Showing posts with label Mumbai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mumbai. Show all posts

Friday, February 08, 2013

THE SUNDAY INDIAN EXCLUSIVE

A TSI sting operation finds how paedophilia has turned into a thriving business in Delhi, NCR and Mumbai. Taking advantage of kids’ poverty and craze for brands and gadgets, middlemen get rich by supplying minor boys and girls to satiate the desire of sick, rich men, many of them NRIs and foreigners. By Abhishek Kumar and Neeraj Rajput

We could feel that Ansh did not appreciate us having a long conversation with the boy. But since we don’t want to take them to a hotel or any other place, we need all our answers then and there. It’s an uncomfortable situation; but we press on. We said we were surprised that kids were so easily available here in India too. The boy immediately replied that India was getting rapidly westernised and you get to find such kids in virtually every corner of the country. He added he wanted money so that he could buy a Yamaha Fazer motorcycle. Asked if he would feel awkward later, he categorically said no.
Boy-You are from Australia?

TSI- Ya, I am from Australia. You must be studying?
Boy-Smiles

TSI- I am surprised that this all happens here and availability is so easy.
Boy-Everything is getting westernised here too and people are copying everything.

TSI-How do you know him (Ansh)?
Boy-I got in touch with him through e-mail.

TSI- Is this your first time?
Boy- No. Must be 7th or 8th time.

TSI- Are you in touch with others as well?
Boy-Yes, there are many.

TSI- Why did you come into this profession?
Boy- I have to buy a motorbike.

TSI- Which one?
Boy- Yamaha’s Fazer.

TSI- You must be feeling really awkward to do all this?
Boy-Not at all.

TSI- Is this a hobby or for money?
Boy-Mainly for money.

TSI- You have done it earlier as well, hope nothing bothers.
Boy –Not at all. I have already done it 5 to 7 times.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Technology and dating communities

Technology and dating communities stay in step with the changing times...

Two years ago speed dating came to India with the first event being held in Mumbai. Speed dating is at times described as a, ‘formalised matchmaking process’. In truth, it is nothing more than throwing an equal number of guys and girls together and each guy gets some three minutes to chat with every dame before moving on to the next. Sounds like a dream come true, right? Well, it has its own catch; you would get the girl’s number only if she has also shown an interest in you.

And oh, guys get charged more for the same services! Why? Well, isn’t it obvious? Although yet to take-off fully in India, the concept has proven to be sound and successful and usually safe. The reason could be that as a society we are yet to fully de-stigmatise dating as a concept, with people who take the help of dating agencies labelled as losers or of a loose moral character. Take Sanjana for example, she runs a ‘friendship circle’ (another name for what essentially is a dating agency) in Delhi called Cool Friends. “Our aim is to find like-minded friends for people in this unfriendly world,” she says with a straight face when asked about the friendship circle.

With metros like Delhi and Mumbai serving as a veritable melting pot for all of India’s religions and countless castes, it is getting harder for parents to insist that their child marries within the ‘community’. This, coupled with ever greater interaction between young people of different regions (with the coming of age of the Internet and greater mobility overall) has ensured that dating has been demystified, although risks remain.

“I started dating a guy I met through Facebook. He really seemed wonderful and funny. But I later found out that along with his age, he had lied about many things. He turned out to be four years younger to me after claiming that he was three years elder!” says Monica laughingly. Well, at least he was not a repressed freak…


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Monday, September 10, 2012

One last time: a realty review!

B&E’s argues why real estate developers in India can go the full hog with their price hikes, at least for now; and we add a cheesy realty review to go along with it one last time this year...

Cheesy, because it’s been done a hundred times before. Interesting, because for once, we’re advising the realty players to actually increase their offer prices. Today’s scenario is a far cry from that of 2009, when the demand for real estate in India clearly reflected the weak global sentiments – absorption rate of both commercial and residential properties had then stood at a miniscule 9% (Q1 2009). In contrast, at this point of 2010, India’s realty sector already shows an absorption rate that’s as high as 21%; and if the trend continues, as per collated B&E estimates through market reports and expert sentiments, India will need another 240 million sq. ft. of commercial space and about 4.25 million units of residential real estate to meet the growing demand between 2010 & 2014.

At the same time, the supply largely remains constrained due to the slow pace of construction activity that happened during FY2009-10. As a result, the demand for real estate across major metros (which includes Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata and Hyderabad) in the country is estimated to become three times the supply during 2010–14 (as per US based real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield). But in a scenario where demand is growing, supply unfortunately is still not growing. It seems that the top builders in India too want to test the elasticity of demand and as such an enormous rise in prices of real estate, especially residential units, can be clearly seen all across India.

As per a recent research conducted, among 2,863 localities across major metros in India, residential property prices have witnessed a sharp rise over the last one year. Mumbai of course is the vanguard of such rise. While property prices in areas like Mahalaxmi in Mumbai have climbed a whopping 63.5% (from Rs.25,117 per sq. ft. in 2009 to Rs.41,056 per sq. ft. in 2010), they have gone up by 57% in Colaba. Other localities too in Mumbai have witnessed a sharp price appreciation in the range of 36%-55%. Similar has been the rise in other metros. While property prices have appreciated by about 35% in Delhi and Bangalore over the last one year, they have gone up by 25-30% in Chennai, Gurgaon and Pune. Kolkata, Noida and Hyderabad too have seen real estate prices rising in the range of 5-20% in 2010. The name’s quite cheesy, but as per Makaan.com Property Index (MPI) – which, unbelievably, is India’s first property index – property prices at a national level have increased significantly by 7.2% in the last one month. The index in August 2010 stood at 1,187 as against 1,107 in June 2010. Compared to August 2009, MPI in August 2010 has moved up by 13.9%.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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Monday, August 13, 2012

Selling spice from the skies

With many new projects coming up in kochi, this hub of spice trade is trying to make it big in the business of skyscrapers too, says t. satisan

A couple of decades ago, real estate business was not everyone’s envy in Kerala. It was considered as yet another “broker’s job” and as such did not had much acceptability. Well, not to say the earnings were meagre and the job was tough as people didn’t really require expert’s advice to sell or buy properties. Cut to today, and the term “broker” has given way to “real estate player”. All thanks to the booming property prices, the business has turned into a money making machine. These brokers aka real estate players have not only taken up more roles, but are also constructing villas, malls, flats, et al. But then, the success hasn’t come easy to them.

In fact, early birds came from north cosmopolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru. They not only offered good packages to consumers, but also ventured into construction and raked in big moolah. This caught the attention of local players. They thought if they can win why can’t we? Naturally several local players jumped into the realm of construction and rest is a glorious part of the economic history of Kerala. The visiting builders were taken by surprise when they saw the modus operandi of the Kerala builders. So what is it that makes these local players a tough competition?

First of all, local builders have more credibility. Builders sitting in Delhi or Mumbai are looked at with suspicion. Buyers suspect that these people may disappear leaving incomplete buildings behind after collecting the amount. In fact, some buyers have had such bitter experiences. Secondly, initially, people used to buy properties for investments. Buyers of apartments and posh villas were sitting abroad. But today, the buyers are real users. They are eager to occupy the accommodation at the earliest. Moreover, unlike early days, today’s buyers have their own choice with respect to the prices. In fact, they like to go for apartments within a price range of Rs.2.5 million to Rs.3.5 million.


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