Economy

How do unemployment, inflation and economic inequality affect the lives of urban residents? How does government policy impact local economies and livelihoods of the people? Gain insights into these through community stories, reports on urban economic trends and developments as well as expert commentary.

In Part 2 of this series, we looked at the kind of documents you need to scrutinise while buying any property in Bengaluru. In addition to these documents, you need to verify some specific documents while buying different types of property such as apartments, BDA sites, land with agricultural past, etc. In this article, we look at these requirements. Documents for scrutiny before buying apartments i. Joint development agreement & GPA In recent times, the most popular method for building apartments is by way of a Joint Development agreement (JDA). This is an agreement signed between the landowner and the…

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Punkaj Bajaj, who retired as CEO and MD of Steel Authority of India’s Durgapur Steel Plant, thought he had all the time to finish the renovation work  of his  8th floor two bedroom apartment, in time for his son’s wedding slated for end April. Familiar with the ways of labour and  everything else that such renovation entails, Bajaj had factored in four days to break the old mosaic floor and lay new vitrified tiles in the living room of his flat built by the Ghaziabad Development Authority almost 30 years ago. With that calculation, Bajaj got the old floor of the living…

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Representational image: Ramesh Meda/(CC BY 2.0) Reviewed by Prabhakar Shetty, practising advocate at the Karnataka High Court Before buying any property, you need to investigate all documents provided by the current property owner, and authenticate these with the agencies issuing the documents. There are two kinds of documents to check for — primary and secondary documents of title. Primary documents of title are the most essential as they show the ownership history of the property being sold. Some of the secondary documents of title help corroborate the information mentioned in the primary documents. The other secondary documents help the buyer…

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If you are considering buying a home or a flat, always check that the land it is standing on has been classified as 'for residential use'. This simple check can save a lot of hassle later. Pic: Rameshng/Wikimedia Commons Reviewed by Prabhakar Shetty, practising advocate at the Karnataka High Court Buying property in Bengaluru can be confusing and risky - there are multiple authorities for land use approvals, obscure rules, and the finer details are often missed out. In this article, we explain what buyers and investors should know about different land types and the authorities regulating each. Following are…

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Manoj Kumar, 34, had lost his job even before the lockdown. With car sales taking a steep dip due to the pandemic, Manoj, a sales agent in the car loan section of the Kotak Mahindra group in Ghaziabad, was not among the lucky few who were offered leave without pay or the option of staying on with a steep pay cut. Initially optimistic about being able to find another job, Manoj soon found his hopes dashed by the countrywide lockdown. “I would read every article on how to make a living in the times of COVID, read posts or watch…

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கொரோனா கட்டுப்பாட்டு விதிமுறையால் மிக மோசமாக பாதிக்கப்பட்ட தரப்பினரின் வரிசையில் முன்னணியில் இருப்பவர்கள் பூ வியாபாரத்தோடு சம்மந்தப்பட்டவர்கள் தான் என்பதை நாம் அறிய முடிந்தது. ஏனெனில், காய்கறி போன்றவைகள் கூட அன்றாட வாழ்க்கையில் தவிர்க்க முடியா பயன்பாட்டுப் பொருட்களானதால்  குடியிருப்புகளுக்கு எடுத்து சென்று  விற்பனை செய்யவாவது முடிந்தது. ஆனால், பூக்களின் பயன்பாடு இல்லாது போனதால் அதில் ஈடுபட்ட பல நிலைகளில் உள்ளவர்களுக்கும்  முற்றிலும் வருவாய் நின்று போனது. இந்த அளவு ஆனதற்கு காரணம் மலரையும் மாலைகளையும் பயன்படுத்தும் ஆலயங்களும் விழாமண்டபங்களும் மூடப்பட்டது மட்டுமின்றி மக்கள் வெளியில் செல்லாத்தால் வீடுகளில் கூட பூ வாங்க தேவையின்றி போனதும் தான்.  பூக்களின் தேவையை அதிகமாகக் கொண்டிருந்த ஆலயங்கள் ஐந்து மாதங்களுக்குப் பிறகு தற்போது திறக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாலும், விழா மண்டபங்கள் ஒரு சில விதிமுறைகளுடன் இயங்க அனுமதிக்கப்பட்ட நிலையாலும் கூடவே மக்கள் நடமாட்டமும் இயல்பாகி வருவதாலும்   இவர்களின் வாழ்வு இயல்புக்கு திரும்புமா என காணலாம். சிறிது…

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Until about four months back, if one were to walk through the small by-lanes of the Savda Ghevra resettlement colony in North-west Delhi, it was common to find women sitting at their doorsteps alone or in groups, assembling toys from sacks of colourful plastic pieces. Others would be deftly cutting out sandal straps from long rubber sheets and bunching them up in sets of a dozen pairs each, while again others would be doing intricate bead work in a manner that seemed almost effortless. With the onset of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown measures announced to curb spread, they can no…

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On August 19, 2020, Axis Bank, one of India’s leading private sector banks, announced that they are exploring a ‘Gig-a-Opportunities’ mandate: the company has 85,000 full time employees but over the next three years, 15% of their incremental hiring will be based on alternative models of working, said the Bank. This may be new for India but approximately 150 million workers in North America and Western Europe have left the relatively comfortable existence in a corporation to a life as independent contractors. It is possible that some of them did not have a choice, but all of them seem to be…

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The infamous evening traffic jams during rush hour in OMR seem like a thing of the past. The lockdown imposed on account of COVID-19 and the subsequent directives by many firms to work from home have made the once bustling area -- commonly dubbed as Chennai’s IT corridor -- deserted, with only local residents seemingly still around. The area resembles a ghost town in many parts. Customers -- mostly employees who would take breaks over a cup of tea -- at the tea shops that had come up outside the big office buildings have vanished. Restaurants and take-out services have…

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A recent news report talked about the custodian of an apartment complex in Kundalahalli making a “one month rent free’ offer” to attract prospective tenants. In a city where home-owners demand deposits at least three times higher than in other Metros, the Kundalahalli offer -- even if sceptics see it as a marketing gimmick -- is a big climb-down for house owners. The advertisement is, in fact, reflective of Bengaluru's current market slump in home rentals. Realtors and home owners are unable to find tenants, owing to a reverse migration of the working population to their home towns, cities and…

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