(Eds: Combining related stories) New Delhi, May 1 () India will now be under lockdown till May 17 with a complete ban on air travel, trains and inter-state road transport for the general public while educational institutions, theatres, malls, hotels and bars will also remain shut, the government announced on Friday but gave some relaxations for various business activities and people's movement within areas with limited or no COVID-19 cases. The decision to extend the lockdown by two more weeks after May 3, when the second phase of these restrictions was scheduled to end, came amid a continuous rise in the number of people testing positive for the deadly virus infection across various states, including in major metropolitans, with the nationwide tally crossing 35,000. The death toll has crossed 1,100. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown from May 25, which was later extended by two more weeks to contain the virus spread. However, several experts have cautioned that the lockdown is severely impacting economy and many rating agencies and industry bodies have forecast a sharp dip in the country's economic growth rate for the current fiscal with a few even estimating an overall GDP decline. All major urban centres including Delhi and Mumbai have been identified as 'red zones' or areas with large numbers of cases and therefore not much relaxations would be applicable to them beyond already permitted ones for those involved in essential services. Special trains also began operating during the day, which also happened to be the Labour Day, to help lakhs of migrant workers stranded for over a month at various urban centres due to the lockdown with many of them having rendered jobless and homeless, reach their native places, including in different states. Separately, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat announced at a special press brieing, along with the three service chiefs, that the armed forces will express their gratitude to all "corona warriors" on Sunday by conducting fly-pasts, showering petals on hospitals treating COVID-19 patients and illuminating naval vessels. Besides, the Army will conduct mountain band displays along some COVID-19 hospitals in almost every district. Rawat also said it is not proper to conclude that the novel coronavirus outbreak is a result of biological warfare. US President Donald Trump had earlier said that the deadly virus originated from a virology lab in China's Wuhan city before it spread across the world and claimed over 233,000 lives and shattered global economies. But Trump's comments undercut a rare public statement from his own intelligence community, which stated no such assessment has been made by them whether the COVID-19 outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan. While several countries including Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand, Austria and various states of the US have begun easing their respective lockdowns, India has decided to implement the third phase of its own lockdown, while providing specific relaxations to less affected and 'virus-free' areas by classifying districts and cities into red, orange and green zones. But, some activities will remain prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the zone, and these include air travel, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training hospitality services, cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes, as per an order issued by the Union Home Ministry. All social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings and religious places or places of worship for public will also remain shut, the order said. Outside the containment zone falling within red zones, certain more activities are prohibited in addition to those banned throughout the country and these include plying of cycle rickshaws and auto-rickshaws, running of taxis and cab aggregators, intra-district and inter-district plying of buses, as also barber shops, spas and saloons. Activities allowed in red zones with restrictions would include movement of individuals and vehicles for permitted activities, with a maximum of two persons (besides the driver) in four-wheelers and with no pillion rider in two-wheelers. Industrial establishments in urban areas including Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Export Oriented Units (EOUs), industrial estates and industrial townships with access control have been permitted. Construction activities in urban areas will be limited to in-situ construction (where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside) and construction of renewable energy projects. Shops in urban areas, for non-essential goods, are not allowed in malls, markets and market complexes. However, all standalone shops, neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction of essential and non-essential. E-Commerce activities in red zones are permitted only for essential goods. Private offices can operate with up to 33 per cent strength as per requirement, with the remaining persons working from home. All government offices can function with senior officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above at full strength, and up to one-third of remaining staff. Commercial and private establishments allowed in red zones include print and electronic media, IT and IT enabled services, data and call centres, cold storage and warehousing services, private security and facility management services, and services provided by self-employed persons, except for barbers. In orange zones, taxis and cab aggregators will also be permitted with one driver and one passenger only, while inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles will be allowed for permitted activities only. Four-wheeler vehicles will have maximum two passengers besides the driver and pillion riding will be allowed on two-wheelers. In green zones, all activities are permitted except those prohibited throughout the country irrespective of the zone. However buses and bus depots can operate with maximum 50 per cent capacity. Earlier in the day, the Union Health Ministry listed 130 districts in the country in red zone, 284 in orange zone and 319 in green zone. This classification of districts is to be followed by states and UTs till May 10 and the will be revised on a weekly basis or earlier if required, Major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have been designated as red zones in the new classification. A district will be considered under green zone if there has been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far or there is no reported case since last 21 days in the district. Red zone districts are those considered to be infection 'hotspots', decided on the basis of number of active cases, doubling rate of confirmed cases and extent of testing and surveillance feedback. Districts which are neither defined as a red or green zone, would be considered as an orange zone. The Health Ministry also said India has ramped up production of COVID-19 protective gears and medical equipment to reduce its dependence on foreign countries for these items which are in high demand globally due to the pandemic. In its evening update, the Ministry said the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India has risen to 35,365 with 1,152 deaths, while 9,065 people have so far recovered. ACB SKL MPB ASK PLB BJBJ

COVID-19: Lockdown extended for two more weeks; 'Considerable relaxations' for safer zones

New Delhi, Dec 8 () US-based realty firm Hines plans to invest USD 500 million in India to develop new commercial and housing projects as it sees great opportunities for growth despite slowdown in the property market, a top company official said.
 Hines is a global real estate investment firm with a presence in 219 cities across 23 countries. It entered India in 2006 and has so far invested USD 400 million equity for the development of six projects, of which two are already completed.
 "Asia and India is a focus market for us. We would love to invest USD 500 million in India over the next several years," said Laura Hines-Pierce, Managing Director and Chief Transformation Officer, Hines.
 She represents the third generation of Hines family. Gerald D. Hines is the founder and Chairman of the American firm.
 Hines Chief Investment Officer (Asia) Lee Timmins said: "We have a long-term and very positive view on Indian real estate. India is a great growth story but there will be bumps on the road."
 "Some of the problems that exist in Indian real estate market, it is our advantage," said Timmins, who is also the CEO of Eurasia region.
 Housing market might be under stress but office space leasing is strong in India, he said, adding that the company would adopt a careful approach in picking right partners and right locations for projects development. 
 Timmins said the company would continue to focus on developing and making investment in office and residential projects in medium term but could explore opportunities in retail and logistics/warehousing projects in the long term.
 Hines would make investment in acquiring projects across major cities and at the same time could also divest certain leased assets, Timmins said. 
 Elaborating more, Hines India MD and Country Head Amit Diwan said the company is open to developing projects under all models -- outright purchase, joint venture, joint development agreement and development management for fee. 
 The company is looking to certainly add 4-6 projects in the next three years. It is already in active discussion for three projects in development management model.
 "We are looking at growth. The number of developers operating in India has declined substantially. There is a mayhem in the market. So there is a great opportunity for us to scale up our operations," Diwan said. 
 In India, Hines has completed two prime office complex projects in Gurugram, including 'One Horizon Centre' in joint venture with realty major DLF.
 At present, three housing projects are under construction. It has partnered with Tata Housing to develop 750 flats in a housing project 'Serein' in Mumbai.
 Another 1050 apartments are under construction in 'Parkwest' housing project in Bengaluru, being developed in partnership with Shapoorji and Pallonji Real Estate.
 Hines has also formed a joint venture with Conscient Infrastructure to develop a luxury housing project 'Elevate' in Gurugram with an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore.
 Hines and Conscient have together put in Rs 500 crore equity fund into the JV for development of housing project 'Elevate'. The JV will develop 556 apartments, to be initially sold in a price range of Rs 2.2-4 crore.
 Diwan said these three housing projects would be completed by 2023-24.
 Moreover, Hines in March this year had acquired 33 per cent stake in DLF's upcoming commercial project in Gurugram in a deal size estimated at around Rs 650 crore.
 DLF and Hines would jointly develop a prime commercial project on 11.76 acre land parcel in Gurugram that was bought for nearly Rs 1,500 crore through e-auction conducted by the Haryana government in February 2018.
 "This projects with has a size of 3.6 million sq ft is under design stage currently," Diwan said.
 Hines has already exited from its first commercial project Skyview Corporate Park which it has developed in partnership with Shyam Telecom.
 The US-based firm is looking to sell its stake in the office building 'One Horizon Centre' in Gurugram. MJH MR
MR

US-based Hines to invest USD 500mn on new projects

Imagine walking into a residential complex, software park and corporate office, picking up goods from a store, and dropping money into a box. Nobody to even collect your money. If you don’t have enough money today, you can always come back later and pay, and unlike the local banya, nobody judges you! In the man’s own words, ‘no one’s watching, except the Almighty’. In the age of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=business+automation&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">business automation</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=high-tech+security&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">high-tech security</a>, this seems too good to be true. Fun fact, it’s working. 
 <keyword id="2577790" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="iD-Fresh-Food">iD Fresh Food</keyword>, a ready-to-eat food company founded by IIM-B alum <keyword id="3214439" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="PC-Musthafa">PC Musthafa</keyword> has been in the news for its revolutionary iD Trust Shop it rolled out in Bangalore. The company has 17 Trust Shops across Bengaluru, and will be launching them in Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai in about a week and around 1000 Trust stores in the coming 6 months. 
 
Musthafa says this alternate model struck him by February end, and by March 11th he launched the first store. As incredible as it might sound, people are paying! 
 
“Collection rates are close to 90%. On some days it’s over 100%. The beauty of the model is that you can pay later, so some day you pay in parts. We hope people remember, and pay for it, and they do”, Musthafa says. 
 
What happens if the collection is below 100%, does he plan to keep it going at a loss? Musthafa argues there will be no loss. “Our products are sold at MRP. Whatever margins there are, we’re passing it onto the retailer. Whatever the amount not paid for may be, the retailer margin is always more than it. This is actually better than the traditional retailer model”, he says. 
 
When asked about funding Musthafa is non-chalant. “I don’t need funding. It’ll make money in itself. This is a sustainable business model. I’m not losing money, so I don’t have to ask for more!” he says. 
 <keyword id="3323332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="iD-Fresh">iD Fresh</keyword> is backed by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Helion+Ventures&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Helion Ventures</a>, and claims to have crossed Rs 100 crores in revenues last fiscal, and is targeting Rs 250 crores in 2016-17. 
 
<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/r8daFczG9bQ/maxresdefault.jpg">Image Source</a>

Meet PC Musthafa, the IIM-B alum
who brought ‘trust’ into his iD Fresh Foods retail business

By most measures 2015 has been a great year for India. <keyword id="22195" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Inflation">Inflation</keyword>, <keyword id="6358907" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="unemployment">unemployment</keyword>, foreign direct investment, and growth are headed in the right direction. Prime Minister Modi’s first year has had critics yet optimism still dominates. 
 
If you’re young (at heart!), love innovation and realise the potential of technology to add value for India, the air reverberates with excitement. While global investment flows into the country, bold and successful scientific ventures like India’s mission to Mars demonstrate that limited resources can produce superlative work. 
 
The people and talent are here too. Sundar Pichai’s rise to become Google’s CEO is like a small,sweet cherry on the cake of evidence that India’s education system is bursting with talent just waiting (or not waiting and dropping out) to make a difference. 
 
For creative, ambitious technologists and problem-solvers few subjects present challenges as intriguingly complex and enticingly daunting as India’s cities. Cities hold 30% of India’s population and account for 58% of its GDP. They are innovation hubs and platforms for bootstrapping your way to success. 
 The <keyword id="6377129" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Government-Of-India">government of India</keyword> recently launched the <keyword id="6361555" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Smart-City-mission">Smart City Mission</keyword> to develop 100 “smart cities” to “act as a lighthouse to other aspiring cities.” 
 
Yet laboratory designed Smart Cities are a different animal than natural cities that are smart. 
Considerable room remains for small and ambitious efforts. Moreover we can realise these 
contributions in a relatively short time-frame. 
 
Public, online data portals present a powerful yet underrated opportunity. In the real estate sector, making key public datasets accessible online could add tremendous value in an important step towards making our cities smarter. That data is already officially ‘public’, the intention just needs to be executed through intelligent technology. 
 
City and state governments can start by publishing the following datasets online: 
 
‘Ready Reckoner’ or Circle Rates 
Official government ‘Ready Reckoner’ rates establish minimum property values in each city locality. Updated annually, they determine the stamp and registration duties paid when a buyer registers her property and influence the disbursement of mortgages and home loans. The rates are a key input for many real estate decisions. 
 
Most municipalities publish a Ready Reckoner book in print and available locally. Some third-party websites have attempted to digitise that information (e.g. Mumbai’s Ready Reckoner rates). 
 
Property transaction registrations and land records 
According to a 1908 law, a local registration office must register every property sale and purchase. These transaction registrations protect property rights and are officially a public record. 
 
Floor Space Index 
Cities attempt to manage their growth through the Floor Space Index, which sets maximum 
building heights. These regulations restrict new construction and the supply of residential real estate and affect property values and affordable housing. 
 
Home buyers need access to this information to verify whether builders are in compliance and to minimise the risk of their new property being demolished or brought under litigation. Limited information access promotes confusion between builders, civil servants and politicians, ultimately hurting the public and the country. 
 
Making data transparent Public Data Portals are a critical first step for cities that want to be smart. In Chicago, Boston, London, New York, and Singapore they have enabled and catalysed vibrant communities organised around improving their cities. The data powers valuable tools and products that help citizens make better decisions and governments respond more effectively to their populations. We can all eagerly look forward to <keyword id="3123372" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indias-100-Smart-Cities">India’s 100 Smart Cities</keyword>, but in the meantime let’s build the data portals that can make our existing cities that much smarter. 
 
(Image Credits: Indiatimes) 
 

(About the author: Paul Meinshausen is Vice President of Data Science, and Kshitij Batra is Senior Economist at <a href="http://housing.com/">Housing.com</a>)

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COVID-19: Lockdown extended for two more weeks; 'Considerable relaxations' for safer zones

PTI

US-based Hines to invest USD 500mn on new projects

PTI

Meet PC Musthafa, the IIM-B alum who brought ‘trust’ into his iD Fresh Foods retail business

Saikat Pyne

Smarter Cities in India

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