HDFC sells $17 million of home loan to reduce credit book

Indian lender HDFC Bank Ltd. has sold a housing loan portfolio of about Rs 60 billion ($717 million), seeking to further lighten its credit load amid regulatory pressures on the industry. The portfolio was sold to about half a dozen state-controlled banks through private deals, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is not yet public. The Mumbai-based bank also unloaded another pool of car loans worth about Rs 90.6 billion, securitized in a fixed income product called pass-through certificates, the people said. The lender had been engaged in talks — reported in late August by Bloomberg — to offload the pool to about a dozen local asset management companies. In June, HDFC also sold a 50 billion rupee loan portfolio. Its credit-deposit ratio stood at 104% at the end of March, higher than the 85% to 88% rate in the previous three fiscal years, according to ICRA Ltd., an affiliate of Moody’s Ratings. The fact that deposit growth is lagging that of credit “may potentially expose the banking system to structural liquidity issues,” the central bank said in August. For its upcoming earnings report for the quarter ended September, HDFC Bank is expected to show deposit growth of 13% on-year, compared with an 8% increase in loans, according to Suresh Ganapathy, head of financial services research at Macquarie Capital.
 

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No Further exemption in GST for long term land lease: GoM

The fourth meeting of the Group of Ministers on boosting the real estate sector held in Goa has decided no further exemption in GST should be granted on long term lease of land by private entity and sector specific exemption such as for tourism purposes. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant hosted the meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Tuesday. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare, Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Mohanlal Desai, his Kerala counterpart K N Balagopal, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, central government GST officials were among those who attended the meet. A media statement issued after the meeting said there were deliberations on various issues pertaining to the real estate sector. On reviewing the value limit of Rs 45 lakh for the definition of affordable residential apartment for a metropolitan region, it was decided that Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi need to be taken to arrive at a consensus on the issue. The issue related to determining the value of land for arriving at the value of construction services in case of sale of apartments has been deferred for further examination. The next meeting of GoM is likely to be held on October 25.
 

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Finger Prints Scanners upgraded for safe land registration in Tamil Nadu 

The state registration department has procured 1,164 state-of-the-art level 1 fringerprints scanners to safeguard against fraudulent land registrations using cloned fingerprints. It has also taken measures to prevent financial fraud through Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) by stealing fingerprints from sale deeds. Across the state every day, on average, 15,000 documents are registered and 50,000 fingerprints are authenticated in the 582 sub-registrar offices under the state registration department. The department has been using fingerprint scanners along with Aadhaar authentication and EKYC while registering documents. For those whose fingerprints are not registered, Aadhaar verification will be done," said a senior registration department officials. The department had been using Level 0 scanners. To enhance security levels of fingerprint-based authentication transactions, UIDAI made it mandatory to use L1 compliant fingerprint authentication registered devices in the Aadhaar authentication ecosystem. The L1 scanners have better encryption and are secure. The important aspect is the fingerprint liveliness security feature. This will reveal if the fingerprint has been taken from a person who is alive or cloned. Property consultants point out that this a good move. "This will prevent registration of unclaimed property using forged documents. This will protect buyers, but this should be monitored properly, Ramprabhu, CMDA and DTCP committee chairman, Builders Association of India (BAI). 
 

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Tamil Nadu CM opens two Neo Tidel Park in Thanjavur and Salem

Tamil Nadu cheif minister MK Stalin on Monday inauguarated two Neo Tidel Park in Thanjavur and Selam districts with a combined seating capacity of around 1,000 seats. These facilities, each having a built-up area of 55,000 sq ft and built as G+3 structures are part of the govt's effort to take information technology jobs to tier-II and tier-III cities in the state. The Salem facility, situated in Anaikavundanpatti and Karuppur villages, is built at a cost of Rs 29.5 crore and has commitments for 70% of the capacity, while Thanjavur facility at Pillayarpatti village, has commitments for 30% of the capacity, Sandeep Nanduri, managing director of TN Industrial development corporation told TOI. IT, ITES, health-tech companies and startups are showing interest in these cities. TIDCO already booked clients for the Vellore facility even before it is ready. The Tuticorin project will be ready in a month, while parks at Vellore and Tirupur are expected to be inaugurated by the end of the year. Stalin opened a 63,000 sq ft neo tidel park in Villupuram this February. The govt had announced setting up seven neo Tidel parks in the 2021-22 budget.
 

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Ramco Cemnets increase grinding capacity by nearby one MTPA

Tamil Nadu-based Ramco Cements on Friday said it has increased its cement grinding capacity by nearly one million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The company has carried out debottlenecking of cement grinding capacity at its Kalavathala Plant in Andhra Pradesh, resulting in an increase of capacity from 1.5 MTPA to 2 MTPA. In addition, at its Valapady Grinding Unit, in Salem District, Tamil Nadu, it has carried out debottlenecking of cement grinding capacity leading to increase of capacity from 1.6 MTPA to 2 MTPA. "The company's total cement grinding capacity has increased by 0.9 MTPA, from 23.14 MTPA to 24.04 MTPA with an aggregate investment of Rs 58 crore," according to a regulatory filing by the company. It has received consent to operate from the competent authorities for the increase in capacities. Ramco Cements revenue for the financial year ended on March 31, 2024 was at Rs 9,349.83 crore. The company operates five integrated cement units and six grinding units.
 

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Finance Minister reviews capex plan of housing and urban affairs ministry

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday reviewed the capex plan of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and emphasized on the need for timely and efficient utilisation of these funds. A key focus of the discussions during the meeting was the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) scheme, which plays a crucial role in providing affordable housing. "Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman underscored the importance of accelerating progress under this scheme to meet the housing needs of urban India," the finance ministry said in a post on X. This meeting was part of a series of ongoing reviews with Ministries and Departments that have significant capex allocations in the Union Budget.For the financial year 2024-25, a budgetary allocation of Rs 28,628 crore has been earmarked for capital expenditure. During the meeting, the Finance Minister emphasized the need for timely and efficient utilisation of these funds. Sitharaman also impressed upon the officials of the Urban Affairs Ministry to ensure that the capex target for FY 2024-25 is met within the stipulated time frame and that the entire budgeted amount is fully utilised by the end of the financial year. Sitharaman also emphasised the importance of urban transport, urging officials to meet capex targets allocated for Metro Rail and the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).
 

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Chennai civic body yet to act on 387 diplapidated buildings

The Greater Chennai Corporation is yet to act on 387 dilapidated buildings in the city which it surveyed with the CMDA in 2022. Though notices were issued to a hundred buildings, none of them have been demolished yet. As a result, the city continues to have dilapidated buildings with peeled-off concrete, exposed reinforcement steels and cracked roofs waiting to fall. The affected buildings are located on the Seventh Main Road in Anna Nagar, in Collector Nagar on the Ambattur Estate Road and in George Town. Santhome Housing Board tenements are also affected. Tamil Nadu Urban Local Body Rules 2020, the GCC is supposed to carry out structural stability assessments with its engineers and renew the structural stability certificates for old buildings. Officials said in dilapidated housing board colonies, residents have already tied up with private builders to demolish and reconstruct. " But  demolition does not take place, either because of compensation delays from builders or because of project approval delays. Owners have let out these dilapidated buildings for rent till the buildings are reconstructed. We have issued around 80 notices in North Chennai zones over the last year in these cases," said an official. The corporation would soon begin a fresh survey of dilapidated buildings..
 

Noida NMCR offers three commercial plots near Okhla Bird Sanctuary station

Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMCR) has issued an expression of interest (EOI) for the commercial development of three plots toataling  44,151 sqm near Okhla Bird Sanctuary metro station. These plots, located close to high-rise buildings like Supertech's Supernova and educationn instituations like Amity University, are available for development. Currently, NMCR operates Aqca Line, which stretches 29.7 km from Sector 51 to Depot Station in Greater Noida. Since 51 to Depot Station in greater Noida. Since its lunched in Jan 2019, the line has experienced a notable increase in daily ridership, growth from 18,000 passengers in 2019 to 55,000 in 2024. The corporation said that it owns properties adjacent to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary metro station. In the EOI document, NMRC emphasised the need for sustainable project operation through innovative revenue strategies and project structuring. EOI process aims to attract experienced firms, developers, and institutions with proven expertise in commercial real estate development, including project management, financing, marketing, design, leasing, and management. The plots are designated for commercial use by the Noida Master Plan and Noida Building Byelaws 2010, with a lease period of up to 60 years from the execution date. Developers are expected to design buildings to last 100 years or more.

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Punjab and Haryana HC stalls construction in Palam Vihar after RWA petition

The Punjab and Haryana high court has sought a response from the state govt over the construction of additional flats and floors in residential buildings in Palam Vihar C-2 Block in violation of the Haryana Building Code Regulations, following a petition from the local resident welfare association (RWA). Despite previous sealing by department of town and country planning (DTPE), the buildings were illegally de-sealed, leading to an FIR. Justices Arun Palli and Vikram Agarwal issued an order to halt further construction on the building and sought a response from various govt departments by Oct 28. Jointly filed by a local resident Ravi Bhardwaj and 15 others, the petition flagged around a dozen flats — 979B, 921, 922, 924, 935, 913, 951, 956, 1251, 1226, and 1310 — in C-2 Block of the colony were four-storey buildings with stilt parking, and had four flats on each floor. It urged the court to address violations related to electricity, sewer and water supply services. It stressed that failure to enforce action would set a dangerous precedent for other colonies.
 

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Nisus Finance, BCD Group raises rs 450 crore for Debut fund

Real estate credit fund Nisus Finance, along with its sponsor and strategic partner BCD Group, has raised rs 450 crore for its maiden fund. The firm expects to close the final fundraising for its Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund-1 by the end of this financial year. We are in the process of raising Rs 150 crore and have seen a very high response from our existing and new investors. There is a need for last-mile construction finance, with many projects still stuck in the completion phase," said Amit Goenka, managing director and chief executive of Nisus Finance. The firm has so far invested Rs 450 crore across four deals from RESO-1, managed by Nisus BCD Advisors LLP, with a total corpus of Rs 700 crore. Recently, the firm invested Rs 60 crore through listed non-convertible debentures in a late-stage residential development, Project High Cliff, in Bengaluru, followed by about Rs 105 crore in Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate's wholly owned subsidiary, Suvita Real Estate, towards a 12.16-acre land parcel in the Manjari-Budruk locality of Pune. The fund's objective is to invest in mid-income, affordable housing and plotted development projects to realise value through capital in a special situation fund. The fund aims for an internal rate of return of 18-22% over a five-year period, with the possibility of extending for an additional two years. It focuses on generating substantial alpha while ensuring a well-mitigated risk profile and sufficient asset backing. 
 

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BMC floats tender for commercial hub at Mumbai Dahisar

The BMC has floated a tender for over Rs 1,481 crore for constructing a transportation and commercial hub at the site of the Dahisar octroi naka. The hub will be built on a 18,604 sqft m plot and will accommodate approximately 450 interstate buses and 1,400 cars. Additionally, it will feature recreational and retail spaces, banquet halls, star hotels, as well as areas for app-based cabs and taxis. According to the BMC's budget document, the primary goal of the hub at Dahisar, and a similar one at Mankhurd, is to provide an integrated bus terminus. This will connect to the city's other transport modes, such as BEST buses and the Metro, while ensuring that intercity and interstate buses terminate at the city's entry points to reduce traffic congestion. A traffic survey was conducted at all five toll nakas in Mumbai to determine the volume of buses entering and exiting the city daily. To maximize the potential of the plot, the BMC plans to develop commercial and office spaces to generate revenue and ensure the project's sustainability. Following the implementation of GST in 2017, octroi was abolished, freeing up BMC land previously used for octroi collection points and project's sustainability.Following the implementation of GST in 2017, octroi was abolished, freeing up BMC land previously used for octroi collection points and offices. The BMC is exploring options for smaller bus services or vehicles to transport passengers from the hub to their final destinations in the city. Harish Pandey, an activist and Dahisar resident, welcomed the initiative, saying, "This is a good idea as it will reduce congestion in the city." The BMC had previously declined to transfer the Dahisar and Mankhurd octroi naka lands to the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority (DRA). According to documents obtained through an RTI request by activist Sagar Devre, in a letter to the state, BMC chief Bhushan Gagrani explained that the plots were needed for civic projects. 
 

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Birla Estate buys 24.5 acre land in Mumbai for rs 537.42 crore

Birla Estates, the real estate venture of the Aditya Birla Group, has bought around 24.5 acre land in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for Rs 537.42 crore, according to real estate consultant Square Yards. The plot is located at Kalwa, along the Thane-Belapur Road. The registration document, reviewed by Square Yards, indicates that Ekamaya Property Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Birla Estates Private Limited, acquired the 99,021.47 square meter (~24.5 acres) land parcel," the company said in a statement. The transaction, finalized in September 2024, involved the purchase from Hindalco Industries Limited. The deal included a stamp duty of Rs 37.61 crore and a registration fee of Rs 30,000, it added. Earlier this month, Birla Estates Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Century Textiles and Industries Limited, had informed that it has acquired land from Hindalco Industries Limited. The company would develop a mixed use project on this plot.
 

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