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Government Working on Intellectual Property Rights Policy: Nirmala Sitharaman

Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman (Press Trust of India)
New Delhi: The government in the next few months will come out with a policy framework that will help protect India's interest on matters related to intellectual property rights (IPR) and deal with issues raised by developed countries, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

"We are coming up with a policy on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). We plan to put up the IPR policy online in four months and open it for public discussion," Ms Sitharaman said, addressing a press conference in New Delhi on the initiatives by her ministry in the 100 days of the NDA regime.

"Wherever IPR is an issue, policy is going to be made in a direction that protects Intellectual Property Rights," she added.

The objective is to bring in more clarity in the existing laws, the minister explained, saying that the lack of a policy had curbed the country from moving to a position to stand up for its rights.

"The whole issue of IPR is because there is no policy in the matter," Ms Sitharaman said.

"The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will put up a consultation paper on its website and would invite comments from the public," DIPP Secretary Amitabh Kant said regarding the IPR policy it is currently working on.

Mr Kant also said the deaprtment planned to upgrade infrastructure for processing patent applications and that 1,033 posts will be created for the job.

On the issue of permitting foreign equity in multi-brand retail, Ms Sitharaman said the government is categorically against it.

"There is no conflict in our minds. We are clear that we do want FDI in multi-brand retail. It is just that we do not see there is a need for us to come out with any notification specifying this as we are not sitting on applications," Ms Sitharaman said.

The minister said the government's policy on FDI in e-commerce was also the same. "We do not allow FDI in e-commerce as well, as the policy is the same as that for multi-brand retail," she clarified.

Noida Extension: Housing prices to go up by at least 25%

Real estate developers expect home prices to rise by at least 25 per cent in Noida Extension as the government's approval to Greater Noida master plan has paved the way for start of construction, which was stalled for over a year in the area.

The National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) has given its nod for master plan, which was made mandatory by a court order in October 2011 for any construction activity in Noida Extension, a newly proposed residential hub in the NCR.

About 2.5 lakh homes have already been launched, of which about 1.5 lakh were sold even before construction work stopped about a year ago on farmers protest.

"The housing demand in Noida Extension is going to be very high after NCRPB approval, while supply is very weak.
Prices are bound to increase because of various factors such as hike in compensation to farmers and rising input cost," Amrapali Chairman and Managing Director Anil Sharma told PTI.

Sharma said the prices would go up by about 25 per cent. "Prices were Rs 2,100-2,200 a sq ft in this region last year. Now we expect the same to go up to about Rs 2,600 per sq ft".

Another major developer in this area Supertech also felt that construction would start by September 15 and prices would go up by 35-40 per cent compared to last year.

"We were selling homes at Rs 2,300 per sq ft in May last year when farmers protest started on land acquisition issue.
Now, we will launch projects at Rs 3,200 per sq ft in Noida Extension," Supertech Chairman R K Arora said.

The cost of construction materials and interest rate have gone up sharply in last one and a half years, Arora added.

Property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) India is also of the view that prices would go up in Noida Extension, but rates would still be cheaper than Noida and Greater Noida.

"This area has been considered as region of affordable homes. Lot of burden has to be borne by the developers. So there will be little bit of price increase," JLL India CEO (Operations) Santosh Kumar said, but declined to give any percentage.

He noted that demand would be much higher and there would be an opportunity for both investors as well as end users.

Delhi: Najeeb Jung Directs Officials to Provide Relief to Storm-Hit People

New Delhi: Delhi's Lt Governor Najeeb Jung today directed Divisional Commissioner's office to survey and assess damages to life and property caused by yesterday's dust storm in the national capital and provide ex-gratia or relief to the affected families.

Mr Jung also instructed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) authorities to supply water in tankers in the affected areas immediately.

"Despite prompt efforts by DJB, the Palla tube wells are still non-functional due to power failure in the area, affecting water supply in north-west Delhi. Further, there has been a major problem at Delhi-cantt pumping station which affected water supply in south Delhi. There was also water supply problem in south-west Delhi, north and parts of new Delhi Municipal Council area, today morning.

"Due to power failure, DJB could produce only 681 MGD of water, which is less by 154 MGD of their daily production," said a press statement issued by LG office.

DJB offices will remain open today and on Sunday to ensure restoration of water supply in affected areas and the control room will function round the clock.

DJB is in constant touch with officers of Power department and discoms to ensure regular power supply to water treatment plants and booster pumping stations, said the DJB officials during a stock taking meeting chaired by Jung today to review water and power situation in the national capital.

Mr Jung directed the Power Department that power supply in Palla region of North Delhi be restored today itself so that water supply is not affected further.

Property Market Revival Expected After Modi's Win

New Delhi: Hailing clear majority for Narendra Modi-led BJP in the polls, real estate experts today said a stable government at the Centre will help revive the property market.

Investor sentiment will improve in the realty market leading to rise in housing and office space demand, they said.

"The formation of a stable government not dependent on coalition partners will hopefully mean faster decision making and economic reforms. If GDP growth picks up, one of the early beneficiaries would be the real estate industry," CBRE South Asia Chairman & MD Anshuman Magazine said.

Knight Frank India Chairman & Managing Director Shishir Baijal said the economic and political stability would act as a catalyst for revival of the real estate sector in India.

Hailing the election outcome, realtors apex body CREDAI Chairman Lalit Jain said: "We have a huge expectation from the new government as Modiji has demonstrated good governance in Gujarat".

Mr Jain said the sentiments would immediately improve and that will drive the property market. "We expect efficiency in approval process and easier bank funding which are the two major concerns for the industry."

The realty sector has been facing a huge slowdown in demand over last few years due to high interest rates on home loans and lower economic growth.

Parsvnath Chairman Pradeep Jain said: "We are optimistic about the reform and changes this government will bring in to boost the economy. For the real estate in particular, we firmly believe that the sector will be given industry status this time which will ease all fund inflow."

Mr Magazine said, meanwhile, that "economic fundamentals have to be tackled, infrastructure projects implemented with a sense of urgency and housing mortgage interest rates have to decline before we would see any significant impact on the real estate market".

Global property consultant JLL India Chairman & Country Head Anuj Puri said that in order to boost affordable housing, the new government may look at helping on quicker land acquisition, faster approvals, easy and low cost funding availability and better infrastructure.

Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Director (South Asia) Sanjay Dutt said: "A stable government will lift the sentiments of the investor community who form a dominant role which will impact housing and office sales. Hence, both end-users and investors are also expected to increase their investments in the sector and contribute to its growth."

Consultant DTZ Chief Executive Anshul Jain said the demand is expected to pick up in the latter half of this year.

"Next 5-6 quarters are expected to be the game changers. Availability of funds will ease and interest rates are expected to come down as inflation cools. This will have a direct impact on the supply side of the real estate,"

Should you buy or rent property in 2014?

India's current economic uncertainty combined with the inflated real estate prices makes the buy or rent decision tougher for a common man. Zero or negative growth in incomes, higher interest rates and a shrinking carpet area for the same money make a strong case for a personal finance drive.

Is it financially prudent to buy a house?

Can there be an advantage to renting a place to live?

Will there be any lifestyle changes that one needs to accommodate?

These are some of the questions that come up when one is in search of the best decision for buying a house.

Below are some of the most important factors one should consider while arriving at a merit-based decision:

While buying a house

Amount of down-payment for house loan (20 per cent of cost)
Time to save for down payment (No. of years)
EMI on house loan
Monthly property maintenance charges
Annual repairs
Annual property tax
Income tax savings under sections 80C and 24B.
While renting a house

Security deposit
Monthly rent
Yearly increase in rent
Monthly property maintenance charges
Income tax savings under HRA exemptions
The three factors that are pivotal when deciding on buying a house are: current property price, which determines the EMI to be paid; current monthly rental value, and the current gross income.

Monthly rent or the EMI being paid should not consume most of one's salary which in turn is likely to affect the current lifestyle or future goals. Also, it is not a good financial decision to buy if the rental value is low compared to the EMI to be paid when owning a property. However, one cannot only rely on the rent-to-buy ratio and make the decision to buy without assessing his affordability. Similarly, a decision to buy a house just because one can afford the EMI is not advisable.

Buying or renting in top Indian cities

Hyderabad and Ahmadabad are the most affordable markets to buy a house, according to a recent study by ArthaYantra. Delhi and Mumbai clearly stand out as the cities where buying or even renting a house has become incrementally tougher over the years and has gone beyond the reach of the common man.

The minimum salary range to be able to afford a house across all 8 cities has also increased compared to 2012. Similarly, the area for the same amount of money has shrunk. This has led to increasing number of people opting to rent a house rather than buying one.

Hyderabad continues to be the most economical choice for both renting and buying across all salary levels. However, in Pune, Bengaluru, Ahmadabad and Kolkata, the salary threshold to buy a house starts after one starts earning more than Rs. 12 Lakhs per annum. These cities today offer a good buying alternative to professionals working in Mumbai or Delhi.

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