of “Housing for All”.

Though the interest subsidy scheme (CLSS) under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) has proved to be a big boost for first-time home buyers in the EWS, LIG and MIG category, yet high transaction costs are a deterrent to home ownership. Currently, GST, stamp duty and registration costs act as a dampener. There is an average stamp duty of six percent and it is not uniform and is much higher in some states. Further, in many cities, there is the anomaly of collector rates of property being higher than the market rates.

As such, home buyers end up paying more stamp duty and registration fee. Home buyers need to be given freedom from high transaction costs to boost sales and revive residential real estate, facing a slowdown for long. And this can be achieved by either rationalising stamp duty or simply subsuming stamp duty in GST. Similarly, while GST has imporved ease of doing business by doing away with multiple taxation, there is still a need to lower its 12 per cent rate, which is almost double the VAT and Service
tax prevalent in pre-GST era, especially when Input Tax Credit provided by the government is not having the desired effect. Further, the high GST on cement should be brought down as in the case of paints, to bring down the cost of homes.

Home buyers also need freedom from the double burden of rent and EMI, particularly as hundreds of thousands of housing projects across the country are facing long delays. Earlier, the home buyers would get possession of their homes in 3-4 years but now, in many cases, it has almost doubled, causing great hardships to home buyers in terms of dual burden of rent and EMI. Some developers are helping home buyers tide over this problem by offering schemes to pay EMI only after possession. But ready homes is a sound solution to this problem as they do not have any development risk and, moreover, home buyers save on 12 per cent GST.

That’s why ready-to-occupy homes are being lapped up by home buyers. Here, the concept of “Build and Sell” can provide a long-term solution. Under RERA, a developer can’t start his project without land and all mandatory permissions in place. Also, there is not only a ban on funding projects through customer advances by way of pre-launching of projects but there is also a strict check on (mis)utilising funds collected from customers through the implementation of the escrow account mechanism.

As such, it makes sense for developers to adopt the “Build and Sell” model which is common in advanced countries. Leading developer DLF has already announced it would adopt this model. And, if the government organises cheap bank funding for at least developers of affordable housing, many of them will take to “Build and Sell”, to the advantage of property consumers.

Red-tapism is also proving to be a big bane of the real estate sector as the unduly long time taken by authorities in giving construction permits and other multiple sanctions adds the developers’ debt, in turn increasing home costs. And, since the sanctioning authorities do not come under the purview of RERA, there is no check on project delays due to the unduly long time taken in according project sanctions and giving completion certificates.

The ideal solution to this problem is a single window mechanism for project sanctions/clearances. Since this is not happening, the government should fast-track the process of online permissions/sanctions and make this time-bound.

Last but not the least, there should be freedom from defective and fraudulent land/property titles to make property transactions easier and safer. Thus, there is an urgent need to set up a Land Titling Authority in states to prepare and maintain a digitised registry of all immovable properties. This, together with introduction of Title Insurance for providing protection against any financial loss due to title deficiencies, will considerably help in enforcing contracts and prevent property deals from falling through, thereby effectively checking high litigation due to property ownership disputes.

The transparency brought in by this will further boost the confidence of foreign investors, thereby helping in putting foreign investment in Indian real estate on the fast track.

With an eye on cutting costs and having an on-demand launch, ISRO today said it was preparing Small Satellite Launch Vehicle rockets to launch payloads in three days with the help of just three to six people.

“The interesting aspect of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) is that it can be readied on demand with a minimum launch infrastructure,” ISRO chairman K Sivan said.

He said it takes about 300 to 400 people between 45 to 60 days to prepare major satellite vehicles.

But the SSLV would require only 72 hours and three to six people.

“We need to integrate the vehicle and launch it. It is innovative and provides an opportunity for commercial launches for other countries. Autonomy is more in this vehicle.

Already the vehicle is in the design phase… there is an opportunity for commercial launch,” he said.

Sivan revealed ISRO’s commercial plans during an interaction with reporters on the sidelines of a function to mark the 127th birth anniversary of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the architect of India’s space mission.

Sivan said the important demonstration flight of SSLV would be carried out sometime in May or June next year.

“The specialty of this mission is the cost of the vehicle, which is one-tenth of PSLV. The payload will be 500 to 700 KG and it will be launched in a lower orbit.

The length of the vehicle would be 34 meters, with a 2-meter diameter. It is an on-demand launch with a minimum launch infrastructure,” said Sivan.

Commercial production of this vehicle will be taken up by Antrix the commercial arm of ISRO, once the design is complete and development was ready by mid-2019, he added.

The Assam government on Friday destroyed over six lakh bottles of illegal liquor and beer valued at Rs 168.55 crore with Excise Minister Parimal Shuklabaidya crushing these under a roadroller. The Excise Department had seized the liquor in the state in 2016.

The destroyed contraband includes over six lakh bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor and 17,410 cases of beer.

A joint team of excise and police officials seized the consignment at four locations in Khatkhati in Karbi Anglong district while efforts to transport these to Guwahati by 14 trucks were on. Police had arrested 13 persons, all of whom have been charge-sheeted.

“After a green signal from the court, we destroyed the illegal consignment in public in Gorchuk area to send a strong message to those involved in the supply and transportation of illegal liquor,” the Minister said.

According to state records, 39,085 litres of foreign liquor is sold daily on an average in Assam. There are 1,448 licensed wine shops that sell IMFL across the state.

Apple’s new iPhone launch next month could be delayed by the virus outbreak at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) — the world’s biggest contract chip maker, the media reported on Friday.

TSMC, which makes chips for iPhones, suffered a computer virus outbreak and warned it could cause shipment delays as well as hit revenue.

“This incident has come at a sensitive period for Apple, which is preparing for its much-anticipated annual launch of new iPhone models next month after recording a market value of US $1 trillion last week,” the South China Morning Post reported on Friday.

A variant of “WannaCry” ransomware hobbled computer systems at TSMC after a supplier installed software without a virus scan to the company’s computer network. The virus caused machines to crash and continually reboot.

TSMC makes plenty of chips designed for iPhones, so Apple would be the most likely client to suffer shipment delays.

“New York-listed TSMC has said the virus outbreak will delay its chip shipments through the end of September, but expected to make a recovery by year’s end. It had to shut down virus-infected fabrication tools and automated handling systems during the outbreak at its manufacturing facilities, but restored 80 per cent of those by Sunday,” the report added.

The Taiwan semiconductor firm produces Apple’s A11 chip that is in the iPhone X.

The firm is currently making the next-generation A12 chip that is expected to be in its upcoming smartphones.

The Cupertino-headquartered company is expected to launch three new iPhone models this year.

India and the US have not done much nuclear business even a decade after the 2008 civil atomic deal was signed. Yet, the real foreign policy goals, including India getting a global nuclear waiver and leveraging a great power to get ahead, have been achieved, say former foreign secretaries Shyam Saran and S. Jaishankar who played pivotal roles in negotiating the historic agreement.

The two ex-diplomats were speaking at an IIC-SPS seminar “India and the World: Ten years after Lifting of Nuclear Strictures” as they walked down memory lane to look back 10 years after the Indo-US nuclear deal and India getting an exceptional waiver for nuclear trade by the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) that had a significant impact on New Delhi’s international relations and global status as well.

Saran, who later became Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy and Chairman of the National Security Advisory Board, while recognising the advantages of the the watershed moment in the diplomatic history of the two democracies, also admitted that no new nuclear power plants could be established in India post the signing of the agreement. He attributed it mostly to the problems of the liability insurance and the change in public perception after Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

“There are many reasons for that. One was the nuclear liability entanglement which we should not have got into and then Fukushima which changed from states wanting nuclear plants to saying they didn’t want them.

“But we were able to bring in fuel and our existing power plants moved from a plat load factor of around 30 per cent to over 90 per cent. Today, we have long-term agreements for fuel with at least a dozen countries,” Saran said.

“From being a target of technology denial regimes, and also testing, we are now not a target. No one now objects when India conducts a missile test,” he said, dismissing scepticism that the benefits of the nuclear deal have been oversold.

He said a partnership with the US was “very important” for India’s economic and security policies. And the nuclear deal accelerated the transformation of the relationship between the two countries.

Nuclear power plants, which were earlier running at one-third capacity, were now operating at twice that operating capacity. He said India was no more a “target” of the non-proliferation lobby and “there is a stake in India’s strength and success which was previously too ambiguous.”

Jaishankar, who is now on the board of Tata Sons, said there cannot be a sharper example of radical initiative in foreign policy than India’s nuclear deal with the US that involved overcoming several layers and hurdles in the US bureaucracy and legislative circles.

He said that the signing of the nuclear deal, a process and not an event, was to reverse the effects of “three strategic errors” of the past – the 1947 partition, delay in liberalization of economy and the nuclear diffidence.

“There was the error of partition, where we lost our territory and reach; the error of economics where many of the reforms that came in the 1990s should have come earlier, and on the nuclear side, had we pushed our nuclear programme as consistently as China did in the 1950s, we could have made the Non Proliferation Treaty deadline.”

Dwelling on the implications of the atomic agreement, Jaishankar said the deal had opened up opportunities of defence cooperation with the US like never before.

“It changed the character of India-US relationship. Importantly, it differentiated India from Pakistan in the eyes of the world and it has helped change India’s image in the world and added to its credibility as a responsible power. It branded the two countries very differently, and helped to change our relationships in the world.”

And it also, he said, opened up doors in dogmatic countries who were almost theologically opposed previously to dealing with India on this issue unless it signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) which India had consistently refused to sign because it was seen by New Delhi as an unequal treaty that perpetuated “nuclear apartheid”.

He said nuclear power was a way out for the future and hoped that US companies like Westinghouse would soon be able to “put their house in order” and be able to fulfilt their commercial commitments to India.

C. Uday Bhaskar, Director, Society for Policy Studies (SPS), who chaired the session, pointed out that there is a consensus that the world does not want another Hiroshima-Nagasaki or another Fukushima.

“India was the outsider, even outlier, till the 1998 nuclear tests were carried out,” he said, reminding a packed hall at India International Centre that India and the US were long seen as “estranged democracies” and the situation changed only after the 2008 nuclear deal.

Bridgestone India Joins Hands With FICCI FLO

Bridgestone India announced a new partnership with FICCI FLO Pune to introduce initiatives focused on Women’s Empowerment. The initiatives will provide opportunities for financial independence to the women of Pune.

One of the key priority areas of Bridgestone’s global CSR commitment of “Our Way To Serve”, “People” and from which the need to contribute towards the cause of women empowerment stems. Another reason for Bridgestone to emphasize on this issue is to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 5 of “Achieving Gender Equality & Empowering Women & Girls”. The partnership between Bridgestone India & FICCI FLO is an extension of the same compassion & will with which Bridgestone has carried out varied other CSR initiatives. Additionally, Bridgestone is also partnering with on-going Government initiatives for skill development & gender equality.
Bridgestone India & FICCI FLO Pune, lay special emphasis on woman empowerment as well as increasing employment & encouraging entrepreneurship. These 3 themes are also the core of FICCI FLO’s upcoming events.
Under this partnership, Bridgestone India will provide funds amounting to 40 Lacs INR to FICCI FLO Pune. These funds would be exclusively utilized for women-centric initiatives providing 2 wheeler driving lessons, soft skills as well as self-defense training, enabling these women to be employed as delivery personnel. The support also extends to some Nursing Assistant & Dental Assistant training programs. One of the major events planned under the partnership is the “Pune Flo Half Marathon” to be held on 28th Oct 2018 at Magarpatta city, Pune.

Chairperson of FICCI FLO Pune Chapter, Mrs. Sangeeta Lalwani said “We are delighted to be associated with Bridgestone India, known to be one of the best in the Tyre Industry. FICCI FLO has been working for women welfare for over 3 decades. We have done substantial work towards the PAN India, however, we still have a long way ahead, in terms of gender equality & financial independence for women. We are happy to be moving towards the right direction with the right partner such as Bridgestone, who with their resources & market reach, has the potential to amplify this important message across India and draw attention to this cause.”

Mr. Parag Satpute, Managing Director, Bridgestone India said, “The cause of Women Empowerment goes beyond spreading awareness & providing opportunities for women. It focuses on gender equality & rethinking conventional norms. I believe this thought will not only help women individually but also have a broader impact as more & more women will be able to attain financial independence. This year we are proud to join hands with the largest women entrepreneurial organization in Asia with over 6000 + women Pan India, FICCI FLO and hope to make a meaningful impact to the lives of the women of Maharashtra.”

State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman T. Suvarna Raju on Wednesday flew in Tejas, a Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) from the HAL Airport in the city.

“The twin-seat aircraft, piloted by HAL’s chief test pilot Group Captain K.K. Venugopal, climbed to 30,000 feet during its flight,” the city-based HAL said in a statement here.

The defence behemoth, however, did not mention the duration of the flight.

“The flight accelerated to a supersonic speed of 1.1 Mach, followed by a simulated launch of a beyond-visual-range missile,” Raju said.

“The chairman’s flight was to demonstrate the HAL’s confidence in LCA,” the organization’s spokesperson said.

The HAL has stepped up its production rate of LCAs to meet the requirement of Indian Air Force (IAF), the statement added.

“HAL is in talks with IAF for production of 83 more LCAs with upgraded capabilities known as Tejas Mk 1A.”

The HAL, however, did not comment on reports in a section of the media that the IAF is set to take over the LCA programme from its complex in this space hub to speed up delivery of the aircraft in initial operating capability (IOC) and full operating capability (FOC) mode to the Air Force.

Global chip maker Intel trained 99,000 developers, students and professors in Artificial Intelligence (AI) since April 2017 for ready talent in India, said the US-based firm on Wednesday.

“We have trained over 99,000 developers, students and professors since April 2017 for making AI-ready talent available in the country,” said Intel India in a statement here.

Philips, Mphasis, and arya.ai collaborated with Intel as partners and customers to power AI solutions on its architecture.

To mark the occasion, the semiconductor firm held a developers conference in this tech hub where 500 developers, including experts in data science, machine learning, application development and research participated.

“The conference served as a platform to share updates on real-world applications of AI that can benefit businesses and people, a said the statement.

Intel will also speed up the accessibility of AI tools across industries and drive the next wave of computing by investing in developer education.

“Though we had committed to training 15,000 developers, students, and professors in AI initially through training and workshops, we exceeded the target over seven-fold by roping in many of them from 100 organizations,” said Intel India Managing Director Prakash Mallya.

Intel India is also working with Philips and Mphasis to deploy its AI portfolio in the local ecosystem.

Representatives from corporates like Reliance Jio, Flipkart, Airtel, Amazon, Wipro and Microsoft Ventures and IIT Hyderabad deliberated on the various facets of AI, ranging from its evolution to create new revenue streams to the ethical component and its impact on the people worldwide.

“The conference in India is a testament to our local collaborations for developing AI technology, and growing the ecosystem” added Gadi Singer, Intel Vice President for AI.

A set of Indian firms demonstrated how they are using AI to further their business and shape the end-user experience.

Their insights and solutions reflect the great potential that India has for AI technology development.

Intel will also engage AI developers and startups in India through its Academy and AI builders’ programme.

LG Launches G7+Thinq In India – #Livenow

LG Electronics India recently announced the launch of the latest premium Smartphone the LG G7+ThinQ in India. The LG G7+ThinQ is the perfect Smartphone for people who love to live in each moment.

Being an amalgamation of unique features like 1000nit Super Bright FullVisionTM display, IP68 for dust & water resistance, BoomBoxSpeakers & Dual 16+16 MP AI (Artificial Intelligence) Camera, LG G7+ThinQ is set to redefine the Smartphone experience of the consumers by helping them live the important moments like a true companion.

Powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 845 Mobile Platform, the LG G7+ThinQ offers 6GB of RAM & 128 GB of internal storage to run even the most demanding tasks & apps with ease.

The all-new LG G7+ThinQ comes deeply integrated with Artificial Intelligence that has a dedicated button which triggers AI tools like Google Assistant & Google Lens. With Super Far-Field Voice Recognition & highly sensitive microphone, it can recognize voice commands from up to five meters. LG has also added new features that make photography on the LG G7ThinQ even more enjoyable than ever. By using either the standard or AI-enabled Super Wide Camera, it gives the shutterbugs even more creative options to live the moment.
The LG G7+ThinQ sports a new design aesthetic in G-series. Carrying on the heritage of LG’s focus on great Smartphone sound, the LG G7+ThinQ is equipped with DTS:X & Hi-Fi Quad DAC for incredibly rich sound especially when paired with high-impedance earphones. Sporting a new design aesthetic for G series, the LG G7+ThinQ is rated IP68 & MLT-STD 810 for durability. With a more polished look & unique features, it gives the users the freedom to Live Now!
LG G7+ThinQ will be only available on Flipkart at INR 39,990 starting 10th Aug 2018.

The LG G7+ThinQ has been upgraded with Dual 16MP+16MP lenses on the back in both standard & Super Wide Angle configurations and with an 8MP camera on the front for higher resolution photos with more details. LG’s signature wide angle camera now captures even more beautiful landscapes with less edge distortion and selfies are clearer and look more natural compared with previous LG phones.

AI CAM now offers 19 shooting modes, up from 8, for even more intelligence-optimized shots. And users can improve their photos further by choosing among 3 other effect options if the one recommended by AI CAM doesn’t suit their tastes.

Low light photography on LG G7+ThinQ is taken to a whole new level with the new Super Bright Camera with images that are up to 4 times brighter typical of photos shot in dim light. Through the combination of pixel binning & software processing, the AI algorithm adjusts the camera settings automatically when shooting in low light.

LG has also added new features that make photography on LG G7+ThinQ even more enjoyable than ever. Live Photo mode records one second before & after the shutter is pressed for snippets of unexpected moments or expressions that would normally be missed. Sticker’s uses face recognition to generate fun 2D & 3D overlays such as sunglasses & headbands that can be viewed directly on the display.

New to G series, Portrait mode generates professional looking shots with out-of-focus backgrounds. This bokeh effect can be generated using either the standard or Super Wide Angle lens, giving shutterbugs even more creative options.

LG G7+ThinQ will be one of the 1st ever devices to get upcoming Google Lens features. Google Lens is a new way to search using latest in AI & computer vision. Available inside Google Assistant & Google Photos, it can deliver more information on objects such as landmarks, plants, animals, books as well as identifying text. Visit websites, add a business card to contacts, add events to the calendar or look up an item on a restaurant menu, all right from Google Lens. More details on Google Lens will be revealed at Google I/O.

Located just below the volume is a button that launches the phone’s AI functions. A single tap of this button will launch the Google Assistant while 2 quick taps will launch Google Lens, a 1st ever on any phone. Users can also hold down the button to start talking to Google Assistant.

With Super Far-Field Voice Recognition (SFFVR) & smartphone’s highly sensitive microphone, the Google Assistant can recognize voice commands from up to 5 meters away. SFFVR is able to separate commands from background noise, making LG G7+ThinQ a great alternative to a home AI speaker even when TV is on. LG customer commands for the Google Assistant have been increased in the LG G7+ThinQ so users can get even more stuff done with their voice alone.

The 1st ever thing customers will notice about LG G7+ThinQ will likely be the new 15.49cm QHD+ (3120 x 1440) display sporting a 19.5:9 FullVisionTM screen ratio & a bottom bezel which is almost 50% slimmer than LG G6. Powered by LG’s new LCD technology, Super Bright Display, LG G7+ThinQ can be viewed easily even under direct sunlight with brightness up to an industry-leading 1,000 nit, displaying 100% DCI-P3 color gamut.

And depending on the type of content, the display can be set to 6 different viewing modes: Auto, Eco, Cinema, Sports, Game & expert. In Auto mode, the phone automatically analyzes the content of games or photos & optimizes display & power consumption. The user can fine tune the image even further by adjusting the screen temperature & RGB levels individually.

The smartphone’s New 2nd Screen gives users flexible options when it comes to setting up the display to fit their tastes & style. The display can be fully expanded for a bezel-less look or it can be set to a more traditional style where the notification bar is completely blacked out. Users can even change the notification bar to another color for a more personal effect.

Continuing LG’s commitment to deliver an unrivaled audio experience on its smartphones, the LG G7+ThinQ offers premium audio innovations that remain unmatched in the industry. Available for the 1st time ever in LG G7+ThinQ, Boombox Speaker utilizes the internal space of LG G7+ThinQ as a resonance chamber to deliver double the bass of conventional smartphones for powerful “boombox” sound without the need for external speakers. When placed on a solid surface or box, the smartphone utilizes its resonance chamber as a woofer to amplify the bass effect even more.

The LG G7+ThinQ is also the 1st ever smartphone to offer DTS:X to deliver virtual 3D sound for all content, up to 7.1 channel audio with earphones. Carrying on the heritage of LG’s focus on great smartphone sound, the LG G7+ThinQ is equipped with a Hi-Fi Quad DAC for incredibly rich sound especially when paired with high-impedance earphones.

Two Indian businessmen who were abducted in Malaysia earlier in August have been rescued, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said.

“R.P. Vaidya and K.P. Vaidya who had gone to Malaysia for business purposes were abducted on August 3,” Sushma Swaraj tweeted late on Tuesday.

“I am happy to inform that with the efforts of our High Commissioner Mridul Kumar and his team, Malaysian Police has secured the release of both Indian nationals on August 6.”

According to media reports, the Vaidya brothers from Dombivli near Mumbai who run a fish export company, informed their family after reaching Malaysia on August 1 that they have been abducted by unknown men who were asking for Rs 1 crore as ransom.

Following this, the family sought help from Sushma Swaraj and the Indian Embassy in Malaysia besides the police in India.

In a separate tweet, Sushma Swaraj said that two Indians suffering from heatstroke on a ship without air conditioning or electricity, off the United Arab Emirates (UAE) coast are being repatriated.

“We are repatriating Rohit Pal and Rishab Gupta, crew members of MV Maharishi Vamdeva, from Fujairah,” she said.

She added that the Indian Consul General in Dubai has provided provisions to other crew members and is repatriating them as well.