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Indians prefer Second Hand properties over New!

Kaushambi — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:41:14 +0000

A survey by Track2Realty has found that Indian home buyers are more interested in buying ready-to-move in properties rather than new and incomplete projects. The survey targeted the upper and middle class home buyers in 10 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Pune, Kochi, Patna and Chandigarh. Most of these buyers were educated professionals and were trying to buy property for the first time.

The survey pointed out that 74% of buyers would rather buy a property that was ready-to-move in, rather than a project which was still under development.

Some of the reasons given by the buyers included things like ease of projecting appreciation, reasonability of rates and charges levied by the builder, instant access to tax benefits, etc. More than half of the respondents who were home buyers also mentioned that they would prefer a ready property just because they can make a good decision based on the type of neighborhood and overall profile of a property.

So why is there a negative sentiment towards new projects and developments that have not been completed? Why would 7 out of 10 prospective home buyers in India negotiate a deal for an existing and ready-to-move in property rather than an unfinished project?

One of the first concerns seems to be delays. Construction may not happen as planned and there may be delays beyond the home buyer’s or the builder’s control. In the survey, 82% of buyers who bought properties in new projects are now regretting their decision because of delays in completion of the project.

An apparent ‘Over promising’ is also scaring away first home buyers from new developments. 72% of home buyers who did not prefer to buy new and unfinished projects complained about the lack of non-functioning amenities like club houses, swimming pools and under-equipped gyms. The buyers also show a lack of trust in builders as faulty construction and poor design were a major issue.

Benefits of buying Second Hand properties

Let’s drill into the psyche of the average property buyer who is an urban professional and is in the middle to upper class segment. Some of the obvious benefits of buying a ready-to-move in property align with the findings of the Track2Realty survey.

Buyers can see for themselves the kind of construction and design they are paying money for.
Home buyers can also survey the already functioning amenities that exist in the development.
Municipal and builder levied charges are also clear to the buyer and there are little chances of surprises.
There is virtually no chance of delays as the property has already been constructed.
Buyers can see what the neighbourhood is like and the type of environment in the apartment complex or society development. It is easier to answer questions like "Will the children enjoy it here?", "Will it be a peaceful environment?" etc.
As the property has already been owned and possibly lived in before, there are lesser chances of fraudulent paperwork.
Appreciation of property prices is one of the top things on the mind of a property buyer. In case of completed and ready-to-move in properties, buyers get a good feel of the area, surroundings and infrastructure within and outside the development premises. It seems that the satisfaction of ‘what you see is what you get’ trumps over unknown certainties of buying properties that have not been fully constructed yet.

However it should be noted that first home buyers should not shy away from purchasing new developments. There may be inherent risks of buying a project which is under construction, but such purchases can reap big rewards and can be life-changing from a monetary perspective.

One of the basic precautions that home buyers can take is to buy from reputed builders. There are no guarantees that even India’s best construction company will deliver 100%. But buying a property in a development which is under the banner of a well known builder reduces the risk factor. Reputed builders survive on branding and delivering what they promise in terms of construction quality, amenities, etc as bad publicity can harm sales in future projects.

How well do you know Indian North-eastern states? [Survey]

Kaushambi — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:16:02 +0000

Can you name all the states that fall within the title The Seven Sisters? Which is the second largest city in North East India after Calcutta? Mawsynram may be one of the places in India that received highest rainfall each year. But which state is it in? What it the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh? Which North Eastern states share a border with Myanmar?

Don’t shrug off these questions just because they seem like they are straight out of a GK book. Go ahead and test yourself. If find yourself fumbling with most of them, you could very well be amongst the 87% of working professionals in India who can’t even name all the states of North East India.

A survey carried out by Northeast India Image Managers or NEIim revealed some shocking facts about what the rest of India thinks and knows about its North Eastern parts. NEIim is a group of North East Indian PR, Media and Brand Management professionals that operates from Indian metros.

NEIim carried out the survey amongst 400 respondents from the communications and service industry in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. This perception survey is one of the first of its kind in India. And it has carried out a purpose that needs to be addresses seriously.

The survey seems to highlight the notion that this region is often seen as an alien / foreign culture. Everyone knows about the current affairs in Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal, but beyond those borders, facts seem to be blurred. It surely does not help when Naxalite activity in Bihar, Uttaranchal and other nearby areas have aided bad publicity for the North East.

52% Indians have negative perception about the North East not because of particular instances of political instabilities there, but because they equate peace disrupting activities and characteristics of underdevelopment to the North East.

Highlights of the survey

76% respondents are clueless about the political situation of North East India. They are unaware that peace talks are going on between the Central Government and military groups of the North East.
91% respondents have no knowledge about the North East Industrial Policy. This policy essentially gives special grants and incentives for industries setting up base in this region.
75% respondents had no idea that currently the UPA coalition has a few ministers who hail from the North East.
30% professional respondents would not choose to live in the North East even if they found ideal career prospects that. This owes to the primary belief that North East India is not very developed, has less connectivity and is generally unsafe. Interestingly, 61% respondents thought that the North East could make for a good platform for corporate and multinationals to invest in.
56% respondents had no idea that the North East houses the IIT and IIM.
70% respondents couldn’t find it believable that 3 states from North East India have a higher Per Capita Income than the national average. The sentiment and confidence towards these regions was evidently low.

Reacting to such blaring figures of ignorance NEIim responded "This testifies the fact that the picture has not really changed over the years. The stories of progress and peace from Northeast have not reached the people in the rest of the country yet." Source

However the bright side of the survey was that 93% respondents wanted to know more about North East India. 42.7% respondents also endorse that the education system in India should include more focus on North Eastern states. Taking a cue from this, it would be great if the Indian media started showcasing more of North East India.

Say for instance, NDTV Good Times runs a program called The Warriors and Tribes of Nagaland. Shows like this may help influence the perception of 30% Indians who would not choose to take a vacation to the North east even though they know that it is extremely scenic. Wilson College in Mumbai hosts a college festival called Rainbow Festival. It aims to further the interests of North Eastern students enrolled in Wilson College and other colleges of Mumbai.

As far as the question of acceptance of such programs is concerned, the survey already pointed out that 56.3% respondents wanted the media and the Government to run special awareness campaigns that create positivity about this region.

It would be fair to assume that the media consumption of this set of professionals is higher than the average citizen. And if this is the state of the apparently well-informed urban respondent, we can only wonder what it’s like with the rest.

Your Passport information can be divulged through RTI!

Arun Prabhudesai — Mon, 07 May 2012 05:22:06 +0000

This piece of news has left me shocked – According to a news appearing in ToI yesterday, Indian Central Information Commission (CIC) has said that an Individual’s passport information could be disclosed under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act).

Essentially, what this means is – All your demographic information including address, education, travel details etc can be handed over to 3rd party if he/she files for an RTI for that information. According to me, this is serious invasion of privacy and something that should not be allowed.

This information came out relating to a RTI filed by Anita Singh, who wanted information which included passport details and copies of Ajeet Singh ( Indian ex-cabinet minister) while applying for passport. Although, the external affairs ministry did not disclose the details. The reason offered was that this information cannot be disclosed without taking views from the involved party.

Now, there are definitely gray areas on this subject. Let me be clear that ToI article does not detail on what grounds this information could be passed on to third party. However, CIC commissioner was quoted saying “There are some extraordinary situations where the state may be allowed to invade the privacy of a citizen”.

I do not have objection for release of information, if the RTI is filed regarding travels being done on Government expenses or divulging residential information if the concerned person is living in Government property. However, giving out any information about a person not relating to Government is a strict no-no.

Would love to hear your thought on this!

Gender Equality: Where do Indian women stand [MasterCard Report]

Kaushambi — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 06:27:24 +0000

TIME Magazine, Forbes Magazine, The Economist and other such prestigious publications have year after year covered lists on the lines of Top 100 Influential Persons or Top 50 Women in Business. And the results have often carried the names of Indian women. These are the crème de la crème, but what about the average woman from India or any Asia-Pacific country? On March 2, 2012, MasterCard announced the results of its latest Index of Women’s Advancement, which measures the socioeconomic level of women in relation to men for 14 Asia-Pacific countries.

How are scores calculated: A detailed description of the metrics used

Here are the details regarding the metrics used to draw results for the research:

The Index is measured on the basis of five indicators – Business Ownership, Business & Government Leadership, Workforce Participation, Regular Employment Opportunities and Tertiary Education.
Each indicator measures the ratio of women to every 100 men in each of the 14 Asia-Pacific markets that have been covered by the index.
Scores are indexed to 100 to indicate how close or how far women in each market are to achieving socio-economic parity with men.
A score under 100 indicates gender inequality in favor of males while a score above 100 indicates inequality in favor of females. A score of 100 indicates equality between the sexes.

Highlights of the results: The best and worst of each category

Top Scores:

Countries with the highest overall score were predictably Australia (83.3) and New Zealand (83.1).

Growth Trend:

As compared to the last 3 years of this index, 12 countries saw an increase in their overall Index scores. India (48.4) currently ranks the lowest amongst all the Asia-Pacific countries but has seen an upward trend since 2010. Whereas, China (73.7) has been experiencing a consistent decline in its score since 2007.

Tertiary Education:

Enrollment rates for women in tertiary institutions have surpassed men for most Asia-Pacific countries. This has been proved by the score in 11 countries, with New Zealand (137.7) being the highest and Singapore (98.1) being the lowest. The only exceptions to the case are Japan (89.6), Korea (73.1) and India (69.5), where enrollment rates for women were lower than that of men.

Workforce Participation:

India (35.9) ranked poorly in the category of workforce participation rates for women, with countries like Malaysia (57.1), Indonesia (61.0) and Philippines (62.8) following closely. Most other countries were averaging over 70.

Regular Employment:

11 countries offered equal opportunity for both men and women. Again, the exceptions being India (52.9), followed by Vietnam (71.6) and China (82.8).

Small Business Owners:

13 countries had fewer than 50 female business owners for every 100 male business owners, with Australia (56.6) faring the best and Hong Kong (29.0) faring the worst. This simply signals that this category requires greater amount of attention and empowerment.

Business/government Leadership:

This research has thrown up a startling figure of 6 out of 14 countries to have at least 50 women business/government leaders for every 100 male leaders. Philippines (192.3) took the prize here while Japan (15.0) took the beating. India (65.8) predictably fared well in this category.

India has seen a fairly low score in all the categories except women’s representation in business and government. Although we see more women making it to the top in Indian corporates like Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank, Anu Aga of Thermax, Naina Lal Kidwai of HSBC, Vinita Bali of Britannia and Anjali Bansal of Spencer Stuart India amongst many others, the key is to make sure that empowerment percolates down to the lowest rung of the socio-economic strata.

Andrew D. Mason, World Bank’s lead economist and coordinator of the gender program for East Asia and Pacific Gender mentions that gender equality encompasses a number of issues, such as having good infrastructure so that women in rural areas don’t have to spend too much time fetching water from point A to point B, having similar maternity and paternity leave structures, promoting non conventional education programs so that maximum number of women can be involved in education, having a reasonable national childcare system so that a young mother has time to invest in education and employment and so on.

Yes, easier said than done. But taking part in solutions and initiatives like these should be a part of India’s strategy moving forward. Only then perhaps may we see India faring better in these indices in the following years and more importantly, the increase in the position of the average Indian women in the workforce. Especially after nearly 7% of them having dropped off from the workforce in the 5 years leading up to 2011, according to ET.

MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women’s Advancement
Market	Overall Score 2012	Five Indicator Scores
Market	Overall Score 2012	Tertiary Education	Business Owners	Business & Govt Leaders	Workforce Participation	Regular Employment Opportunities
Australia	83.3	134.5	56.6	73.1	81.6	105.5
New Zealand	83.1	137.7	46.8	77.1	83.2	111.1
Philippines	77.8	125.8	47.1	192.3	62.8	98.1
Singapore	77.4	98.1	46.0	65.5	74.0	113.6
Vietnam	75.0	107.2	37.5	32.7	90.1	71.6
Thailand	74.6	133.2	38.5	36.0	79.9	95.2
China	73.7	118.4	42.6	24.0	84.3	82.8
Hong Kong	73.7	104.2	29.0	48.4	75.1	110.1
Taiwan	73.5	107.0	30.4	34.3	78.8	109.0
Malaysia	68.3	135.9	32.5	58.7	57.1	111.2
Indonesia	67.9	103.3	35.9	45.9	61.0	94.4
Japan	64.8	89.6	29.4	15.0	69.0	105.3
Korea	63.5	73.1	42.2	17.3	68.9	102.8
India	48.4	69.5	32.5	65.8	35.9	52.9

The scores above show the proportion of women to every 100 men for each category. Scores of over 100 are truncated to 100 when the overall Index score is derived, so as to ensure one component does not skew the overall Index score.

For the full report go to: www.masterintelligence.com

Good news for Indian B-schools: Finally climbing international rankings!

Kaushambi — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:25:49 +0000

4 Indian business schools out of 6 in the list have finally made the mark amongst top 10 B-schools in the Asia-Pacific region, according to QS Global 200 Business Schools Report. IIM-Ahmedabad is ranked second, IIM-Bangalore is ranked fifth, Indian School of Business has been ranked seventh and IIM-Calcutta is ranked eighth.

IIM-A and IIM-C have shown the biggest improvement in employer opinion this year in the region by notching up four places. On the other hand, S P Jain Institute of Management and Research is at the 16^th place and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade at the 21^st.

What is the QS global report all about?

The QS global report begun to be published in the early 1990s. It provides a detailed overview of the most popular business schools around the world based on information given by global recruiters. They report lists out 200 business schools from which employers prefer recruiting MBAs. The ratings are made according to the region namely Africa and the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. The report this year was further based on a survey conducted between March and July 2011 in which 12,100 employers answered questions about MBA recruiting, reported Wall Street India.

QS Global 200 report states that "Business schools in India continue to climb up the rankings… In an economy that is rapidly growing in global importance, the rise in employer opinion of MBA graduates is extremely promising."

Scope for further growth: Limitations to overcome

Although this is great news for Indian B schools, there are areas that need focus and attention. In comparison to 90 percent international enrolment at INSEAD Singapore, IIM-A saw only 1 percent, IIM-B saw 10 percent and IIM-C saw 5 percent. About 5 percent non-Indian representation has been recorded in Indian B school classes, reported Wall Street India and TOI. In fact schools from China and Hong Kong too have reported high international enrolment.

India has never been viewed as an international destination for students even after Indian B schools started meeting international standards. That’s because of the surrounding infrastructure. India doesn’t have a system where international students can work alongside study, there are not enough options for subjects, there isn’t much flexibility of taking semesters, exams and enrolments, the technology used in classrooms still isn’t at par with international standers and so on.

The kind of exposure that a student gets by studying in a class made of students from different countries can provide a completely different perspective and edge. The report further observes that most Indian B school graduates have been restricted to being employed in companies based in India and a few surrounding countries.

“While employers recognize the skill sets and ability of MBA graduates from India’s well-respected business schools; their lack of international exposure during the study course results in an inability to operate on an international scale." - Nunzio Quacquarelli, MD of QS Quacquarelli Symonds and author of the report [Source]

The report goes on to state that most schools in Asia Pacific, especially in India are still not the preferred choice for employers over schools like Harvard Business School of Wharton Business School, for instance.

"Though Indian business schools are becoming more reputable, an employer based in the U.S. for example will always prefer to recruit from a top business school like Wharton or Harvard than a school based on another continent. And they will clearly be able to find some of the brightest, India-familiar, management talent on those campuses too." says Nunzio.

India has come a long way in notching up the quality of its management education. Will it be able to export education and bring in more revenue by attracting international faculty, international students and international curriculum? Do we have the power to create Knowledge Cities that Gulf countries have managed to?

If we can, we will only see Indian B schools surpassing Australia and Singapore in the rankings in future QS reports.

Now, IRCTC SMS will serve as E-Ticket for train travel!

Arun Prabhudesai — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:36:01 +0000

Indian Railways is bringing up much needed changes to the system and making life easier for Indian train travelers. For few years now, the only accepted way for E-Ticket confirmation was carrying a physical paper printout of tickets booked online. Tons of paper was wasted purely on this.

Few months back, IRCTC announced that there was no need of a physical printout of E-Ticket for train travel. A passenger could just take a screenshot on his mobile and it would be valid.

Now, Indian Railways has gone one step further – the Ministry of Railways has decided to permit SMS confirmation sent by IRCTC containing vital details as an proof on par with the Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS). This has come into effect from 1st February, 2012.

Essentially, when a user books a ticket online, he is sent a SMS confirmation from IRCTC giving details of his journey along with ticket details. A traveler can just show that SMS on his mobile along with a valid ID to the ticket checker. That will be valid proof that he has the ticket and can travel without any issues!

However, IRCTC has laid down certain mandatory features that the SMS should contain:

SMS sent by IRCTC / Railways will be considered for the purpose of confirmation and
The SMS would contain all the vital ticket details like PNR, Train Number, Date of Journey, Class, Name & Number of Passengers, Coach & Seat Number and Fare paid.
Also if feasible, the SMS will accommodate the names of all passengers booked on the e-ticket, otherwise maximum number of passengers.
The authorized SMS containing all the aforementioned vital details when displayed through laptops / palmtops / mobile phones combined with valid photo-id in original shall be treated as an instrument on par with the ERS.

And if you are smartphone user, it gets even easier. Earlier in Jan, Indian Railways partnered with 3 Indian mobile payment gateways that allow users to book & pay for Railway tickets directly on the mobile phone.

Kudos to Indian Railways for making Train Reservation Ticketing System passenger friendly – This will surely save lot of effort and at the same is extremely environment friendly!

Facebook, Google warned by Delhi High Court Judge – Like China, We will block websites!

Arun Prabhudesai — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:26:34 +0000

The content filtering row heats up again – A Delhi High Court Judge sent a stern warning to Social Networking site Facebook & Google to ensure checks on Objectionable material uploaded to their websites by users.

Justice Suresh Kait told both the company representatives that – “Like China, we will block all such websites” if they are unable to keep a check and remove offensive and objectionable content from their website. Very recently, similar remarks by Indian Minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal had created a big uproar in media and blogging world.

In my opinion, I think there is no straight solution for this situation – These kind of “objectionable & offensive” content are going to keep popping up. And, at the same time, I do not think Google or Facebook can (at least currently) completely control such content (not because they don’t want to, but because of tech limitations).

Even representatives from Google clearly mentioned that postings of "obscene, objectionable and defamatory" articles and other things cannot be filtered or monitored. "No human interference is possible, and moreover, it can’t be feasible to check such incidents. Billions of people across the globe, post their articles on the website. Yes, they may be defamatory, obscene but cannot be checked"

However, the biggest question is – Whether Google or Facebook should be responsible for such offensive or derogatory content appearing on their website? The reason being, they are actually not the ones who create or publish it – But its their users who do it.

And, in most cases, when the websites are informed about such content, they do remove it case by case basis – But automatic filtering is just impossible.

According to me both of them are right on their part, even from Government’s perspective, such content can be very damaging and they will do everything in their power to stop it from happening.

What do you think – Do you see a solution for this problem?

Majority Indians still prefer going abroad to work!

Arun Prabhudesai — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:36:57 +0000

Indians are still attracted to West when it come to employment – Although, India is dubbed globally as land of opportunities, majority of Indians want to go abroad to work. That’s the finding by Work monitor report released by Ma Foi Randstad.

And if you think money is the criteria for the move abroad, you are wrong. The report states that while globally, less than a third of the respondents are willing to move abroad for a job without a pay hike, employees in India do not have a problem with relocation – Infact, majority of them are willing to do so!

Indians have highest Mobility Index ranking across the world of 144 followed by Brazil, China & Mexico. Also, younger Indian’s (18 – 34 years) are more willing than older ones (35 to 64 years)

Highlights of the Work Monitor Report:

45% of the workforce believes in focus on promotion, while 34% believe in doing something
different.
On average 8 out of 10 employees expect to receive a pay hike, bonuses and additional employment benefits in year 2012.
Although the general economic outlook was gloomy in 2011, close to 80% employee feel that their organization had a good year except for senior executives. 64% of Employees with salary of 10 Lakh p.a and higher felt their organization had a good year.
A very high proportion (81%) of men expect to work beyond their retirement age and a nearly equally high proportion of women (74%) expect to work beyond their retirement age.

It is a known fact that Indians want to move abroad, because of better infrastructure, better pays, better standard of living among other things. However, over last decade, Indian cities have also grown and pay scales have risen drastically. Yet the propensity to move abroad has not lessened. Although, we have been constantly hearing of reverse brain drain, interest of going abroad remains very high among Indians.

I have a question for readers – Do you think this trend will remain in coming years as well? or do you think, given the growth India is expected to have in coming years, more and more people will prefer to stay back and explore more opportunities in India itself?

MIT scientists develop camera that shoots Trillion Frames Per Sec [Indian Connection]

Arun Prabhudesai — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:20:30 +0000

I am sure you are aware ultra slow motion cameras – the ones that are used in cricket matches to show those super slow motion videos (of run-outs, cricket shots etc). Those are sophisticated video cameras that shoot at over 1000 Frames per second (FPS) and can capture details that are hardly visible to human eye – There are some even more sophisticated video camera’s that shoot at about 1 million FPS and can capture shots of high-speed bullets piercing the wall in vivid detail.

And now a group of scientists in MIT have created something un-imaginable – A video camera that can shoot trillion frames per second, yes..that’s right – Trillion Frames per second camera. This camera is so fast that it can produce a slow-motion video of a burst of light traveling the length of a one-liter bottle, bouncing off the cap and reflecting back to the bottle’s bottom.

And, there is a Indian connection to this invention- The super high-speed camera was developed by Indian Associate Professor Mr. Ramesh Raskar’s Camera Culture group at the MIT’s Media Lab.

Now, I am not a expert in this field to understand how they have achieved it – Here is what they have put out in a blog post & a video, that explains how this has been achieved by them

The system relies on a recent technology called a streak camera, deployed in a totally unexpected way. The aperture of the streak camera is a narrow slit. Particles of light — photons — enter the camera through the slit and are converted into electrons, which pass through an electric field that deflects them in a direction perpendicular to the slit. Because the electric field is changing very rapidly, it deflects the electrons corresponding to late-arriving photons more than it does those corresponding to early arriving ones.

The image produced by the camera is thus two-dimensional, but only one of the dimensions — the one corresponding to the direction of the slit — is spatial. The other dimension, corresponding to the degree of deflection, is time. The image thus represents the time of arrival of photons passing through a one-dimensional slice of space.

I did not understand it, but the video released by them embedded below will shed more light on it:

Talking about Mr. Ramesh Raskar specifically – He was news recently for another very useful invention – The Eye Netra - A cheap device that enables checking of eyes using a smartphone!

[Via Punetech]