Auto sales continue to be on slow track in September after slight recovery

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Auto sales continue to be on slow track in September after slight recovery

Experts said that the recent policy changes announced by the government have benefited auto manufacturers as sales increased in August, but failed to hold momentum in September.

low consumer sentiment continued to subdue sales performance of the Indian automobile sector in September, as major industry players reported a significant decline in their respective sales figures.

On the flip side, there was some recovery seen in the sales momentum over August 2019, however, market observers said that more time for the recent policy measures to kick-in and extra incentives for consumers need to be given for the growth trend to re-emerge.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the passenger car market leader — Maruti Suzuki India — reported a 24.4 per cent decline in its total vehicle sales, including exports.

A total of 122,640 units, including exports, were sold last month, compared to 162,290 vehicles sold in September 2018.

The auto major’s exports last month were recorded at 7,188 units, 17.8 per cent lower than 8,740 units exported in September 2018.

Similarly, automobile major Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) reported a decline of 8.1 per cent in its overall sales to 57,705 units from 62,757 units sold during September 2018.

The company’s domestic sales edged lower by 14.8 per cent to 40,705 units from 47,781 units. However, exports went up by 13.5 per cent to 17,000 units from 14,976 units shipped abroad in September 2018.

Another automobile major — Tata Motors — reported a 48.02 per cent slump in overall September sales to 36,376 vehicles in domestic and international markets compared to 69,991 units sold in the year-ago period.

The company reported a 50 per cent decline in domestic sales last month to 32,376 units from 64,598 units sold in September 2018.

In case of commercial vehicles, the sales declined by 45.4 per cent to 28,079 units compared to 51,419 units in the year-ago period.

With the ongoing subdued demand, we continued our focus on the system stock correction by driving retail and aligning production,” Girish Wagh, President, Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Retail sales are estimated to be ahead of wholesale figures by over 16 per cent in September and over 27 per cent in the second quarter, reducing stock to a six-quarter low. We are monitoring the impact of the relief package announced by the government, and look forward to improved demand from revival in consumption and spend in infrastructure projects,” Wagh said.

Besides, the company sold 8,097 passenger vehicles last month, which is a decline of 56 per cent over 18,429 units traded during the same period last year.

Further, Mahindra & Mahindra’s overall automotive sales went down 21 per cent in September 2019 to 43,343 vehicles compared to 55,022 vehicles during September 2018.

The company’s domestic sales edged lower by 21 per cent to 40,692 units from 51,268 units, while exports went down by 29 per cent to 2,651 units from 3,754 units shipped abroad in September 2018.

According to Veejay Ram Nakra, Chief of Sales and Marketing, Automotive Division, M&M: “We are positive that this festive season, with the onset of Navratra, will augur well for us and the automotive industry.

“This, in addition to factors such as good monsoon and the recently announced positive government initiatives should help revive the industry in the short term.”

Apart from vehicle manufacturers, the sales of two-wheelers were also heavily dented.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India’s total sales in September 2019 stood at 485,659 units, down from 555,740 units sold during the corresponding month of the previous year.

Hero MotoCorp sold 612,204 units of motorcycles and scooters during the month under review, down from 769,138 units sold during the year-ago period.

On the other hand, Suzuki Motorcycle India registered a YoY sales growth of 2.11 per cent to 73,658 units as compared to the 72,134 units off-take in the same period last year.

Commenting on passenger cars and commercial vehicles segment, Sridhar V., Partner, Grant Thornton India, said: “New introductions have been instrumental in the slight recovery in passenger car sales in September over August, while the YoY numbers indicate the extremely cold nature of the market. The market is yet to see the recovery mode set in.”

Bengaluru Traffic Congestion Could Get Less Painful With Smart AI-Based Signals

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Bengaluru Traffic Congestion Could Get Less Painful With Smart AI-Based Signals

The cameras will read traffic density and change signals in a smart manner

Around 35 traffic signals in the city are currently AI-adaptive

Will this solve traffic and vehicular congestion issues in Bengaluru?

The Indian government is slowly embracing artificial intelligence (AI) in many of its public services. The latest to join the club is the Bengaluru police department, which is all set to roll out AI-based traffic signals at most city junctions.

The initiative is expected to tackle the traffic issue, which is currently one of the biggest problems faced by Bengaluru citizens.

According to the additional commissioner of police, traffic, B R Ravikanthe Gowda, AI-enabled cameras will determine traffic density and calculate the time it would take to clear the particular wave of traffic and accordingly manage the signal lights.

A countdown timer in the AI-enabled device could help vehicles save fuel and will manage the changing of signals for smoother movement. At present, around 35 traffic signals are AI-adaptive, according to the traffic police.

While the plan involves setting up similar cameras at all traffic signals in the city, there has been no timeline announced for the same.

Meanwhile, experts feel shifting completely to AI is going to be a tedious process. “The police must regularly reset the signal at each junction. There is something called coordination of signals and they must be in sync. For instance, when the first signal shows green, the next junction should also switch to green so that vehicles move non-stop,” traffic expert M N Sreehari said in a media interview last month (September 22).

Maruti S-Presso Accessories: Details & Prices

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Maruti S-Presso Accessories: Details & Prices

Maruti’s small offering gets many personalisation options

The Maruti S-Presso has just been launched in India as an entry-level micro-SUV offering priced between Rs 3.69 lakh and Rs 4.91 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). As per the carmaker’s own claim, the S-Presso is aimed at a younger audience and first-time car buyers and Maruti is offering a variety of personalisation options for it.

The S-Presso doesn’t get a whole lot in terms of bells and whistles in its factory-fitted form, even in the top-spec variant. As a result, these accessories present customers with plenty of choices to deck out their small Maruti.

Before we get into the individual options for the Maruti S-Presso, here’re the accessory packages:Energetic Package – Rs 27,490

Available in orange and silver.

Includes: Lining finish seat cover, front, rear and side skid plate, rear upper spoiler (orange), body side moulding (orange), rear bumper bezel garnish(orange), front grille garnish(orange), orange designer mat, boot mat, steering wheel cover, orange cushions, tissue box, number plate garnish, interior styling kit(orange)

after 24-yr-old hyd woman’s death, L&T forms teams to inspect metro structure

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after 24-yr-old hyd woman’s death, L&T forms teams to inspect metro structure

Mounika was killed on September 22 after a piece of concrete fell on her head at the Ameerpet metro station.

In the aftermath of an incident that killed a 24-year-old woman at a metro station in Hyderabad after a portion of the concrete wall collapsed on her, the L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited has constituted six engineering teams to carry on repair works at metro stations in Hyderabad.

Mounika Reddy was killed after a sharp edge of a plaster piece fell on her from a height of nine metres while she was taking shelter from the rains at the Ameerpet station on September 22. Following reports that pointed out substandard quality of items used, Municipal Administration and Urban Development minister KT Rama Rao had ordered an inquiry to check the quality of the metro rail structure.

The quality checks made by six special engineering teams till date have rectified non-structural cracks, surface plaster peel-offs, concrete chip-offs, loose concrete pieces and loose coping stones at metro stations at Balanagar, Parade Grounds, Rasoolpura, Hitec City, Gandhi Bhavan, LB Nagar, Osmania medical college, New market, and Tarnaka.

In a press release issued by the HMRL on Tuesday, NVS Reddy, managing director, HMRL, said, “As directed by MA&UD minister K. T. Rama Rao, I am closely monitoring identification and rectification of repair works of all metro stations and other structures. L&T formed six special engineering teams equipped with boom lifts, floodlights, etc. While overall position of the structures was found to be safe and satisfactory by experienced engineering teams, not taking chances, even minute non-structural cracks are being rectified.”

On September 22, Mounika Reddy and her cousin Lithika had planned to visit a hostel at Ameerpet and had travelled from Kukatpally to Ameerpet by the Hyderabad Metro. Mounika was standing at a pedestrian zone, taking shelter from the rain, when a block of the mortar fell on her head, and she died as she was being taken to a hospital.

After discussions with family members, L&T has offered to pay a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the family of Mounika.

Records Flowing, Allu Arjun Can’t Ask for More

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Records Flowing, Allu Arjun Can’t Ask for More

if you remember, there was a time recently when rumours poured in that all was not well between Allu Arjun and Trivikram Srinivas because tensions arose between Allu Arjun and an assistant director. As a result, Allu Arjun became totally disinterested in the proceedings of the film.

All those rumours seem to be either baseless or unnecessarily flared up by the gossip-mongers. Now, going by the things for ‘Ala Vaikuntapuramlo‘, one can doubtlessly say that Allu Arjun can’t ask for more as the movie is getting everything done in the right manner. The first single ‘Samajavaragamana’ has created a record as the most-streamed song on the digital platforms within 24 hours of its release.

records flowing, allu arjun can’t ask for more

The viewers count is already close to 11 million views by the time this article is being written. The song is heard everywhere and it has caught up like fire. Amazing. The classy touch didn’t stop the song from being the most liked song of this week by classes and masses, and this song has set expectations for the upcoming songs and of course, on the movie, as well. The song is presently one of the top trends on all digital platforms.

IRCTC IPO subscribed 100% on second day

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IRCTC IPO subscribed 100% on second day

indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp’s initial public offering was subscribed over 100 percent in the early hours of the second day of subscription on Tuesday.

At 10:30 AM, the IRCTC IPO received bids for 21,687,840 shares against the total issue size of 20,160,000, according to provisional data available on the NSE. The IPO was subscribed 1.08 times so far.

At the end of the first day of subscription on Monday, the IRCTC IPO was subscribed 81 percent. The non-institutional investors’ category was subscribed 21 percent and that of retail individual investors 2.23 times

The IRCTC IPO, which will close on October 3, is priced between Rs 315 and Rs 320 per share.

Most brokerages have recommended ‘subscribe’ recommendation on the IRCTC IPO, given its reasonable valuation and monopoly in the Indian railways.

The analysts also note that the key risk and concerns for the company remain change in the policy of Ministry of Railways could impact financials, competition could pose a risk to its monopoly position, and stricter regulatory requirements for use of plastic.

The share sale comprises an offer for sale of 2 crore shares, representing 12.50 percent of total paid-up equity by the Ministry of Railways.

Today petrol, diesel rates in Hyderabad, other major cities – October 1

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Today petrol, diesel rates in Hyderabad, other major cities – October 1

HIGHLIGHTS

The petrol and diesel rates have increased on Tuesday.

When compared to Monday, the petrol price hiked by 14 paise, and diesel by 12 paise on today.

Hyderabad: The petrol and diesel rates have increased on Tuesday. When compared to Monday, the petrol price hiked by 14 paise, and diesel by 12 paise on today. The price of petrol in Hyderabad has reached to Rs 79.25 and diesel Rs 73.51. The petrol rate in Amaravati went up by 13 paise and cost at Rs 78.90 and diesel hiked by 12 paise. The cost of diesel is Rs 72.83. In Vijayawada, the petrol price increased by 8 paise and diesel 9 paise. The price of petrol is Rs 78.40 and diesel is priced at Rs 72.37.

chimpanzee suzi escapes from enclosure in hyderabad zoo ,attacks gardener

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chimpanzee suzi escapes from enclosure in hyderabad zoo ,attacks gardener

Suzi was later tranquilized and taken back into her enclosure.

Mild tension prevailed at the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad after Suzi, a chimpanzee, attempted to escape from her enclosure on Monday and attacked a gardener, who was injured in the scuffle.

Zoo officials said that Suzi escaped from her night enclosure even as maintenance work was being taken up by authorities on the campus. The chimpanzee first encountered a gardener, Yadaiah, working in the primate section, and attacked him. He suffered minor injuries and was administered an anti-rabies injection.

As soon as the incident took place, higher authorities were informed and a veterinary team rushed to the spot. Suzi was tranquilized and taken back into the enclosure.

This is not the first time that Suzi has escaped, as a similar incident took place in 2013. According to media reports, officials said that despite leading a lavish lifestyle at the zoo, Suzi was lonely and thus prone to bouts of anger.

Suzi was the pet of business tycoon and Sahara chairman Subrata Roy and arrived at the Hyderabad zoo from Pune in 2011.

In 2015, a Royal Bengal tiger had escaped from its enclosure as it jumped off a 10 feet deep moat when it was being shifted to another enclosure, creating a scare among hundreds of visitors.

Zoo authorities swung into action to evacuate the premises and closed all the gates. Officials later managed to tranquilise the big cat after an hour-long effort. No one was injured in the incident.

One of the largest zoos in India, the Nehru Zoological Park is spread over 380 acres. On average, several lakh people visit the zoo annually.

OnePlus India Specific OxygenOS Goodies: Manage Your SMS, Smart Gallery and more

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OnePlus India Specific OxygenOS Goodies: Manage Your SMS, Smart Gallery and more

These updates will be part of the OxygenOS which will be rolled out for all OnePlus devices.

OnePlus launched the OnePlus 7T smartphone late last month, just a few months after the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro earlier in the summer. But it is not only about the hardware and new products. OnePlus is also giving equal attention to the software side of things, particularly features for the OxygenOS. The company has announced a bunch of India-specific features for OnePlus phones.

The first is the Smart SMS manager, quite relevant in these times when spam as well as promotional messages are the order of the day. OnePlus says users can automatically categorize all messages, and perform quick actions, namely copying OTP codes or calling numbers sent in those messages. There is categorization of up to 39 types of messages, including tickets, bills and bank messages.

Then there is the improved Gallery app which sorts your photos into smart albums based on the faces it recognizes in pictures that you may have clicked, according to the location or even time of the day. All this happens on the device itself and OnePlus takes pains to assure that no data is sent to their servers and that a user’s privacy is untouched. There is also the addition of the free cloud storage options for backing up your photos—OnePlus will give 5GB free as the basic tier, though the introductory option does offer 50GB more for the first year.

OxygenOS will now let you assign your apps to Work mode or Life mode, which will automate a series of actions based on the location, Wi-Fi networks you are connected to, and/or a predefined schedule. You will be able to turn off notifications for work apps (including emails and instant messages) after office hours, for instance.

Then there is the new International Roaming Service, which we still have to test, but it does look like a rather interesting proposition. No need to purchase a specific SIM card or worry about data bandwidth and international roaming, access OnePlus Roaming without an internet connection. Let the wanderlust flow.” We await further details on how this works, how can a user sign up for this while traveling and which operators are a part of this service.

Last but not least are the cricket scores on the Shelf. Users can now customize this to add their favorite teams and access the scores quickly by simply swiping right on the home screen.

All these updates will be part of the OxygenOS updates which will be rolled out in the coming weeks, if your phone doesn’t already have them.

18 labourers hurt after auto overturns in Hyderabad

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18 labourers hurt after auto overturns in Hyderabad

18 labourers hurt after auto overturns in Hyderabad

HIGHLIGHTS

18 labourers hurt after an auto trolley overturned Around 30 people were in the vehicle when the incident occurred

As many as 18 daily wage labourers were injured after an auto trolley overturned here at the city. The mishap took place when around 30 labourers from Manchala Mandal of Rangareddy district are heading to plant saplings across the roads under GHMC limits. The injured were sent to a nearby hospital for treatment. Further details are awaited.

Indiabulls Housing Finance Shares Crack 38% on Doubts Over Merger with Lakshmi Vilas Bank

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Indiabulls Housing Finance Shares Crack 38% on Doubts Over Merger with Lakshmi Vilas Bank

Lakshmi Vilas Bank and Indiabulls Housing Finance had announced a share-swap deal in April earlier this year. The Competition Commission of India had already given its green light to the proposed merger in June.

Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd shares cracked over 38% on Monday on the apprehensions that the proposed merger with Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd could face a setback as the central bank initiated corrective actions against the latter.

At 11:40 am, shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance were down by a massive 35.8%, to Rs 250.70 after hitting an intra-day low of Rs 240.05. Other Indiabulls Group stocks also tumbled, with Indiabulls Real Estate and Indiabulls Ventures down 10% and 20%, respectively. Lakshmi Vilas Bank shares were, meanwhile, down 5% to Rs 34.75.

The central bank placed Lakshmi Vilas Bank under prompt corrective action due to high non-performing assets, insufficient capital, high leverage and a negative return on assets for two consecutive years.

To recall, Lakshmi Vilas Bank and Indiabulls Housing Finance had announced a share-swap deal in April earlier this year. The Competition Commission of India had already given its green light to the proposed merger in June.

In a separate development, the Delhi High Court has also issued notice in a petition seeking a direction for an in-depth and time-bound investigation by a Special Investigation Team into the “illegalities and violations” committed by Indiabulls Housing Finance, its subsidiaries and promoters.

Notices have been issued to Indiabulls, its promoters, the central government and other stakeholders.

GOOGLE TAKES DOWN 46 APPS FROM THE PLAY STORE, ALL DEVELOPED BY CHINESE COMPANY IHANDY

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GOOGLE TAKES DOWN 46 APPS FROM THE PLAY STORE, ALL DEVELOPED BY CHINESE COMPANY IHANDY

Google has purged around 46 apps from the Play Store over the last week. All these 46 apps have been made by a Chinese developer called iHandy. No reasons have been given for the takedown by Google yet.

This isn’t the first time Google has taken down apps made by Chinese developers. According to a report by Buzzfeed News, the removed apps include those related to selfies, security and antivirus, keyboards, horoscopes, emojis and health-related apps. A popular app called Sweet Camera – Selfie Beauty Camera, Filters, which had been downloaded 50 million times, was also taken down. The app isn’t visible on the Indian Play Store either.

While Google has not given a statement as to why these apps were taken down, a spokesperson has said that iHandy is currently under investigation. Despite this, eight other apps from the same developer still exist on the Play Store.

iHandy claims to have around 180 million monthly active users in over 200 countries.

Speaking to Buzzfeed News, iHandy VP Simon Zhu said that they were in touch with Google regarding this. Calling the action unexpected, Zhu said that the company was trying to find the reasons for the takedown.

Earlier in August this year, Google had taken down 85 apps from the Play Store that were found to be hiding adware inside them. Among those apps, the research firm Trend Micro (which discovered the adware) said that most of them were posing as photography as well as gaming apps which were downloaded over eight million times.

Super Selfie, Cos Camera, Pop Camera and One Stroke Line Puzzle were the most popular among the total 85 apps that were discovered by researchers as being adware-infected.

The report by the researchers said that all these apps were uploaded on the platform by different developer accounts and were signed by different digital certificates, however, they all exhibited similar behaviour and shared the same code.

Andhra Govt Orders Inquiry to Find Out What Delayed CM Jagan Reddy’s Tour of Flood-affected Areas

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Andhra Govt Orders Inquiry to Find Out What Delayed CM Jagan Reddy’s Tour of Flood-affected Areas

Notices have been issued to seven district-level officials in the matter of the delay of CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tour, which happened as a result of wrong coordinates being communicated.

Amaravathi: The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the matter of a miscommunication that led to a delay in CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tour of the flood-hit areas in the state earlier this week.

Kurnool District Collector G Veerapandian has issued notices to seven district-level officials in the matter including the Assistant Director of Survey and Land Records, Deputy Inspector of Survey and DWMA Project Director, Tehsildar of Sirivella and Nandyal.

Veerapandian also appointed the District Revenue Officer to look in the matter, who further directed the seven officials to submit the relevant documents on September 30. The Collector also informed the Chief Minister’s Office that some of the coordinates, which were submitted by the officials had been incorrect. and cited the officer’s negligence.

On September 21, CM Jagan had visited flood-affected areas of Kurnool district along with district officials. His tour was, however, delayed as a result of the miscommunication.

A similar case had transpired on September 24 when Reddy had planned to be flowed to Gannavaram airport from his residence along with his family members. However, due to a miscommunication, the Chief Minister was forced to travel by road instead.

Cloudburst leaves Hyderabad in knee deep water

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Cloudburst leaves Hyderabad in knee deep water

A protective wall along Hussain Sagar lake collapsed leading to water entering into 200 homes.
Midnight cloudburst which began in late hours of Thursday has left several parts of the city in knee high water, and caused widespread disruption of power supply and water logging on roads.

Breach of Balkapur nala, which empties into Hussain Sagar lake, has resulted in inundation of the slum at MS Makta. The breach is attributed to collapse of retaining wall under water pressure. According to information from GHMC, about 200 homes in the locality had rain water entering them.

Mayor Bonthu Ram Mohan and Additional Commissioner Sikta Patnaik visited the area and supervised relief operations. Two teams from GHMC Disaster Rescue Force have been deployed at MS Makta.

cloudburst leaves hyderabad in knee deep water

Several low lying areas have been inundated, including East Anandbagh, where life boats and buoys have been pressed into service. Even in areas such as Begumpet, residents spent the night helplessly waiting for rescue forces, as rain water entered their homes.

Tree falls on electrical lines at several areas have resulted in lengthy power disruptions, and the Osmania General Hospital has had a black out since 3 a.m.

Roads became virtual streams in areas such as Trimulgherry, Alwal, Gudimalkapur, Karwan, Santhosh Nagar, Shalibanda, Bahadurpura and Asifnagar.

As per the data received from automatic weather stations, the rainfall in the city up to 8.30 a.m. on Friday ranged between 11-15 centimetres. The Gudimalkapur station in Asifnagar mandal recorded the highest rainfall at 15 centimetres.

Rescue and relief operations by the DRF teams are on since 4 a.m.

Campuses run out of hostel space, private firms step in

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Campuses run out of hostel space, private firms step in

Softbank-backed Oyo Hotels and Homes, through its managed housing brand Oyo Life, announced Thursday a tie-up with IIT-Delhi to provide off-campus accommodation and another deal with the private Plaksha University

With just about one-fifth of the demand for student accommodation being met by organised university-operated facilities, private equity and venture capital firms are cashing in on the investment potential in this relatively untapped segment.

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Softbank-backed Oyo Hotels and Homes, through its managed housing brand Oyo Life, announced Thursday a tie-up with IIT-Delhi to provide off-campus accommodation and another deal with the private Plaksha University (for its fellowship program in Gurgaon), under which Oyo will cumulatively provide and manage over 500 beds for students of the two academic institutions.

This comes on the back of another big deal, where Oyo, alongside Goldman Sachs and HDFC-backed Good Host Spaces, as well as alternative assets fund Blackstone, is also in the race to take over the student hostel assets of Punjab-based Lovely Professional University (LPU) — projected to be chartbuster deal in the segment.

campuses run out of hostel space, private firms step in

The deal, in which the University’s promoters, the Mittal family, are learnt to be monetising their assets, is being valued at upwards of $175
million (Rs 1,242.5 crore) — conservative if benchmarked to the typical deal ticket-sizes seen in PE transactions, but fairly substantial if one were to consider that so far in 2019, only $117 million (Rs 830.7 crore) has been invested in the student accommodation market in India.
he current demand for student accommodation, or Purpose Built Student Accommodation, in India is pegged at around 8 million bed spaces, which is expected to grow at 8 per cent annually to 13 million beds by 2025, according to the Global Student Property 2019 Report by Knight Frank. Only 20 per cent of the current demand of 8 million bed spaces is currently being met by university-operated provisions in the country.

An overlapping area of interest includes co-working and co-living accommodation spaces aimed at students and young working professionals, an area where investors have started putting money into over the last 24 months.

Stanza Living, funded by investors like Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners and others, has a pan-India co-living inventory of over 20,000 beds and last year, Hamstede Living, a venture backed by Warburg Pincus and Lemon Tree Hotels, is also active in the service accommodation space for students and young working professionals. Co-living startups such as Zolo, and CoHo are among the other start-ups active in this space.

As per data provided by Venture Intelligence, $567 million (Rs 4,025 crore) has been invested by PEs and VC funds in student accommodation companies in 23 deals since 2015. This excludes investment in Oyo, which also operates in other hospitality segments as well. 2018 saw the highest investment activity in the space with $314 million being pumped in through seven deals. The year’s biggest deal involved the $288 million in Hamstede Living.

he proposed LPU deal, according to sources, could help the private university build a corpus to invest in other aspects of the academic institution’s growth. LPU did not respond to an e-mail query sent by The Indian Express seeking details of the potential sale.

A report released by Student Accommodation Provider Association of India and real-estate firm CBRE Thursday said that the student housing space is expected to witness investment worth $700 million and an addition of 6 lakh beds by 2023 across the country.

According to the Knight Frank report, among cities, Bengaluru, which has the highest concentration of university colleges in India, sees only 10 per cent of the demand for purpose-built student accommodation – 3,06,377 students – being covered by on-campus provisions.

This is followed by Pune with 1,91,937 students needing accommodation and 11 per cent of these being covered by on-campus facilities. Bengaluru-based accommodation company Nestaway recently announced the launch of a subsidiary – Hello World – that will focus on co-living and student housing. Hello World, which is present in 15 cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Kota, Dehradun, etc and has 10,000 beds, plans to launch in nine more cities across the country in the next 2-3 months and aims to reach 50,000 beds in the next year. The firm said that it leases out an entire building to develop purpose-built rental housing.

Similar to Nestaway, Oyo operates its purpose-built student accommodation business under the brand Oyo Life, which since its launch in October 2018, has managed to expand its presence in 500 buildings with 25,000 beds in Delhi-NCR, Pune and Bengaluru.

“We are rapidly expanding our base to four more cities – Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. Overall, we have set an ambitious target of 100,000 beds in India by the end of 2019 with an aim to become the largest and most preferred player in the co-living segment,” an Oyo spokesperson told The Indian Express.

We are seeing the potential for customers across various stages of life ranging from students, couples right up to families and senior citizens across diverse income groups, opting for such fully managed accommodations. For example, about 20 to 30 per cent of the guests at OYO LIFE across the country are students.”

Ringer row: Reliance Jio increases ring time to 25 seconds

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Ringer row: Reliance Jio increases ring time to 25 seconds

Kolkata: Reliance Jio has increased to 25 seconds the ring duration for outgoing calls from its network.

But Bharti AirtelNSE -0.89 % and Vodafone Idea are not pleased with this fivesecond increase, and are sticking to their demand for a minimum 30-second ring duration.

The Mukesh Ambani-owned telco has “increased the ring time for outgoing calls to 25 seconds — from 20 seconds

This comes after Bharti Airtel recently wrote to Trai, warning that it would be forced to cut ring time for outgoing calls from its network to 20 seconds, same as that of Jio’s.

Bharti Airtel had urged Trai to ask the youngest telco to increase its ring duration. Call ring duration is at the heart of the spat between Airtel and Jio.

Airtel has alleged that Jio had reduced its ring duration to manipulate the interconnection usage charge (IUC) regime.

A shorter ring alert, Airtel alleged, meant more missed calls.

ringer row: reliance jio increases ring time to 25 seconds

This, in turn, led to more return calls to Jio’s network, enabling the latter to reduce its IUC payouts to incumbent telcos, Airtel claimed.

Jio has rejected the allegation, saying 15-20 seconds is a globally followed norm.

The issue was discussed at a Trai meet on September 6,where most telcos — Airtel, Voda Idea, BSNL and MTNL — backed 30 seconds of minimum ring time for answering a call in the interest of consumers and network performance.

Jio, however, wanted it set at 25 seconds. The telco said 20 seconds was sufficient for a called party to respond, and that a longer span wastes spectrum resources.

“There’s no change in our stated position outlined in the minutes of the September 6 Trai meeting as we haven’t received any subsequent communication from either the regulator or Jio on this matter,” a senior executive of an incumbent telco told ET.

Trai has since put out a discussion paper, ‘Duration of alert for the called party’, seeking views on maximum ring time to optimally use network resources.

It has also reportedly asked telcos to arrive at a consensus on the matter before the consultation process concludes.

An outgoing call for the lowest class of 2G users for Airtel and Vodafone Idea costs Rs 1.50 a minute.

To avoid this cost, Jio argues, the subscribers of Airtel and Vodafone Idea and others give missed call alerts to Jio’s users to elicit a return call.

This return call terminates on the incumbents’ networks, generating IUC revenue for them.

Jio says because it offers free unlimited voice services, its network is being bombarded by missed call alerts from incumbent telcos.

Vodafone Idea, Airtel and Jio had not responded to ET’s queries as of press time Thursday.

Currently, Airtel and Vodafone Idea are net IUC revenue gainers, while Jio pays out on a net basis, due to voice traffic flow patterns.

But the voice traffic gap is narrowing as Jio gains subscribers and minute market share at the cost of rivals. Jio is now the largest telco by both these parameters.

Telangana govt extends liquor shops license

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Telangana govt extends liquor shops license

Hyderabad: The State government has extended the license for liquor shops for one month up to October 31 by laying down certain conditions.

A G O Ms No 108 was issued in this regard. The current license term will expire by this month-end. As per conditions, the shopkeepers must pay a proportionate annual retail shop excise tax for one month period.

The G O also mentioned about the collection of retail shop excise turnover tax at the rate of eight per cent plus applicable VAT thereon from all the licenses on purchases made from October 1 to 31, both days included. Other conditions prescribed in rules for shops would also be applicable. The Prohibition and Excise Commissioner will take necessary action in the matter accordingly.

Instructions have been issued to officials concerned to collect proportionate one-month shop excise tax of 2,215 liquor shops immediately without fail and submit compliance undersigned.

Telangana: Bus accident on NH 65, ten injured

Team TeluguBullet
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Telangana: Bus accident on NH 65, ten injured

The bus belonging to Diwakar travels with registration number AP02TC7695, was on its way to Hyderabad from Visakhapatnam.

Suryapet: At least 10 passengers were injured when private travels bus fell sideways on National Highway 65 at Durajpally in the early hours of Thursday.

The bus belonging to Diwakar travels with registration number AP02TC7695, was on its way to Hyderabad from Visakhapatnam. It shot off the road and fell sideways near Durajpally village. The bus started from Visakhapatnam at 7 pm on Wednesday. In all, 50 passengers were travelling in the bus at the time of the incident.

The police rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to Area hospital at Suryapet for treatment. The police suspect that the driver could have slept in the wheel leading to the accident.

two die in separate accidents during heavy rain in hyderabad

Team TeluguBullet
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two die in separate accidents during heavy rain in hyderabad

A 23-year-old gym instructor was electrocuted to death in Serilingampally, while a 43-year-old priest fell into a nala in Chaitanyapuri.

As heavy rains lashed the city on Tuesday, two persons died in separate incidents during the downpour. A 23-year-old gym instructor was electrocuted to death in Serilingampally, while a 43-year-old priest fell into a nala in Chaitanyapuri.

According to reports, 23-year-old Adam Mark Jordan who was staying at Manikanta Men’s hostel in Serilingampally was electrocuted while returning from the gym around 11.30 pm on Tuesday.

According to the police report, Adam stepped on an iron rod, which was in contact with a live wire, as he reached the gate of his hostel. Adam reportedly died on the spot.

The Madhapur Sub-Inspector told Times of India, “The incessant rains led to water-logging around his hostel. When he reached the hostel gate on his cycle, Jordan put his foot down and touched an iron rod and got electrocuted. We suspect that an electric wire had snapped after the builder at a nearby construction site trimmed the tree branches.”

Police have registered a case of 304-A (Causing death by negligence) and are investigating the case.

Adam’s body was taken to Osmania hospital and a post-mortem was conducted.

In another tragic incident, a 43-year-old priest identified as B Premkumar Shastry drowned in a nala and died. The incident took place in Chaitanyapuri.

According to Times of India, Shastry along with his friend Ramakrishna Sharma had gone to Chaitanyapuri for some work. The duo had parked their vehicle at Peddamberpet. “Around 11.40 pm, while going back to Peddamberpet from Chaitanyapuri, the two accidentally slipped and fell into a nala. While Ramakrishna managed to escape unscathed, Shastry did not,” Ashok Reddy, inspector at LB Nagar police station, told Times of India.

Shastry’s body was recovered around 3 am, 100 metres away the accident site, according to the report. Police suspect that both Shastry and Sharam were in an inebriated state, according to reports.

On Tuesday, Telangana received heavy rainfall in isolated places. While Hyderabad recorded 76 mm of rainfall, Tirumalagiri in the city received a near record-breaking 132 mm of rainfall.

Chinmayanand Case: ‘Rape Victim’ arrested

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Chinmayanand Case: ‘Rape Victim’ arrested

The alleged victim in the case of sexual abuse against BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand was arrested from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

arrested because she did not hand over her mobile phone to the special investigative team (SIT) and a video showed her discussing an extortion plot against Chinmayanand with three friends, said people aware of the matter. The SIT said she has admitted to being present in the video and hence she has been arrested.

While the SIT had not been able to recover her mobile phone, they said. The victim has been termed as the mastermind of the extortion plot by the SIT, which says the other three accused have said they acted on her directions. Her three friends have given statements to the SIT, implicating her in the extortion plot by the SIT, which says the other three accused have said they acted on her directions. Her three friends have given statements to the SIT, implicating her in the extortion matter, said the people cited earlier.

The video was allegedly shot to ensure none of the four accused go back on their word on how to share the extortion amount of Rs 5 crore. It is believed that the woman’s missing mobile phone also has key evidence in this regard.

The SIT said enough digital and forensic evidence was found against the woman. “Those (three) arrested have said they sent messages to Chinmayanand on directions of the girl in panic as they were not getting money and were upset,” SIT chief Naveen Arora said on Wednesday.

Arora, however, admitted that key pieces of evidence against Chinmayanand in the sexual abuse case were missing – for instance, the pair of spectacles with hidden camera worn by the woman have not been recovered by the SIT yet and the state forensic science laboratory could not recover data deleted by Chinmayanand on his mobile phone.

The SIT recorded the statements of the woman’s friends – Sanjay Singh, Sachin Sengar and Vikram alias Durgesh – after taking them into custody on Tuesday and planned to confront the woman with the trio. The SIT is also trying to trace the mobile phones of Singh and Sengar from which extortion messages were allegedly sent.

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