<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48435909.cms" /> 300 seems to be the magic number these days. And guess, who has achieved this milestone recently—the<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=real+estate"> real-estate market</a> major <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Magicbricks">Magicbricks</a>, <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> and Group M that is. They had recently organized an online sale by the name The Great Online Homes Festival (GOHF), and it had been a huge success. The organizers could manage to fetch over 500 bookings for properties via this sale and their total worth stands at Rs 300 crore.<br />
<br /> The property fair which lasted for 10 days received more than 50 lakh visitors from across India. What surprised the organizers was the fact that new markets, apart from Delhi-NCR participated actively in the event. As per a report released by the organizing company, <keyword id="6354925" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kolkata">Kolkata</keyword> and Hyderabad are growing as new possibility for the real-estate sector. The response from these markets was at par with cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Sudhir+Pai">Magicbrics CEO Sudhir Pai</a> in a statement said, "The successful conclusion of GOHF marks an important milestone for the <keyword id="597723" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-real-estate-sector">Indian real estate sector</keyword>. We are overwhelmed by the record-breaking response from customers, which signals a paradigm shift in the customer psyche so far as the decision of online property purchase is concerned. Hopefully, the momentum generated by GOHF will impart the much-needed impetus for improved sales in the <keyword id="6354553" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="real-estate">real estate</keyword> sector in the days ahead."<br />
  <br /> In addition to this, the fair received queries from across India, especially from the cities like Bhopal and Coimbatore in addition to Delhi NCR. <keyword id="806482" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nitin-Bawankule">Nitin Bawankule</keyword>, Industry Director, <keyword id="45395" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-India">Google India</keyword> in a statement said, “Real estate purchase journey today begin on the Internet and over the last two years we have seen great traction amongst buyers willing to make purchases online for their dream homes. Success of Great Online House Festival by Magicbricks reiterates, that Internet can unlock the value by overcoming the inefficiencies in the offline model and offering rich, meaningful and immersive experience to real estate buyers on the Internet in both domestic tier 1, tier 2 cities and NRI audiences."<br />
<br />
The online fair showcased properties available in different prices starting from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 2 crore with exclusive deals.  While queries were generate across all price ranges, online bookings were primarily seen for those ranging between Rs 40 - 80 lakh.<br />
 <br /> <keyword id="368491" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sachin-Agarwal">Sachin Agarwal</keyword>, Chairman &amp; Managing Director<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=+Maple+Group"> Maple Group</a> said that he was extremely delighted with the response that he received from the GOHF.  He said, "In a short span of 10 days we sold 40 flats and some more are in discussion for closure for the most upcoming areas of Wagholi Annexe &amp; Chakan Taelgaon projects. We are very surprised that many buyers are from Delhi and Mumbai too, and glad that GOHF took our properties to a national level".<br />
 <br />
To maintain its leadership position in the market, Magicbricks has announced a slew of strategic measures in the last few months. Various initiatives such as a high-decibel Media campaign, including associate sponsorship in IPL, launch of new sections on the website such as Advice and Map Search, have all helped Magicbricks take a clear lead in its category.<br />
<br />
<em>Image: thinkstock </em><br />


Guess who has raked in Rs 300 crore from bookings? No, we are not talking about Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4e98989369beddc92700000d-553-415/closed-2.jpg?maxX=400&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="closed come again later" width="400" height="300" /></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/khawkins04/5476143309/sizes/z/in/photostream/">By khawkins04 on Flickr</a></p></div><keyword id="969854" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Posterous">Posterous</keyword>, a blogging service acquired by <keyword id="6354616" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> last year, is <a href="http://blog.posterous.com/thanks-from-posterous">shutting down at the end of April</a>.</p>
<p>When Twitter acquired Posterous, the information-sharing network made it clear that it was buying the company for the team, <a href="http://blog.twitter.com/2012/03/welcoming-posterous-team-to-flock.html">not the product</a>.</p>
<p>Tellingly, Twitter's corporate blog remained hosted by Google's Blogger after the Posterous acquisition. (Twitter cofounder Ev Williams previously created Blogger and sold it to Google.)</p>
<p>Posterous CEO <keyword id="368491" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sachin-Agarwal">Sachin Agarwal</keyword> became a key player in Twitter's recent launch of new photo-sharing features. <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The Posterous site experienced outages late last year, which some viewed as possibly due to the team's focus on other projects.</span></p>
<p>One curiosity: We learned that Twitter COO <keyword id="1411066" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ali-Rowghani">Ali Rowghani</keyword> served on the board of Posterous after the acquisition, according to a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-ireland-filing-mystery-companies-2013-1">recent filing by a Twitter subsidiary in Ireland</a>. That makes us wonder if Twitter was preserving Posterous's corporate existence while looking to sell the service to someone while retaining its team. (That said, it may well have been a legal formality.)</p>

Twitter Is Shutting Down Posterous, A Site For Blogging

New Delhi, May 11 () Packaging services provider <keyword id="2947488" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bizongo">Bizongo</keyword> on Monday said it has delivered more than two lakh <keyword id="2493103" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="personal-protective-equipment">personal protective equipment</keyword> (PPE) kits across India as part of its contribution in the fight against coronavirus pandemic.These PPEs were distributed in 5,500 localities, servicing 127 organisations spread in 57 urban and rural centres across the country. The recipients of the kits include public and private healthcare service providers, NGOs and private sector organisations, Bizongo said in a statement.<br /><br />"Bizongo worked with NGOs like HT Parekh Foundation, ATE <keyword id="8979806" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="chandra-foundation">Chandra Foundation</keyword>, Piramal Swasthya, Foundation for Ecological Security, Christian Medical Association of India to ensure the critical PPE kits reached a larger number of people at the forefront of fighting COVID-19," its COO Sachin Agarwal said.<br /><br />The company also supplied these safety kits to private enterprises, including Swiggy, BigBasket, <keyword id="8681398" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Urban-Company">Urban Company</keyword>, <keyword id="830092" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zomato">Zomato</keyword> and Shadowfax , which continue to provide essential services during the lockdown, he said.<br /><br />Bizongo has also set up a dedicated taskforce to work round the clock through an online control room to map demand and supply of PPE kits and other essentials using its proprietary digital supply chain services, he added.<br /><br />In the meantime, Agarwal said, "Bizongo continues to supply packaging material to all the essential goods suppliers, including e-com, pharma, diagnostic labs, dairy and food services companies". <br /><br /><em>Correction: Bizongo clarified that did not 'donate' but 'delivered' 2 lakh PPE kits. </em>

Bizongo delivered over 2 lakh PPE kits in fight against coronavirus

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47646929.cms" />

	<br /> <keyword id="6354616" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword>atis have a reason to cheer. Twitter will do away with its 140-character limit from its direct messaging feature, a move that will allow people to send longer private messages to their friends.<br />
	<br />
	Nevertheless, the tweets will continue to be have the 140-character limit.  on tweets will remain in place. <br />
	<br />
	"We've done a lot to improve Direct Messages over the past year and have much more exciting work on the horizon. One change coming in July that we want to make you aware of now (and first!) is the removal of the 140 character limit in Direct Messages," Twitter Product Manager (Direct Messages) Sachin Agarwal said in a blogpost for developers in the ET report. <br />
	<br />
	He added, “You may be wondering what this means for the public side of Twitter. Nothing! Tweets will continue to be the 140 characters they are today.”


Know why you can send longer messages on Twitter
now<b></b>

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5579edcef7b1052a318b4ced-559-419/afp-twitter-youtube-instagram-work-on-stealth-advertising.jpg" alt="Twitter, YouTube and Instagram are slipping in some stealthy ads camouflaged to look like posts from listed contacts in order to make money without losing users" data-mce-source="© AFP/File Leon Neal" data-mce-caption="Twitter, YouTube and Instagram are slipping in some stealthy ads camouflaged to look like posts from listed contacts in order to make money without losing users" /><p class="source"><span>© AFP/File Leon Neal</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Everything on Twitter has always been limited to 140 characters. It's a fundamental restriction that's made the social network unique from its inception. But now things are changing.</p><p>There are two kinds of ways you can communicate on Twitter: public tweets that anyone who follows you can see, and private direct messages to specific accounts.</p><p>Starting in July, Twitter will remove the 140 character restriction for direct messages.</p><p>Twitter Product Manager Sachin Agarwal announced the change today in a <a href="https://twittercommunity.com/t/removing-the-140-character-limit-from-direct-messages/41348">message on the company's website for developers</a>.</p><p>Does this mean regular tweets will soon be more than 140 characters? According to Agarwal, no changes are planned for removing the character limit elsewhere.</p><p>Still, it's a curious change to the way Twitter has always worked. Group direct messages were <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2015/now-on-twitter-group-direct-messages-and-mobile-video-capture">introduced earlier this year</a>, which allow multiple people to have a private conversation.</p><p>We've reached out to Twitter to see what the new character limit for DMs will be. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/twitters-ipo-on-the-nyse-2013-11">What It Was Like On The Trading Floor During Twitter's IPO</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/MDlhYjRhYmQyMjA2NWM2Yzg4YTJkYzcz"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="phamt4ZzpxeEsH-ezdBXWahE3cdQ6_dg" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'phamt4ZzpxeEsH-ezdBXWahE3cdQ6_dg',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Twitter just made a huge change to one of its core features

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47814417.cms" /><keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">Prime Minister</keyword> <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> launched two of his pet projects—100 <keyword id="6377036" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="smart-cities">Smart Cities</keyword>, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (<keyword id="29369" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amrut">AMRUT</keyword>) and Housing for All 2020 on Thursday with much fanfare. And while these are definitely are game changers, executing these projects is also a Herculean task.<br />
<br />
“There are so many challenges that we have to overcome. Lack of basic amenities, disconnect between the state authorities and the communities as well as inefficient use of resources, needs to be addressed,” said renowned environmentalist GK Bhat, chairman of Taru, Leading Edge Pvt. Ltd, a trans-disciplinary management consultancy that has been working on India’s development challenges. <br />
<br />
He added that at present in mega cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, there are several basic infrastructural issues that need to be addressed. “Even in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, there are several existing issues that need to be addressed before we can think of building. So, if such issues are not resolved, then how can we build smart cities,” explained Bhat.<br />
<br />
Sachin Agarwal, chairman and managing director of Maple Shelters, had said sometime back that the current trends indicate that the next 10-12 years, the number of low-income urban dwellers will surge over 106 million. “Throughout, India will continue to figure among the most housing-challenged nations unless the government delivers on its electoral promise to make housing for all a reality. The difference between what most households can afford to pay for a home without spending more than 30% of their income and cost of an acceptable normal housing unit is called the affordability gap. Needless to say, the affordable urban housing gap will only increase as urban populations grow,” he noted.<br />
<br /> However, Shubhranshu Pani, managing director, <keyword id="17408" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="infrastructure">Infrastructure</keyword> Services at JLL India begs to differ. He said that the fact the project got launched is a sign that the government is serious about implementing these crucial projects.<br />
<br />
“It is definitely ambitious but also much needed projects. The government, which will pump in Rs 2 lakh crore for the project has very carefully phase its investments,” Pani averred.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, while there is much excitement about the projects, there are still many red flags that the government needs to address before PM Modi’s dream of Housing for All by 2022 is fulfilled. Until then, let’s wait and watch! 

PM
Modi’s Smart Cities, Housing for All is smart but ambitious!

<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4fd216ca69bedde03800000a-662-496/executioner-2.jpg?maxX=400&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="Lego Executioner" width="400" height="300" /></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54459164@N00/6775686367/">Johnson Cameraface</a></p></div><keyword id="6354616" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword>, the global network for short bursts of information, is </span><a href="http://www.crashlytics.com/blog/crashlytics-is-joining-forces-with-twitter/">buying a startup</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, <keyword id="1772698" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Crashlytics">Crashlytics</keyword>, that tracks when bad code causes apps to fail abruptly.</span></p>
<p>Notably, it appears to be leaving Crashlytics alone. TechCrunch <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/28/twitter-acquires-crash-reporting-tool-crashalytics-development-of-the-product-will-continue-unabated/">reports</a> that Twitter is not relocating the team from Cambridge, Mass. to Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, and allowing it to continue to serve other customers like Yelp and Waze.</p>
<p>Twitter uses Crashlytics in its own app, as well as <keyword id="1535994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vine">Vine</keyword>, a recently launched app for sharing short, simply edited videos.</p>
<p>Which brings us to an interesting point: Is Twitter changing its <keyword id="30334" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="acquisition">acquisition</keyword> strategy?</p>
<p>Twitter has primarily bought pieces of its own ecosystem, bringing in-house functions previously developed by third-party developers. Summize, a search engine for tweets, and Tweetie, the basis of Twitter's iPhone client, are prominent examples. Those deals have been largely successful, allowing Twitter users to find tweets and use Twitter-branded <keyword id="383661" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mobile-Apps">mobile apps</keyword>.</p>
<p>It has also bought startups for their talent. Mixer Labs, a location-software startup; Posterous, a blogging platform akin to Tumblr; and Bagcheck, a list-sharing site, are two examples. Those results have been more mixed:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Mixer Labs CEO Elad Gil stayed for two and a half years, running corporate strategy. He left in May 2012.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Posterous CEO Sachin Agarwal played a key role in Twitter's new photo features.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Bagcheck cofounder Sam Pullara stayed for just a year on Twitter's engineering team.</span></li>
</ul>
<p>With Crashlytics and Vine, Twitter is setting a new pattern: Buying startups and leaving them alone to develop products in Twitter's safe nest.</p>
<p>The model here is Google's acquisition of Android and YouTube, which it ran for years as standalone divisions.</p>
<p>Twitter's motives may vary deal by deal. As a Crashlytics customer, it may not have wanted the startup to end up in the hands of hostile rivals like Google or Facebook, who surely wouldn't mind learning about the ins and outs of Twitter's mobile-app code.</p>
<p>Vine, on the other hand, seems to have simply charmed Twitter's leaders with the premise of a new art form, a video version of Twitter's 140-character tweets.</p>
<p>But whatever the specific reasoning to buy a company, it's very interesting that Twitter's breaking from the acquire-hire pattern of buying startups and crushing what makes them unique.</p>

You Searched For "Sachin Agarwal" and got 7 results

Guess who has raked in Rs 300 crore from bookings? No, we are not talking about Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan

BI India Bureau

Twitter Is Shutting Down Posterous, A Site For Blogging

Owen Thomas

Bizongo delivered over 2 lakh PPE kits in fight against coronavirus

PTI

Know why you can send longer messages on Twitter now

BI India Bureau

Twitter just made a huge change to one of its core features

Alex Heath

PM Modi’s Smart Cities, Housing for All is smart but ambitious!

Purba Das

Twitter Is Buying A Startup, Crashlytics, And Not Killing It Off For A Change

Owen Thomas