REAL ESTATE - Tata Housing

skylar
MARCH 2014
ISSUE 9 • VOL III
A QUARTERLY
REAL ESTATE
NEWS BULLETIN
Welcome to Skylar - Tata Housing's quarterly realty bulletin, through which we
endeavor to bring you the must know on housing & Indian realty market, buyers
guides & reviews, interior & exterior design concepts & home improvement tips,
updates on our various projects and activities and discussions on a range of other
interesting topics related to the real estate sector.
CONTENTS
investments of future
04
SENIOR LIVING HOME
06
MANAGING HOME LOAN
10
conserve snow leopard
14
new growth path
new project launch
16
20
news and events
22
investments of future
Smaller cities now
compete metros in terms
of job opportunities
TIER II AND TIER II CITIES
COMPETE WITH METROS
Over the past few years, tier II and tier III
towns have constantly witnessed an
increase in investments from
manufacturing, IT and ITeS companies,
leading to job opportunities for people
in and around those areas. Among tier II
cities, Pune, Chandigarh, Ludhiana,
Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar, Kochi and
tier III cities, Madurai, Baroda, Nashik
and Trichy are upcoming in terms of
social infrastructure and economic
development. Moderate-income class is
growing in these cities and their
aspirations are now well supported by
expanding credit availability. The
growth is also attributed to rising
investments across industries, including
information technology and ITeS, rapid
industrialisation and opportunities
arising out of it and improvement in
infrastructure and urban governance.
Apart from the increasing investments
and growth of social and physical
infrastructure, tier I and II cities offer a
better work life balance compared with
the metros. Growth of these cities will
not only reduce the pressure on tier I
cities, but will also lead to an overall
growth of India's GDP. It is essential to
develop and diversify the portfolios of
cities so that they contribute to the
inclusive growth of the country.
Both affordable and premium housing
04
segments are witnessing an
increase in growth. There are many
factors driving the growth of the
real estate sector in these tier II
cities like the quality of lifestyle,
increasing media exposure, the
emergence of international brands,
as well as the industrial growth in
the region.
Tata Housing has been the
frontrunner in recognising this
trend and has launched iconic
theme-based projects based on
local consumer insights and needs.
We have launched luxury and
premium housing projects like
Ariana which is situated at
Shankarpur, Bhubaneswar, Inora
Park a green residential
development located at Undri, Pune
and La Montana, a Mediterranean
themed township located at
Talegaon.
A pertinent question at this point
would, therefore, be what would
happen to tier I cities or the metros?
Let me try and analyse how I look at
this. With rapid urbanisation and
influx of global lifestyle trends the
demand of consumers in tier I cities
and metros is also evolving. More
and more affluent home buyers are
looking for homes that reflect their
respective financial and social
standing. Attributing to
international flavours, housing and
living concepts, Indian buyers today
keep raising the bar in residential
projects. The requirements may
vary from hilltop residences to
riverside apartments. Some opt to
live in luxury homes in the suburbs,
while others are stringent about
their homes being 'smart' or ecofriendly or theme-based homes.
Often a theme helps the consumer
dream about all the possibilities of a
vacation life at their residences.
With changing consumer demands,
we are also constantly innovating to
suit the sensibilities of our buyers.
We continue to witness demand
across consumer segments —
luxury, premium as well as
affordable, mainly because these
cities are lucrative and have a lot of
captive consumption.
There are many who think that this
phenomenon or the current trend
might eventually lead to a situation
of reverse migration. One has to
keep in mind that today, India is
urbanising extremely rapidly with
the proportion of the urban
population to the total population
expected to cross 40 per cent by
2021. As per a recent McKinney
report, 68 cities will have a
population of over one million and
70 per cent of new employment
would be generated in these cities.
The trend of people migrating to
tier II cities like Pune,
Bhubaneshwar and Kochi started
with the influx of major IT and
manufacturing companies setting
up operations here along with
numerous startups mushrooming in
India, leading to better job
opportunities. Additionally, with the
real estate sector constantly
growing, many smaller cities have
comparatively better infrastructure.
There is a need to strike a balance.
Let me now explain how this
balance is to be maintained
between metros and smaller cities.
The gap between metros and tier I
and II cities started shrinking about
half-a-decade ago, with the influx of
international BPOs/KPOs along with
manufacturing companies to tier II
and III cities, leading to the growth
of these smaller markets. Today,
these cities are almost at par with
major metros in terms of job
opportunities, along with
infrastructure at par with
international standards. With job
creation and more appetite to
spend on better quality homes,
developers have realised the
potential in these markets. In its
natural progression, every city
grows as other emerges into a
congested city. So what may today
be an emerging hub may tomorrow
be plagued by uneven
development of urban
infrastructure, rapidly increasing
operational costs, land paucity amid
escalating land values and
exorbitant real estate prices.
The balance will be maintained with
a sustained focus on the growth of a
city and systematic urban planning.
It is as important to ensure the
scaling up of development with the
city as it is to safeguard the growth
potential of smaller cities.
05
SENIOR LIVING HOME
Given that old-age comes with its
share of certain health issues,
having a retirement home nestled
amidst nature, yet with a gentle
climate is the foremost aspect that
developers and consumers will look
at.
2) PRICING
These homes cost about 15 to 20
per cent more than other houses in
the same segment given issues like
healthcare and security, senior
living/retirement homes are
constructed with ample safety and
security measures, keeping in mind
the welfare of senior citizens. The
key issues that need to be
considered with regards to senior
citizens and senior living are safety,
security and access to healthcare,
besides charging a monthly
maintenance — ranging between
Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 — for the
services offered to senior residents.
IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF A SENIOR LIVING HOME
Aspects that go into making a senior living home - A Developer's Take
While the concept of senior living
has been extremely popular in the
west, India is only now witnessing
this concept that is taking the real
estate sector by storm. Contrary to
popular belief, senior living does
not mean old-age homes.
Retirement homes are homes, built
specifically for the aged, keeping in
mind certain special personal, social
and holistic needs.
An increase in life expectancy,
coupled with the fact that our
middle class now has more money
than ever, implies there has been a
sea change in how senior people
view life after retirement. This
increase in disposable income has
led to complete financial
independence and parents no
longer feel the need to be
06
dependent on their children.
Research by Jones Lang LaSalle
suggests that the current demand
for senior housing in India is about
a total of 300,000 units. It is
estimated that by 2025, there will
be 173 million seniors above the
age of 60 living in the country
compared with 76 million today.
The market size of retirement
homes is expected to be pegged at
Rs 4,000 crore by 2018. However,
India as a senior living market is
extremely tiny compared to its
Western counterparts.
Here are some things that go into
consideration while developing a
senior living home:
1) LOCATION
There is an increasing demand for
senior living homes and especially
in those cities that boast of
temperate climate with nature in
close proximity. The cost of real
estate is surging in the cities and
there is a clear inclination towards a
liberal lifestyle which values
independent living.
Cities like Bangalore offer a
perfectly pleasant climate, with
balmy summers and cool winters,
unlike the extreme weather of some
northern cities. Northern India has
barely 3 projects spread across
Delhi, Jaipur and Punjab, primarily
due to harsh winters. Bangalore, at
around 7, by far has the maximum
senior living projects.
Retirement homes fall under three
categories — independent living
(for healthy and independent
seniors), assisted living (for
dependents) and rehabilitative care
(for ailing and extremely
dependent). Senior living projects
in India are mostly of the first kind,
while the last segment is more of a
welfare/social segment that is more
acceptable at a global level.
Typically, there are three kinds of
consumers for independent senior
living projects: those who are
looking to a) buy, b) lease, and c)
rent. Financial capability is the
biggest factor that separates these.
Needless to say, retirement homes
that are bought come with a lot of
rights, including passing it onto
heirs, hence find more takers in
India. Those on lease usually require
a one-time deposit, which could be
non-refundable, and monthly fees.
One cannot either sell or rent this
property.
Monthly rentals depend on the
degree of care and amenities
provided, including healthcare,
medical gymnasium etc.
senior living projects even have tieups with neighboring hypermarkets
and pharmacies for quick delivery;
with hospitals for a rapid and
reliable ambulance service or with
doctors who offer on-call services.
Another interesting aspect is that a
number of these seniors are now
tech-savvy are in constant touch
with their families and children who
reside abroad. Developers have
taken this 'from snail mail to email'
change and now also offer
affordable Wi-Fi services in these
homes so these elders can be in
constant touch with their family.
4) SAFETY AND SECURITY
The number of crimes against
senior citizens is on the rise and
especially senior citizens who stay
by themselves.
Given that financial independence
is a primary driver of this need,
demand for senior living is led by
Non Resident Indians, businessmen,
High Net-Worth Individuals and
bureaucrats.
3) SPECIAL AMENITIES
Facilities abound, just like with any
other integrated township: there
are healthcare centers, nana-nani
parks, meditation centers, activity
center with indoor games, wellness
centers like spa, apart from grocery
mart etc. Some retirement homes
offer reading rooms, temple,
amphitheater, and professional
housekeeping, nanny, cook or
gardening services at extra cost.
Typically, such townships offer easy
access to banks, post office,
hospitals and clinics, grocery mart,
bus stops and railway/metro
stations etc. some developers also
offer dedicated public transport
services at a monthly cost, thus
reducing the need to depend on
personal transport.
Some developers who specialize in
Some developers offer retirement
homes as part of an integrated
township. By developing senior
living homes as part of a gated
community, safety and security of
these elders is ensured. Some
developers also offer state-of-theart communications system,
including a centralized security call
system that is useful in times of
crisis.
5) HEALTH
Given the way lifestyle diseases are
fast turning into an epidemic,
access to healthcare is an important
aspect of a senior living township.
By providing services primary
healthcare, easy access to hospitals,
doctors-on-call, free delivery from
pharmacies; senior living homes
07
SENIOR LIVING HOME
prove that there's no place safer
than them.
Telemedicine, a new-age
technology can be beneficial to
patients living in isolated
communities and remote regions,
who can receive care from doctors
or specialists far away without the
patient having to travel to visit
them. Recent developments in
mobile collaboration technology
can allow healthcare professionals
in multiple locations to share
information and discuss patient
issues as if they were in the same
place. Remote patient monitoring
through mobile technology can
reduce the need for outpatient
visits and enable remote
prescription verification and drug
administration oversight,
potentially significantly reducing
the overall cost of medical care.
building complex for the residents,
while some offer easy-to-maneuver
doors and window latches.
Elevators are a must and so are
smaller steps in the case of
stairways. Accident-prone areas like
bathrooms and terraces are
designed with extra caution in
order to prevent any mishaps.
Specialized design elements often
increase the overall per square feet
price of an apartment compared to
a regular apartment of similar size
and within the same location,
however, the product and design
quality is a premium users are
willing to pay for
7) SUPPORT SYSTEM
Most senior living projects are
designed keeping in mind the
personal demands of some of its
residents, especially in the case of
assisted living and rehabilitative
care, which might take time to
become popular in India.
However, some senior living
projects offer personalized services
at extra costs, including
housekeeping, cook or even parttime aide in the absence of assisted
living.
6) SPECIAL ARCHITECTURE AND
DESIGN IN PLACE
Architecturally, senior living
projects are designed keeping in
mind the distinctive features basis
the physical limitations of this age
group. Most developers provide
special requirements like anti-skid
tiles, electrical points at low heights,
assist-bars in washrooms etc.
Developers invest into R&D so as to
provide the most suited designs
their special needs.
Developers typically work with
architects who are recognized in
the field of senior living and
understand the special needs of this
community. Some developers offer
smooth walkways around the
08
8) COMMUNAL LIVING
While designing senior living
projects, developers pay strict
attention to communal-living
conditions and senior citizens'
desire to live in close proximity with
their peers. Developers, therefore,
introduce a number of social clubs
that not just bring in a sense of
harmony and togetherness, but
even provide certain special
practices that help senior citizens to
continue to harness their skills and
remain active and productive.
Book clubs, reading rooms, bridge
or chess clubs, activities like
weekend movie screening are held
to ensure senior citizens continue to
lead an active, yet stress-free life.
Our housing sector needs to
address the wellness needs of our
seniors by providing skilled
healthcare, companionship and
independence. More importantly,
on a larger scale, measures need to
be taken in terms of accessibility to
government and other support
systems, insurance, legal aid and
healthcare issues.
Senior Living as a concept helps in
addressing all of these concerns at
the same time and integrates
security, healthcare & community
under a single value proposition.
Retirement homes provide the
perfect solution for families like
these, given the metamorphosis in
our culture and the acceptance of
the concept of living in these
designated spaces.
It is important to stress that this
over-60 population is not looking
for these retirement homes to
break-away or rest; these homes
offer a life of style, living with likeminded peers, doing things that
one never had the time to do
earlier. It is a choice to lead an
active life post retirement.
Given these changes, retirement
homes/senior living projects, with
their customized amenities and a
like-minded peer group, offer a
perfect lifestyle solution to this.
Developers need to identify the
next level in terms of the senior
living category. There is a great
opportunity here not just in the
context of making a niche market,
but actually bringing about a
change in the mindsets of people's
lives. As with the evolution of
residences, senior living homes will
also develop with time and luxuries
will soon be necessities.
MANAGING HOME LOAN
HOW TO
MANAGE
YOUR
HOME LOAN
BETTER
Moving into one's own home is a
joy, which is to be felt not
explained. It is sheer euphoria, with
the house warming functions,
searching for the right furniture
and fittings, the praises you get for
having taken care of the finer parts
in construction and decorating the
house and the pride in having
acquired a physical symbol of
success.
After the festivities are over, and
with the dawn of a new month, a
new realization comes home. For
the fortunate few, it is the reminder
to fund your bank account, as the
loan EMI or equated monthly
instalment is due after a week. For
others the money simply flew out
of the bank account.
It is time for us to act like the fund
manager of a mutual fund or
investment fund. Taking informed
decisions to manage the asset that
we call home and the liability that
we call housing loan. By being
prudent, you can get high 'returns'
in the form of saving on interest
outflow.
10
Fund Management When
Carrying a Home Loan
As a fund manager of the house,
one has to find ways to maximize
the benefits of the cash flows. Make
a list of all the loans and savings/
investments that you have made.
Do you find places where the
savings/ investment is giving lesser
returns than the loan rates? This
can typically be seen with your
endowment insurance plans, your
EPF (Employees' Provident Fund)
and PPF (Public Provident Fund),
the postal deposits, sometimeseven ULIPs (Unit Linked insurance
plans). Why should you be invested
in something when you are paying
higher interest to somebody else?
It is better to close all or most of
these lesser returns savings/
investments and divert the funds to
close the home loan.
Care should however be taken to
replace an endowment insurance
plan with a term plan of higher
cover. Your employer and your EPF
officer will allow withdrawal of
funds from the EPF account for
buying and closing the loan of a
house. The PPF is not so flexible
with letting go of your money.
ULIPs and the postal deposits can
be closed only after the stipulated
3 years of lock-in.
Ways to repay your debt quickly:
There are ways to come out of the
EMIs and make your loan tenure
shorter
Partial pre-payment Switching to a
lower Rate Increasing the EMI Now
let us look at the options in more
detail. The best part is that, the
options do not in any way add to
your existing budget.
Partial Pre-Payment
This is the easiest way to close a
housing loan faster. The method is
to make use of any one-time
income like a bonus, salary arrears,
gifts from friends/ relatives, any
wind fall gains from shares,
property sold, deposits closed, tax
saving investments maturing,
closure of savings that are giving
you lesser returns than the housing
loan, etc. to partially close the
housing loan
11
MANAGING HOME LOAN
A home on Bengaluru’s only hill.
Like the nest things in the world,
it’s a limited edition.
The effect is that the one-time
payments help to reduce the
principal balance in the loan. And
when the EMIs continue, they have
lesser of the principal to cover. So
the same EMIs need a lesser time
to close the loan. More earlier and
more frequently the partial prepayments happen the faster the
loans close.
Banks generally allow partial prepayment starting from Rs.10,000.
There are no charges for partial
pre-payment or even full
prepayment of housing loans
currently.
Switching to a Lower Rate
The interest rates current are in a
rising trend. There are times when
the interest rates start going down
too. Based on the interest rate
reset period, different banks will
reduce their rates at different
times. If the reset interest band of
your lender is a wider band, you
may be at a higher interest rate for
a long time after other banks have
started to reduce their rates.
Switching to a lower interest rate
12
will shave off a few years from your
housing loan. Care however has to
be taken about not jumping too
many times or with low interest
rate differences. A heartening
detail though is the removal of
prepayment penalty. This can
definitely boost the prospects of a
home loan switch easing the cost
burden for the loan borrower
further.
Do remember that property
verification and other legal
paperwork will have to be done
afresh in the case of a loan transfer.
Also, for a loan transfer to be
effective you should have a clear
track of having cleared all the EMIs
on time, every time.
Increasing the EMI
This is another option to close the
loan faster. If you can spare a
portion of an increment to
increase the EMI, considerable
saving could be made. For
example a Rs.30,00,000 loan for 20
years will need an EMI of Rs.28,950.
If you can spare an additional
Rs.2,300 per month, the loan can
be closed in 15 years itself.
The EMI can also be increased by
making use of money that was
going into an endowment
insurance plan or a recurring
deposit in a post office.
Increasing the EMI can be done at
any point during the tenure of the
loan. There are generally no
charges for increasing the EMI.
Summary
Only after closing the home loan
does one really become the owner
of the house. Closing the loan as
soon as possible not only relieves
the mental strain of carrying a debt
but also releases more money into
the family budget.
BANASHANKARI
conserve snow leopard
WWF-India joins hands with Tata Housing
to save snow leopards and unveils the first
ever crowd funding campaign for species
conservation in India
New Delhi – In a significant step
towards garnering more support
and awareness for snow leopard
conservation in India, WWF-India in
partnership with Tata Housing
Development Company launched
Project Save Our Snow Leopards
(SOS) by unveiling the SOS online
crowd funding platform
(www.wwfindia.org/sos) at an event
at the WWF-India auditorium on
th
10 January 2014.
The SOS crowd funding campaign is
the first-ever crowd-funded
campaign for species conservation
in India, giving individuals a chance
to support and directly fund
conservation projects. Through the
SOS campaign, WWF-India along
with Tata Housing will build
awareness about the conservation
issues facing the snow leopard and
aim to raise at least Rs. 15,00,000
through the crowd funding
platform. The funds raised will be
utilized to scale up WWF's snow
leopard conservation projects such
as setting up camera traps to study
the exact status and distribution of
snow leopards in range states and
support the construction of
predator-proof livestock pens for
local communities in snow leopard
habitats that will help in managing
snow leopard-human conflict. The
campaign will be spearheaded
jointly by both organizations and
reach out to potential supporters
through social and other online
media. Tata Housing will also reach
out to the Tata group of companies
soliciting support for the SOS
campaign through 'Green
Guardians', an employee
engagement initiative.
Tata Housing Development
Company, the biggest proponent of
green housing in India, became a
WWF-India conservation partner in
2012. Tata Housing has also worked
with WWF-India to refine their
Sustainability Charter, which
outlines their commitment towards
following environmental
sustainability practices in housing
development. WWF-India and Tata
Housing will also work together to
convene forums to promote
sustainable housing across the
housing infrastructure sector and
exchange best practices relating to
sustainable housing.
On the occasion, Mr. Brotin
Banerjee, CEO and Managing
Director, Tata Housing
Development Company said, “At
Tata Housing, we feel it is important
14
to maintain the ecological balance of
natural flora and fauna in the
environment along with creating
sustainable green development that
help to prevent environmental
degradation. Our partnership with
WWF-India is in line with our efforts
to safeguard and conserve India's
unique natural heritage of high
altitude wildlife populations and their
habitats. We hope our efforts to save
the snow leopard will result in
maintaining the required ecological
balance.”
Speaking on the necessity of such
steps in snow leopard conservation,
Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary General
& CEO, WWF-India said, “Snow
leopards are strikingly beautiful, but
sadly very few people are even aware
of their existence. Due to the high
altitude and difficult terrain they
inhabit, snow leopards are also one of
the least studied large wild cats,
which in turn makes their
conservation all the more difficult. By
protecting the snow leopard, we
ensure the conservation of our fragile
mountain landscapes that are one of
the biggest sources of freshwater for
the Indian subcontinent. We hope this
campaign will not only raise the
required funds for the snow leopard,
but also make people more aware
about this magnificent species.”
Through Project SOS, both WWFIndia and Tata Housing will
continue to work with the central
and respective state governments
to assess the status and distribution
of snow leopards and strategize
conservation actions. Local
communities will also be engaged
to increase awareness about wildlife
conservation and build a positive
attitude towards the snow leopard
by sharing the results of such
conservation efforts.
15
new growth path
TATA SON'S CHART NEW
GROWTH PATH
The Tata group has put more into building non-cyclical consumer
facing businesses. Tata Sons, the investment holding company, has put
fresh equity of about Rs 2,500 crore over three years into Trent, Infinity
Retail, Tata Capital and Tata Housing.
The group is still largely seen as a manufacturing and technology
powerhouse. It is now shifting its focus to the other businesses, as the
number of Indian households in the mass segment is expected to reach
111 million by 2014-15, up from 75 million in 2005-06. “Every company
in the group has been thinking on how to re-engineer their offering to
be able to hit the mass market,” says Raju Bhinge, chief executive, Tata
Strategic Management, consulting arm of the Tata group.
16
The group had earlier limited such
exposure to companies such as Tata
Global Beverages, Tata Chemicals
and Titan. These saw opportunity in
largely unorganised categories such
as tea and salt, besides watch and
jewellery retailing. Now, it is trying
to tap the growing mass segment
by building new businesses where
it sees competitive advantages
Tata Housing, 29 years old, got Rs
505 crore of equity investment from
Tata Sons in 2012-13. The annual
revenue was as little as Rs 36 crore
in 2006 and it rediscovered itself by
foraying into low-cost housing. It
recorded Rs 1,135 crore of revenue
in 2012-13, having grown at a
compounded annual rate (CAGR) of
80 per cent in the past five years.
According to a McKinsey study,
India will have 68 cities with a
population of a little over a million
by 2030, up from 42 at present.
“Companies which are today
getting into the urbanisation space
will see the bonanza and dividend
being paid out over the next 10 to
15 years,” says Banerjee.
One of these is real estate. “Real
estate in the luxury segment and for
commercial use is cyclical but one
very important facet we are trying
to crack is the affordable housing
story for the middle class and upper
middle income group, which is not
cyclical,” says Brotin Banerjee,
managing director and chief
executive officer of Tata Housing
Development.
17
new growth path
(ASP) has been growing by about
10 per cent year on year for seven
years, to Rs 8,000 now. This is also
against the perception that it
should go down in the electronics
business.
The company has 29 projects —
around 70 million sq ft of properties
under various stages of
development — at 13 locations
across the country. This has an
aggregate revenue potential of Rs
33,000 crore. At a higher revenue
base, it expects to grow at a CAGR
of 30-40 per cent for the next five
years, to achieve its Rs 5,000-crore
annual turnover target.
To tap the same set of burgeoning
mass consumers, another Group
company, Tata Capital, is building a
retail finance business much faster
than that for corporate finance. It
began operations in 2007 and got
Rs 1,300 crore equity from Tata Sons
from 2010-11 to 2012-13. About 70
per cent of this has been used to
grow businesses such as home or
mortgage loans, loans against
property, car loans and personal
loans. “Corporate finance and retail
business are almost equal now in
terms of loan book size,” says R
Vaithianathan, managing director,
Tata Capital Housing, a subsidiary of
Tata Capital. In 2012-13 at Rs 8,833
crore, the retail finance business
was 38 per cent of the total loan
size of Rs 23,023 crore, up from Rs
2,100 crore constituting a 23 per
cent of total loan size in 2009-10.
The company's housing finance
business, of a loan book size of Rs
5,800 crore with 20,000 customers,
largely from the self-employed
18
segment, is aiming to grow this to
Rs 20,000 crore in the next three
years. “We are concentrating on the
low middle segment, as the average
age of Indian house buyers is
coming down,” says Vaithianathan.
He is expecting another Rs 1,000
crore of equity infusion from Tata
Sons for this.
“Spending capacity is increasing, so
we consistently provide something
better to consumers which helps
our ASP grow year on year,” he says.
About 80 per cent of the CDIT
(consumer durables and
information technology) business
comes from the top 20 cities. And,
the company has targeted to
capture 20 per cent of this in those
20 cities. It plans to expand to
Kolkata and Jaipur in the next
financial year and then take it
further to Mysore and Mangalore.
Similarly, the consumer finance
business of the retail portfolio that
comprises car loans, personal loans,
loans against property and shares,
is also expected to grow to Rs
15,000 crore from about Rs 5,000
crore now. It is expecting a similar
amount of equity infusion from the
promoter firm.
Riding on the same ambition, to
catch the new set of consumers,
Tata Sons infused another Rs 420
crore from 2010-11 to 2012-13 in its
consumer electronics and durable
retail chain, Croma, run by Infiniti
Retail. The company started
operations about seven years earlier
and has grown to a little over Rs
3,300 crore annual turnover, with
100 stores in 16 cities.
“The credit goes to the consumer
segment we are targeting, which is
the youth, and the business
executives who understand
technology,” says Ajit Joshi, chief
executive officer and managing
director, Infiniti Retail. The company
says its average sale per transaction
Another retail company of the
group that attracted Tata Sons'
capital in the past three financial
years is Trent. The group investment
holding company infused Rs 265
crore here and the firm saw its most
aggressive expansion in this period.
Westside, the company flagship
department store chain, added 31
stores in the three years, taking the
total number to 70. This has crossed
80 in the current financial year. The
investment might look small in the
context of the over $100-billion
turnover of the Tata group but
consumer businesses do not require
large capital as steel. But it is highly
valued from return on capital
perspective.
new project launch
TATA VALUE HOMES EXPANDS ITS
PRESENCE IN CHENNAI
Launches New Haven at Mambakkam with an Investment
of over 700 Crore
After the successful launch of
Santorini, Chennai’s first Spanish
themed township, Tata Value
Homes (TVHL), a 100 percent
subsidiary of Tata Housing, India’s
fastest growing real estate
developer, today announced the
launch of its pan India housing
brand with premium facilities “New
Haven” at Mambakkam. Located
at one of the fastest developing
corridors in Chennai, the project
offers over 1600, 1, 2 and 3 BHK
contemporary residences starting
24 lakhs.
Spread over 15 acres, ‘NEW HAVEN
– RIBBON WALK’ is strategically
located on the Vandalur –
Kelambakkam road within close
proximity to OMR, the fastest
growing IT corridor of Chennai. The
project conceptualized with a
Nastro Verde (ribbon) design offers
all the amenities essential for
modern-day living – swimming
pool, well-equipped gymnasium,
retail shopping facilities and indoor
games room.
“New Haven's self-contained, amenity and
lifestyle residences are immensely popular
amongst the fastest growing consumer
category “urban aspirers” that have a
distinct lifestyle preference. With the ever
growing appetite for affordable residences
with premium facilities in India, launch of
New Haven in Chennai is in line with our
expansion plans of this pan Indian brand
across top 8 cities in India.”
Inspired by the soul of a Ribbon with a
futuristic style, ‘NEW HAVEN – RIBBON
WALK’ will follow an integrated sustainable
township approach with an innovative
façade design. The Ribbon-inspired
landscape, is replete with undulating
pathways & courtyards, maximizing the
scenic views, green spaces and providing an
exclusive view of the lake. At the heart of
the project is a strikingly designed freeform clubhouse offering a multitude of
recreational options befitting an
International Lifestyle for your entire family.
Announcing the launch of New
Haven, Chennai, Brotin Banerjee,
MD and CEO, Tata Housing, said,
20
21
news and events
Short film on Safety Health and Environment
to construction workers – turning concern into action
Tata Housing and National Safety
Council jointly release a short film on
National Safety Day
On the occasion of National
Safety Day/Week, Tata Housing
and National Safety Council of
India jointly release a series of
short films, which will serve as a
poignant reminder of the
consequences of failing to keep
people safe at work. The short
films, on various topics taking
into account the best practices in
the construction industry were
released by Mr. Brotin Banerjee,
Managing Director & Chief
Executive Office, Tata Housing
and Mr. V B Sant, DG, National
Safety Council, India in an event
organized by National Safety
Council (NSC) at NSC head
quarter in Navi Mumbai.
National Safety Day/Week
observed every year from 4th
March to 10th March, has
assumed the importance of major
national campaign and widely
celebrated to create
consciousness and renew
commitment to Safety, Health
and Environment. This day also
accentuates the significance of
safety in all spheres of life, so as to
avert mishap and accident
resulting out of neglect or lack of
awareness.
On the release of the short film,
Mr. Brotin Banerjee, MD & CEO,
Tata Housing said, “Further to our
commitment towards maintaining
safety standard at all our
construction sites, we are extremely
delighted to release a series of short
films, which will educate people on
22
safe working environment. It is
imperative to explain the
importance of safety to the workers
in the construction sector as they
come from one of the most
neglected strata in our social
framework.”
‘Electrical safety at
construction sites', 'Scaffolding
safety at construction sites', and
'Lifting Equipment safety at
construction sites' are the titles
of the 3 short films that are made
in Hindi. These high impact safety
films include learning's for
execution staff/ contractors and
workforce at construction site and
they have been conceptualised
with inputs from Corporate SHE
Dept. and external experts.
India's construction industry is
one of the biggest workplace
killers. During 2008-09, 48
construction workers died in
Delhi, and 98 suffered serious
injuries. The growing number of
accidents at construction sites
raises questions about the lack of
safety norms in place at
mammoth projects currently
underway in the country. To
improve safety at the project sites
and, in order to provide effective
media towards this effort, NSC
along with THDC has been
planning to produce a series of
short films on various topics
taking into account best practices
in the construction industry.
Housing also unveiled, first of its
kind E-learning Course on 'Safety
at Construction Sites' developed
by National Safety Council. The
course has been specially
designed in consultation with the
experts from the Construction
Industry. With an aim to enhance
the Safety & Health Competency
needed for timely, cost effective
and accident free completion of
construction projects.
On the launch of the e-learning
course, Mr. V.B Sant, DG, NSC
said, “It is most suited for the
Supervisory and Managerial
personnel at the Construction sites.
These personnel are always
performing under acute time
pressure and find little time to
improve their knowledge and
competence by attending external
training programmes. This Course
is the most convenient way to
enhance their competence as it can
be obtained online at any place
suitable to them.”
In addition to this, Mr. Brotin
Banerjee, MD & CEO, Tata
23
news and events
MHADA
TATA HOUSING CELEBRATE FOUNDERS DAY
Tata Housing Joins Tata Capital to Celebrate Group Founder's Day
Enables Its Consumers to Book Their Dream Homes with a Down Payment of only 3%
24
(Bengaluru), Gateway Towers
(Mumbai) and Primanti (Gurgaon).
Tata Housing Development Co. Ltd,
one of the fastest growing real
estate companies in India today is
th
celebrating the group's 175
anniversary in association with Tata
Capital. The proposition takes
forward the legacy of the group's
founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata,
whose birth anniversary is being
commemorated by various group
companies and its subsidiaries.
In addition, Tata Capital will also
offer a lower interest rate of 10.2%,
(as opposed to 10.5%) with a
complete waiver on the loan
processing fees under this scheme.
Moreover, Tata Housing offers a
special concession of 3% across all
its premium and luxury projects.
For the first time in real estate, in a
unique offering, the partnership of
both Tata Housing and Tata Capital
will help realize the dreams of many
aspiring homeowners. The offer
allows buyers to book their dream
home by paying only 3% of the
booking amount. This will be
followed by 7% over the next six
months across their projects in the
premium and luxury homes. This
very exclusive offer is valid only for
st
rd
3 days between 1 March – 3
March, 2014 on select Tata Housing
premium properties such as Ariana
(Bhubaneswar), Amantra (Mumbai),
Myst (Kasauli), The Promont
Speaking on this occasion of the
175th year legacy being honoured
by Tata Housing, Mr. Brotin
Banerjee, MD & CEO, Tata
Housing said, “The Tatas have over
the past 140 years improved the
lives of communities they serve.
Consumers have always been faced
with the challenge of mobilizing the
initial booking amount and that's
been the deterrent in most of the
cases for booking premium
apartments. In keeping with the
Tata ethos, we decided to simplify
and ease the ownership of a home
and actualize dreams. The
partnership with Tata Capital
highlights our commitment to the
interest and requirements of our
consumers.”
The offering fosters the culture
consumer consciousness before
profits and echoes the compassion
of the founder. In a message to the
group earlier this year, Mr. Cyrus
Mistry, Tata Group Chairman had
said, “All of us have a responsibility
to protect and enhance this brand
through the ethical conduct of
business and by adhering to the
unique value system instilled by our
Founder, sustained for over half a
century by Mr. JRD Tata, and
fortified by Mr. Ratan N Tata in
recent years.”1
______________________________
1Tata Group Chairman's New Year Message-2014
MAY DOWNSIZE
FLATS SO POOR
CAN AFFORD
May construct units with a
minimum carpet area of 180 sq ft
instead of the current minimum of
269 sq ft.
With the “low-cost” houses of the
Maharashtra Housing and Area
Development Authority (MHADA)
increasingly getting more
expensive, the housing authority is
considering slashing the tenement
area for economically weaker
sections to make houses cheaper
for them at the current rates.
The state housing authority is
considering building smaller units
with a maximum carpet area of 180
square feet to reduce the overall
ticket size of the flats for the
economically weaker sections. For
the past few years, MHADA has
been constructing houses with a
minimum carpet area of about 269
square feet even for the people of
economically weaker sections.
According to the proposal, once the
owners of these small units are
financially stronger and are in a
position afford bigger houses, they
can trade their small homes for
bigger MHADA flats by paying the
differential amount as calculated by
the authority, Satish Gavai, chief
executive at MHADA, said.
“The minimum prices of the houses
that we are currently building are
around Rs 15 lakh. First-time home
buyers with low incomes cannot
afford these houses. So, we are
looking at making small units
available for them at about Rs 5 to
Rs 6 lakh,” Gavai said.
He added that the authority used to
construct tenements of such small
sizes about 10 to 15 years ago, but
of late has been undertaking
construction of houses of at least
269 sq ft in carpet area as per
guidelines of the Union
government.
“Guidelines say that houses should
be at least 269 square feet, but that
is not mandatory. In a place like
Mumbai, where real estate prices
are so high, it is not possible to
construct houses of this size and
still make them affordable for
people from lower economic
background,” Gavai said.
In this year's MHADA lottery, for
which applications will start from
April 15, the housing authority is
selling 235 houses at Mankhurd for
the economically weaker sections.
The carpet area of all these houses
is 269 sq ft and the flat price has
been fixed at Rs 16.26 lakh.
As per MHADA norms, applicants
with a monthly income of under Rs
16,000 per month fall in the
economically weaker section
category. The housing authority
recently tweaked the eligibility
income criteria for this year's lottery,
keeping in mind the changing
consumer price index and the rising
cost of MHADA homes. Till last year,
those with a monthly income of
under Rs 8,000 were considered to
belong to the economically weaker
section.
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CORPORATE OFFICE:
TATA Housing Development Co. Ltd.
12th Floor, Times Tower, Kamala Mills, Compound
Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel
Mumbai - 400013
Tel: +91 22 6661 4444
Fax: +91 22 6661 4452
www.tatahousing.in
For any comments, suggestions or queries on this newsletter,
please contact Amit Nanda, Manager - Marketing Communications at
amitnanda@tatahousing.com
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