Political Vultures, Real Estate Sharks And Criminals Ganged Up To Ruin Bengaluru

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

India's tech capital Bengaluru is falling apart - well, almost. A city, whose infrastructure can support just about 30 to 40 lakh people, is now home for more than double that number. In the first of a two-part series, INNLIVE traces the origins of Bengaluru's destruction which began even before the city was swamped by IT professionals.

Why Bangalore Is Losing Its Shine For IT Companies?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

India’s homegrown Silicon Valley is facing stiff competition from unexpected quarters as the country’s hottest IT destination.

Undoubtedly, Bangalore is still the number one IT/ITeS outsourcing location in the world, as noted by an Economic Times article quoting a 2014 survey of the top 100 IT locations. It’s not difficult to see why — the city not only boasts the highest number of startups, but also has an ecosystem that supports the startup culture. It has a large pool of tech talent, mentors, and venture capitalists, as well as accelerators and incubators.

GST Effect: Under-Construction Apartments To Cost More

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

Prices of under-construction apartments may rise by up to 5-10% when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is rolled out . But, prices of completed apartments will not be affected as GST will not be applicable there.

Dying Young Mothers In Assam’s Tea Gardens – At A Rate Higher Than Anywhere In India.

By NEWS KING | INNLIVE

The tea industry and the government joined hands but failed to stem the deaths in the predominantly tribal community.

Babita Jayram has beaten the odds. The 21-year-old sits in one corner of the hospital bed, brushing her hair with the slow, steady strokes of a purple comb. The nine months of pregnancy mostly spent at a tea garden on the eastern fringes of Assam were uneventful. There were no complications during the delivery. A healthy newborn, curled gently on her lap, sleeps quietly.

Dubai Gets Early Taste Of Brexit Crisis Impact

By RAM KUMAR | INNLIVE

Unsurprisingly, the UK has already been feeling the heat of its vote to leave the European Union. London on Monday (July 18)  woke up to the news that the forecasters at EY Item Club have indicated that the UK will have to pay quite a bigger price than predicted or assumed so far by any analyst.

Item Club has cut its growth forecast from 2.3 per cent to 1.9 per cent for 2016, and from 2.6 per cent to just 0.4 per cent for 2017 saying the Brexit will have severe confidence effects on spending and business investment.

Spotlight: Telangana IT Corridor Is Brewing Troubles

By RENUKA REDDY | INNLIVE

Many Start-Ups In The Incubator Are Complaining Of Lack Of Space, Absent Mentors And Skewed Support System.

Nearly seven months after the T-Hub threw its doors open amid much expectations and promises, the state government-run incubator is ridden with issues.Steep rates, lack of room to expand teams and a `virtually absent' and inaccessible network of mentors feature in the long list of grievances raised by many who signed up with the facility.

Is Telangana CM KCR Redrawing New State's District Boundaries To Fix His Political Opponents?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE
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There’s criticism that the state's 14 new districts are being decided on the Telangana chief minister’s whims instead of on a scientific study.

Two years after being carved out of united Andhra Pradesh, Telangana is feeling division pangs once again.

On Friday, a highway blockade that was started by people agitating for a separate district in Telangana got out of hand when the protestors, realising that their demands may not be met, damaged two buses and set one on fire.

AP Govt Is Leaving Hyderabad Capital: Why June 27 Has Become Such A Flashpoint For 13,324 Govr Employees?

By RADHAKRISHNA | INNLIVE

What prompted Chandrababu Naidu to order his state government to move lock, stock and barrel from the capital city that it has rights over for eight more years?

June 27 is D-Day, as far as the Andhra Pradesh government is concerned. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has asked 13,324 employees of the state government Secretariat and various heads of department to shift from Hyderabad to the transitional headquarters at Guntur by this date. They are expected to move to and begin functioning from near Amaravati, the ambitious new capital being built near Guntur and Vijayawada.

United Kingdom Leaves European Union: How Is GCC Affected?

By SARAH WILLIAMS | INNLIVE

The United Kingdom has decided to leave the European Union (EU), after a nation-wide referendum held recently and voted in favour of an exit, which has come to be known as “Brexit”.

Nearly 52 per cent of voters chose to leave, guaranteeing a win for Brexit. The United Kingdom joined the EU in 1973 under a conservative government headed by Prime Minister Edward Heath.

A Glimpse Of 'Middle Eastern Millionaires' Lifestyle

By FAZIL PERVEZ | INNLIVE

The United Arab Emirates is home to the largest number of high-net-worth-individuals (HNWI) in the Arab world, a newly released report finds.

Produced by New World Wealth, the ranking comes as part of the recently published Middle East 2016 Wealth Report, exploring the regional countries millionaires resided in during 2015.

Spotlight: A Misplaced Emphasis On Indian Highways?

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

Why does the government continue with its blind focus on highways and expressways when infrastructure for water supply, waste management and mass transit system is in desperate need of attention? INNLIVE criticises the government's prioritization and says there is more to public infrastructure than just highways and expressways.

Drought In India: Women Battle Cruelties Everyday And Exit Isn't An Option

By SWETA SALVE | INNLIVE

It's a women's drought", declared Avik Saha, my partner in imagining and designing this padyatra, and now my co-passenger. This was the third day of our padyatra in Marathwada. We had just gone past yet another queue of women and girls waiting for water with their pitchers and cans.

It took some time for his formulation to sink in. Avik is always on the lookout for a way to summarize what we have seen. I guess his astonishing range of experience - a high-flying real estate lawyer, a humble organic farmer, the patron of a classic guitar society and a connoisseur of indigenous seeds - accounts for his knack for thinking a step ahead of everyone else. I had learnt not to let his remarks go past me.

The Reasons Behind Mumbai’s Ever Increasing, Unaffordable Home Prices

By NISHI SAWANT | INNLVE

There are many ways to describe Mumbai. India’s financial capital. Maximum city. The city of dreams. The city of seven islands.

And as most who’ve lived there would surely know: India’s most expensive housing market.

Focus: Why PM Modi’s 'Gold Schemes' Are Impractical?

By NEWSCOP | INNLIVE

The Indian government has announced the gold bond and the gold monetisation schemes with great fanfare. The aim is to utilise the approximately 25,000 tonnes of gold in the country and channel them into financial savings or instruments so that annual gold imports of 800-1,000 tonnes come down.

However, as is the case with most of the government schemes, the actual rules, regulations, KYC (know your customer) requirements, capital gains and low rates of interest of 2.5% among others, are likely to make these schemes unworkable.

Special Report: Are Indian 'Startups' Hiring Recklessly?

By SUMAN KAPOOR | INNLIVE

Indian technology startups have been on a hiring spree lately—thanks to easy availability of funds. But, given their business models, the huge manpower they have accumulated may soon turn into a liability. In fact, several companies are already reworking their hiring policies, and some are trimming their staff size drastically.

On Aug. 31, food ordering startup TinyOwl laid off around 100 employees at its Pune and Mumbai offices to cut costs. “The elimination of certain positions in the company have been made on a strategic level, to increase efficiency, productivity, and re-direct our diverse talent to focused departments, providing the best innovative offerings to our customers,”

Focus: Is India The Next 'Emerging Markets' Destination?

By SHEENA SHAFIA | INNLIVE

India was among the wealthiest nations in the ancient times, aptly nicknamed the golden bird. Throughout history, India has been subject to multiple invasions, the most damaging one being the two-century long British colonial rule that shattered India’s social and economic fabric. 

When India finally achieved a hard-won independence in 1947, it was a divided nation with a destitute economy, poor infrastructure, over dependence on imports and a legacy of poverty and illiteracy.

Special Report: Land Pooling Strategy For The New Andhra Capital Could Become A Model For India's Smart Cities

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Andhra Pradesh's experiment with voluntary land pooling could provide an alternative to forcible land acquisition.

Tallayapalem is a village like many others in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district. It has lush green fields, and its prosperity is evident from the concrete houses scattered along its central thoroughfare. Somewhat incongruously, one field off the main road houses a canvas tent under which a small group of policemen has been doing 24-hour duty since June 6, 2015.

Costliest Deal: Mumbai's Penthouse Sold For Rs.202 Crore

Even as Mumbai's real estate market reels under a stressful period with slowing sales velocity and with buyers sitting on the fence, waiting for prices to drop, a one-off deal in the island city's luxury market for Rs 202 crore is making headlines.

According to confirmed reports, a sea-facing triplex penthouse measuring 17,000 square feet in South Mumbai's Napean Sea Road has been sold to a prominent industrialist for a whopping Rs 202 crore. This works out to be one of the most expensive transactions in the country as the buyers is paying Rs 1.20 lakh per square foot.

The apartment is on the 20th, 21st and 22nd floors of the Residence, being built by the Runwal Group and offers views of the the Arabian Sea and the Queen's Necklace and has 21 car-parking slots as part of the transaction.

Is Indian Real Estate Heading For A 50% Crash In Prices?

By M H Ahssan - Editor in Chief

PERSPECTIVE: We all know that real estate in India is terribly expensive and is now selling at prices making it practically unaffordable for almost everybody who wants to buy a home to live in. But how expensive is expensive? This is an important question that needs to be answered.

One way of looking at this problem is through the rental yield available on houses at any point of time. Rental yield is the annual return that can be earned by renting out a house. The number is obtained by dividing the annual rent of the house by its market price.

And what is the rental yield in India? As Ashwinder Raj Singh is CEO – Residential Services of JLL India points out: "Rental yields vary across the globe, but an average of 2 per cent of rental yield is considered a good deal for residential properties in India."

Sports Spotlight: Why Does Cricketer Suresh Raina's Name Crop Up In Every Other Controversy?

By Fahad Shah in Mumbai

Time and again, INNLIVE has brought to the notice of its readers the Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee's findings on the IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal.

It's going to be a tough Monday for the senior national selection committee. The five selectors will meet in the Capital to pick the Indian team for the tour of Zimbabwe. Sandeep Patil & Co. were reportedly looking to rest some of the key players for this low-key comprising three ODIs and two Twenty20 games.

But things have dramatically changed over the last 48 hours after former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi tweeted on Saturday that Chennai Super Kings players Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo were in "close contact" with a real estate tycoon known to be a "big punter and also a bookmaker".