New Delhi: Realty major DLF has transferred a three acre land worth ₹330 crore in Gurugram to its joint venture with Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and is in process to hand over a Noida shopping mall to settle dues.

DLF owed ₹8,700 crore to DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL) as on 31 December, 2018.

In December 2017, the realty firm DLF entered into this joint venture with GIC when DLF promoters sold their entire 40% stake in DCCDL for nearly ₹12,000 crore.

This deal included sale of 33.34% stake in the DCCDL to GIC for about ₹9,000 crore and buyback of remaining shares worth about ₹3,000 crore by the DCCDL.

DLF holds 66.66% while GIC holds 33.34% stake in the JV firm DCCDL.

In its latest analyst presentation, DLF has informed that the company has transferred 3.05 acre land parcel near Mall of India, Gurugram for ₹330 crore.

The 2 million sq ft Mall of India project at Noida in Uttar Pradesh is in process to be transferred to DCCDL at a valuation of ₹2,950 crore, it added.

Post this transaction, the outstanding amount would come down to around ₹5,450 crore.

To settle this balance amount by next year, DLF has proposed to sell its stake in its prime commercial project Horizon Centre in Gurugram, Haryana for about ₹850 crore.

That apart, it plans to transfer its mall at Saket in South Delhi at a valuation of ₹1,050 crore. Another ₹1,000 crore is proposed to be settled through transfer of DLF's commercial land in Chennai, while ₹1,100 crore would be settled as per the previous contract with group firm DLF Assets Ltd.

DLF is in discussion with the DCCDL for identifying other assets to settle the remaining ₹1,450 crore dues.

DCCDL currently holds about 28 million sq ft of rent-yielding commercial assets, largely in Gurugram, with annual rental income of about ₹2,800 crore.

A team from the MMRDA, the Railways and contractors, have successfully launched six girders along the 1.6-km-long elevated BKC- Eastern Express Highway corridor in Mumbai, paving the way for the opening of the route by July 2019.

Update on May 23, 2019: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) launched 6 major girders each, over the Sion rail over-bridge (ROB) and Chunabhatti ROB during the wee hours of May 17-19, 2019 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). The 52-metre-long 6 girders launched at Sion ROB weighed 480 tonnes and the 60-metre-long 6 girders launched over Chunabhatti ROB weighed 600 tonnes, the agency said, in a statement. The BKC-EEH connector is expected to be launched soon.

March 20, 2019: A team of a hundred people, which included 21 engineers, two railway officials and 80 workers, launched six major girders weighing 80 tonnes each for the much-awaited 1.6-km-long four-lane elevated connector from Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to the Eastern Express Highway (EEH). The heavy-duty activity took place in the wee hours of March 17-19, 2019, during the different blocks allotted by the Railways. This will help the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) construct a bridge across the Mithi River and a rail overbridge on the Central Railway near Sion station and another rail overbridge on the Harbour Line, near Chunabhatti station.

“This was a very complex task but great team work was put up by the MMRDA, Railways and contractors, to showcase progress on the project of this magnitude. The Rs 155-crore elevated connector from BKC to EEH is expected to decongest traffic in the Sion-Dharavi area, reduce journey by three km and travel time by 30 minutes, in turn, helping the environment,” said RA Rajeev, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA.

The 53-metre-long girders were launched in three operations, each comprising two girders at a time. While the first two girders were launched between 1.06 am and 1.34 am on March 17, the next two girders were launched between 2 am and 2.46 am on March 18. The remaining set of two girders were launched between 2.22 am and 3.18 am on March 19, 2019. The launching operations were carried out under the supervision of the consultants recommended by the Railways, M/s RITES Ltd and Railway officials.

MUMBAI: Bank of Baroda reported on Wednesday that its net loss narrowed to ₹991 crore for the quarter ended March 2019 as against net loss of ₹3,102 crore in March 2018.

According to 19 Bloomberg analysts, the bank was expected to post a profit of ₹913 crore.

Provisions and contingencies surged 93% to ₹5,399.29 crore in the quarter from ₹2,794 crore a quarter ago. On annual basis, it was down 19% from ₹6,672 crore.

The provisions for non-performing assets (NPAs) during the March quarter declined to ₹5,550 crore as compared to ₹7,053 crore in March 2018.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) fell 33.5% to ₹15,609 crore at the end of the March quarter from ₹23,482 crore in the same quarter last year.

As a percentage of total loans, gross NPAs stood at 9.6% as compared to 11% in the previous quarter and 12.26% in the same quarter a year ago. Net NPAs were at 3.3% in the March quarter as compared to 4.26% in the previous quarter and 5.49% in the same quarter a year ago.

The lender also got shareholders' nod to raise additional capital up to ₹19,400 crore.

Net interest income (NII), or the core income a bank earns by giving loans, increased 27% to ₹5,066.96 crore versus ₹4,002.26 crore last year. Other income was at ₹1,970.41 crore, up 16% from ₹1,695.90 crore in the same period a year ago.

Fresh slippages for the quarter and the 2018-19 financial year stood at ₹3,192 crore and ₹10,138 crore respectively

The net interest margin in March quarter was at 2.9%.

On Wednesday, Bank of Baroda's stock on BSE closed 0.7% higher at ₹126.

The centre’s new notification, exempting constructions in areas between 20,000 and 50,000 sq metres from obtaining environment clearance, has invited criticism from activists, who have claimed that the move will benefit builders.

Construction in areas between 20,000 and 50,000 sq metres will not require environment clearance from the government anymore, the centre has said, in its modified notification on the environment impact assessment (EIA). The notification, recently issued by the Ministry of Environment, states that it has decided to ‘re-engineer’ the EIA rules, based on amendments and the experience over the years in its implementation. “As the principal notification has undergone substantial changes over the years, the ministry has decided to re-engineer the entire notification, in line with the amendments issued and circulars issued from time to time and experience gained over the years in implementation of the EIA notification,” it said.

Under the new notification, the process of clearances granted for sand mining and construction activities have been eased out, a decision that has not gone down well with environmental activists, who claim that the EIA notification compromises on public hearings. The draft allows district-level authorities, headed by the district magistrate, to seek exemption from public hearing, while granting green clearance for sand mining in areas up to five hectares of land.

Lawyer and environmentalist Vikrant Tongad said that through the notification, the government was trying to give benefit to builders and mining companies, which in turn, was weakening the EIA. “Under the modified EIA, building and construction in areas between 20,000 sq metres and 50,000 sq metres do not require environmental clearance, which has been taking place all this while. In the sand mining sector, no public hearing will now take place for mining in an area of 0-5 hectares. It is a wrong move and public hearing must take place,” Tongad said. He said, the government was ‘trying to give benefit to builders, mining companies and industries, by weakening the EIA notification of 2006, which would increase pollution and corruption in India’.

EIA is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impact of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.

Sharing his view, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) deputy director general Chandra Bhushan, said this draft has weakened the existing EIA. “My first impression is that this draft, if it is converted into the final law, will weaken the environment assessment. EIA needs substantial strengthening. Public participation part has been weakened,” he said.

Bhushan said that the entire process has become meaningless and will not help in bringing down corruption. “This notification does not set up right institution for compliance of the conditions under which clearance is given. The entire process becomes meaningless. Corruption remains a major issue. The draft is a status quo draft,” he said. The activists were also of the view that this new notification would violate court and National Green Tribunal orders, by which several amendments included in the EIA draft have been quashed already. “The kind of changes which are being brought in, is a violation of court/NGT orders,” Tongad said. No comment was available from the Environment Ministry.

The Odisha government has asked the centre to sanction five lakh houses under the PMAY, to reconstruct houses that were damaged by cyclone Fani.

The Odisha government, on May 13, 2019, urged the centre to sanction at least five lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), as the ‘extremely severe’ cyclone ‘Fani’, which hit the state on May 3, 2019, damaged lakhs of kutcha houses in the state’s coastal region. According to preliminary estimates, five lakh houses have been completely or substantially damaged across 14 districts, with the major loss occurring in Puri district.

In a letter to prime minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Naveen Patnaik wrote, “I would request you to kindly consider sanctioning five lakh PMAY special houses, initially, for the state of Odisha.” Stating that the state government had mentioned about the housing damage during the prime minister’s visit on May 6, 2019, Patnaik wrote, “I reiterate our request for waiver of the permanent wait list (PWL) criteria for this particular allocation and also consider a centre-state fund sharing pattern of 90:10, as a special case.”

A copy of the letter was released to the media, a day after the chief minister announced that those whose houses have been damaged fully or substantially, will be given pucca houses. Noting that the monsoon is likely to reach Odisha around June 10, Patnaik said that keeping in view the urgency of providing pucca houses to the affected people, the state government is going ahead with issuing of work orders from June 1, 2019, in anticipation of the centre’s approval of the proposal. “Your good self had personally witnessed the damage in the cyclone-affected areas during your visit to the state on May 6. A presentation on the extent of damage was also made by the state administration, highlighting the dire need for building disaster-resilient housing along the coastal belt of Odisha, vulnerable to cyclonic storm,” he said.

The state government is undertaking a detailed assessment of houses damaged, which would be completed soon, Patnaik said, adding the exact number of houses damaged completely or substantially will be arrived at, after the survey. Meanwhile, union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan assured the Odisha government that an additional 1,000 kilo-litre of kerosene will be arranged for distribution among the cyclone-affected people. In a letter to the chief minister, Pradhan mentioned, “I wish to inform that I have advised one of the PSUs under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, to contribute around Rs 3.2 crores (equivalent to the cost of 1000 kl of kerosene on cost basis) through CSR fund to the CM Relief Fund/state exchequer, to meet the requirement.”

Logistic firm Bhumika group has forayed into real estate and is developing a mixed use project at Udaipur, Rajasthan with an investment of ₹300 crore. The company is developing over 10 lakh sq ft area in the first phase of this project named Urban Square.

"We are developing our first real estate project at Udaipur. The total area in this project will be 18 lakh sq ft. But, we are currently developing the first phase comprising over 10 lakh sq ft," Bhumika group Director and chief executive officer Uddhav Poddar said.

The project cost for the first phase in ₹300 crore, he said. Urban Square project is being financed with a mix of equity, sales advances, internal accruals and debt which has been secured from Aditya Birla Finance Ltd, Poddar added.

The construction work has already started and the first phase will be delivered in the next three years. In the first phase, the company is constructing a 5star hotel with 200 keys and has roped in Holiday Inn for the management purpose.

Bhumika group is also developing a shopping mall, high-street retail and office space and serviced apartments in the first phase. The company is giving retail space in shopping malls on lease, while office space, high-street retail and service apartments are on sale model.

The project is being designed by shopping mall specialist architect from South Africa - Bentel Associates.

Bhumika Group is planning to develop more commercial projects in Rajasthan, Haryana and the national capital market.

In its logistic business, the group handles transportation and warehousing for cement manufacturers.

With improving infrastructure and connectivity, Ghaziabad’s housing market has become a hub for end-users, owing to its varied offerings and competitive pricing, as compared to its nearby hubs like Greater Noida West

From being a densely-packed suburban city in the National Capital Region (NCR), Ghaziabad has come a long way, aided by infrastructure development and improving connectivity. Besides the metro rail network, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway connects it radially with the other highways in the north and south of the national capital. This micro-market, hence, has become a hub for end-users in the residential real estate space.

Mumbai: The next flash point in India’s credit markets could be real-estate debt.

That’s the view of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co., a major corporate bond buyer and one of India’s top life insurers. The firm avoided investing in debt of stressed companies before credit market strains spread last year.

That crisis was triggered by shock defaults by major infrastructure financier IL&FS Group, and its fallout pushed up financing costs for a range of borrowers including wealthy property tycoons struggling to roll over debt. The country hardly needs more stresses now just as credit markets regain some normalcy after policy makers took steps to inject more liquidity into the financial system.

“While most of the credit market is healthy, one needs to be cautious on NBFCs having large exposure to the real-estate sector," said Chief Investment Officer Manish Kumar, who oversees 1.1 trillion rupees ($15.8 billion) at ICICI Prudential Life. Pressure may rise at non-bank firms, raising the need for lenders to liquidate assets or for stronger developers to buy up projects, he said.

Indian shadow banks lent heavily to the property industry in recent years, helping to fuel a construction boom. They now face rising risks that weaker developers may struggle to repay those borrowings, as housing sales have failed to keep pace with debt expansion. Teetering economic activity also isn’t helping.

Earlier this year, troubles for mortgage lender Dewan Housing Finance Corp. were among factors that pushed up financing costs.

An analysis of about 11,000 home builders by research firm Liases Foras in February showed that developers on average have to repay twice as much in debt each year as the income they generate that can be used to service it. Property prices in India’s biggest cities have been flagging -- home values in Mumbai sank 11 percent last year.

That all means property debt investors need to be extra cautious, but there are still pockets of opportunity, according to ICICI Prudential. The firm has raised corporate bond holdings to 33 percent from 31 percent since the IL&FS crisis, mainly by increasing investments in notes issued by top-rated housing finance firms and bonds that will be serviced by the government.

Peninsula Land Limited has announced that it has sold over 1,200 apartments at its affordable luxury project, ‘addressOne’ in Gahunje, Pune.

Peninsula Land Limited, a part of the Ashok Piramal Group, on May 7, 2019, announced that it has sold over 1,200 apartments at its affordable luxury project, ‘addressOne’, in Gahunje, Pune. The value of the apartments sold is close to Rs 300 crores. In its first four phases, the company launched approximately 900 units for sale, of which it sold 800 apartments.

Commenting on the success of the project, Nandan Piramal, director – sales and marketing, Peninsula Land Ltd, said, “We are thrilled with the customer response received for our project addressOne in Gahunje, Pune. The project saw an 18% rise in prices, since its project launch. Gahunje as a destination is fast emerging as the next big realty hotspot for Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s (PCMC’s) residential needs, thereby, making it the next growth precinct of Pune. The Pune market overall holds great promise, given its proximity to Mumbai and the thriving IT/ITeS industry in Pune. The saturated regions of the city have pushed spillover residential demand to more affordable areas like Gahunje in Pune, which is witnessing rapid infrastructure upgrades.”

To provide financial assistance to home buyers, Peninsula Land has tied up with Home Capital, to provide interest-free loans on stamp duty and registration. “Around 350 home buyers have availed of the benefits of this offer,” Piramal added.

While nominations can be given for shares, bank deposits, mutual fund investments, bank lockers, the rules and implications for immovable properties are different. Here’s how they operate.

The reply to a question raised in the Indian parliament revealed that deposits worth Rs 5,124.98 crores were lying unclaimed for 10 years or more, with scheduled banks. This is a huge amount, considering the fact that banking facilities are generally availed of by educated people. These unclaimed deposits could have been significantly lower, if the depositor had appointed a nominee for his bank account/deposit. Here’s a look at what nomination is and its effect on succession.

What is nomination?

Nomination is a process, whereby, a person authorises someone to receive the assets on his/her behalf, after death. It comes into operation, after the death of the owner. The specified asset is transferred in the name of the nominee.

Rights of nominees and legal heirs

There is a general perception, that the nominee becomes the owner of the asset, once it is transferred in his name or is handed over to him. However, the rule is subject to a few exceptions, that the nominee becomes a trustee to hold the property on behalf of the legal heir.

Under the Insurance Act, an insurance company is discharged of its liability, once it pays the amount of claim to the nominee. It is the responsibility of the nominee, to hand over the claim amount to the legal heir/s. The judiciary has made this amply clear. The Supreme Court, in the case of Sarbati Devi, which was decided in 1983, held that the nominee is a trustee of the property and is liable to hand it over to the legal heirs. This applies to deposits in bank accounts, as well.

Those who reside in cities, often have their residential properties in cooperative housing societies. Such properties are governed by the cooperative society laws that are applicable in each state. According to Section 30 of the Maharashtra Cooperatives Societies Act, for instance, the society is legally allowed to transfer the property in the name of the nominee, in case the owner has submitted the nomination form to the society, in respect of that property. However, such a nominee, who is registered as the owner of the property in the records of the housing society, represents the legal heir/s. It is only the legal heir/s, who have the beneficial ownership rights of the flat, ruled the Bombay High Court, in the celebrated case of Ramdas Shivram Sattur in 2009, which dragged on for 25 years.

In the case of provident fund dues and shares in companies, the law provides that the nominee becomes the legal and beneficial owner of such property. Therefore, in case of shares in a demat account, the nominee shall become its absolute owner, as decided by the Bombay High Court in the case of Saraswat Bank Limited.

Importance of nominating

Home owners should make nominations for all their assets, wherever such a facility is available. As the nominee/s are also the legal heir/s in most of the cases, the making of such nominations, will help transfer of the asset to the legal heir/s. Even in other cases, it will ensure that that the property does not remain unclaimed or become subject to litigation. While making a nomination for shares and provident fund dues, one needs to remember that the nominee will become the owner of these assets.