Archive: January 11, 2023

Bengaluru records highest annual office transactions across the top eight markets of India in 2022; Residential market registers a growth of 40% YoY: Knight Frank India

Bengaluru, January 11, 2023: In Knight Frank India’s latest report, India Real Estate – Residential and Commercial (July – December 2022), it is noted that Bengaluru remained the top performer in office leasing, registering 14.5 mn sq ft of office leasing volume, a 19% annual growth in the year 2022. The city accounts for 28% of the total office transactions across the top eight markets in India.

Bengaluru’s residential market recorded housing sales of 53,363 units, a significant 40% YoY growth in the calendar year (CY) 2022. New launches also saw a substantial rise of 42% YoY with the addition of 43,420 units in 2022. The weighted average price for the region grew by 7% YoY, highest amongst the top eight markets of India. The strong sales momentum also helped in the decline of quarters to sell (QTS) to 5 quarters, which is a historical low for the city.

Shantanu Mazumder, Executive Director – Bengaluru, Knight Frank India said, “Bengaluru’s residential segment remained vibrant, enduring multiple headwinds arising from the Omicron wave in the early months of the year, followed by a steep rise in raw material cost, consumer inflation and a rapid rise in home loan rates. The resurgence of the city’s residential market translated to a strong price rise too in the year 2022.”

Commenting on the office segment, Shantanu Mazumder said “Bengaluru remained the top office market recording the second-best leasing volumes in the last decade, despite challenges like continuation of work from home and hybrid models amongst the largest occupier sector – IT/ ITeS. Strong start up ecosystem and expansion of new age companies like e-commerce and EdTech and fin-tech kept demand buoyant. However, the second half of the year saw leasing pace reduce due to economic uncertainties in global markets, especially in the USA. This trend may last for a couple of more quarters post which the leasing momentum will regain its pace.” 

Knight Frank India today launched the 18th edition of its flagship half-yearly report – India Real Estate: 2022 – which presents a comprehensive analysis of the residential and office market performance across eight major cities for July-December 2022 (H2 2022) period.

RESIDENTIAL MARKET HIGHLIGHTS OF BENGALURU

Buyer sentiment remained strong into the second half of the year despite a sharp rise in interest rates. Bengaluru’s residential market recorded sale of 26,686 units in H2 2022 registering a 15% growth in a year, while residential launches of 22,197 units was recorded in the same period. Although the launches grew significantly by 29% YoY during this six-monthly period, when measured sequentially (H2 2022 compared to H1 2022), the second half grew merely by 5%. The environment of economic uncertainty in the global markets has impacted buyer sentiments in the latter part of the year impacting momentum of sales and launches in the city.

 BENGALURU RESIDENTIAL MARKET SUMMARY

The average weighted average price of residential units in Bengaluru has increased by 7% YoY to INR 5,511 per sq ft in H2 2022 attributed to strong demand trends along with a rise in the cost of construction.

RESIDENTIAL MICRO MARKET-WISE ASSESSMENT

South Bengaluru remained the most popular micro-market garnering a share of 46% of the residential sales in the city during H2 2022. Housing demand in this cluster remained steady due to the proximity of prominent tech parks and employment clusters located at Electronic City and Outer Ring Road (ORR). East Bengaluru was another sought-after region for residential demand in Bengaluru. The demand, which was primarily concentrated in Whitefield, K R Puram, etc. gradually expanded to peripheral areas of micro-markets such as Hoskote.

BENGALURU TICKET SIZE SPLIT COMPARISON OF SALES DURING H2 2021 AND H2 2022

Sale of high end units costing more than INR 10 mn strengthened significantly and grew to be 28% in 2022 from mere 14% in 2018. The growth in the high paying information technology sector and consistent expansion of start-ups and unicorns in the city boosted the earnings of the population in Bengaluru leading to this rise.

OFFICE MARKET HIGHLIGHTS OF BENGALURU (H2 2022)

Office volumes in Bengaluru moderated during H2 2022. The precautionary stance of occupiers due to headwinds arising from economic uncertainties has impacted the office space leasing with Bengaluru registering 6.8 mn sq ft of leasing recording a 22% YoY decline in H2 2022. However, new supply of office space remained robust with the city recording a rise of 45% YoY with an addition of 9.8 mn sq ft in H2 2022.

The prominent Information Technology (IT) sector, a strong start-up ecosystem, and the expansion of new age companies in sectors like e-commerce, fin-tech and ed-tech has buoyed the demand for office leasing in the city. Supply infusion of office space in in 2022 was recorded at 15.6 mn sq ft, higher by 31% over the preceding year.

BENGALURU OFFICE MARKET SUMMARY

Healthy demand for occupancy during the year has led to a spike in rent in the city. The average transacted rentals for Bengaluru surged by 11% YoY to INR 81/sq ft/month in 2022.

Co-working sector recorded maximum leasing volume accounting for 27% of all the transactions in the city during H2 2022. Other services sector, Manufacturing, and BFSI sector too witnessed an acceleration in the leasing volumes in H2 2022. Other services sector which comprises of education, healthcare, consulting, etc. recorded an increase in total share from 15% in H2 2021 to 22% in H2 2022. Manufacturing and BFSI sectors too grew substantially from 11% in H2 2022 to 17% in H2 2022 and 5% in H2 2021 to 11% in H2 2022 respectively. However, due to apprehension on tech sector due to economic headwinds in key client markets such as the US and UK, the leasing momentum from the IT sector moderated from 46% in H2 2021 to 23% in H2 2022.

BUSINESS DISTRICT WISE TRANSACTIONS SPLIT IN H2 2021 AND H2 2022

Outer Ring Road (ORR) dominated with 38% of the total office space leasing volume during H2 2022. ORR continues to be an attractive micro-market as the location includes many established business parks set up by Grade A developers with quality space and convenience provided for the occupiers. Peripheral Business District (PBD) East registers the second largest share of 33% of total office space leasing volume. From a mere 10% leasing share in 2017, the demand for office space in this region has significantly increased in the last 5 years. Development of infrastructure has impacted both leasing and addition of new office spaces in PBD East. 

The average transacted rentals for Bengaluru surged by 11% YoY to INR 81/sq ft/month in 2022. PBD East and PBD North were the two key markets which witnessed a sharp rise in rents. The demand for office space in PBD North has picked up significantly in the last few years with increased deals in Yelahanka and Thanisandra.

Biopharma major Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals

Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals, a first-generation biopharma enterprise and a renowned name in the global bio-pharmaceutical landscape with over 100 products. The company has chalked out aggressive growth plans and is working continuously towards introducing novel, cost-effective ingredients and formulations in the biopharmaceutical space through innovative research. The company also plans to launch more concept-based finished nutraceuticals products.

Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals currently has 10 patents and over 50 trademarks to its name. It has two production area and two fully functional labs cum R&D center for a Microbiology and Enzyme Portfolio.

Commenting on company’s growth plans, Mr. Gaurav Kaushik, Managing Director & CEO – Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals, said “Our future plans include launching Synbiotics (combinations of Pre and Probitics), expanding our Probiotics & Enzymes production capacity, introducing a unique formulation for Down Syndrome and further expanding exports. Innovation and reinventing will drive our biopharma expectation and plan for years to come. Pharmacovigilance, data analysis, early detection of disease, personalised medicine – alternative medicine and expanding Biotanical extract and ways of extraction would be major focus for us. Apart from biopharmaceuticals, we are targeting more industries in the field of bio-agriculture, biosimilars, crop science, and bioenergy in the upcoming years. We have zero debt and currently spend 12% of our revenue on R&D and it has been instrumental in preparing us for the future.”

With over 100 products, Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals excels in manufacturing and marketing enzymes and enzymatic preparations, probiotics, nutraceuticals, finished formulations and animal healthcare products. A B2B company, Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals also offers product customization, concept-based formulation, and contract manufacturing under one roof. The company has over 1000 clients – both domestic as well as international across Food, Pharma, Agro, Cosmetics, Animal Healthcare, Aquaculture, Poultry, Advanced Research etc.

Speaking on the industry and expectations from the upcoming budget, Mr. Gaurav Kaushik opined, “India is on the cusp of a massive leap toward being the global biopharma leader. The industry has grown consistently both in terms of production as well as innovation. The Covid pandemic saw the Indian biopharma industry rise to the unprecedented challenge faced by the world and support it. As an industry, we are hopeful for a positive Union Budget to integrate public-private partnerships, provide an incentive for R&D, and smoothen supply chain, freight cost and logistics challenges.”

“Indian biopharma companies must ramp up new product and technology capabilities for the next phase of expansion. As learnt from the pandemic, de-risking supply chains, and manufacturing operations while expanding capacity in sensitive APIs and intermediates is critical” he added.

78% of Marketers Get Better Results by Leveraging Data

New Delhi, 11 January 2023: The evolving consumer habits, omnichannel, and personalization focus areas have led to the generation of a large amount of data for businesses of all sizes. Data has become the most valuable asset, and Indian companies have been conscious of using data effectively to achieve their business goals.

According to the recently released second edition of the MMA-EY consumer data survey 2022, titled Leveraging Consumer Data for Marketing, there has been a significant rise in the number of Indian marketers using consumer data for marketing activities. In 2022, the number of marketers leveraging consumer data increased to 54% compared to 42% in 2021.

The survey was conducted among 170 CEOs and CMOs across industries to understand data usage, gaps, and other challenges. Analytics and data science emerged as two competencies marketers prioritized to stay ahead of their competitors. Nearly 78% of marketers noticed an improvement in marketing efficiency by leveraging consumer data. Data collection, consumption, and processing have increased exponentially across industries over the last few years. The report added that 57% of organizations utilized consumer data more optimally, whereas 56% of Indian marketers had gaps in consumer data leading to difficulties in data-driven decision-making.

The report also highlights critical concerns, like the fact that around 50% of marketers only consider three to four uses out of the 17 possible uses of the collected customer data for business purposes. As most marketers recognize the value of data and its role in business processes, there is a need to create a robust attribution model for its practical usage.

The rising importance of data management makes it imperative for various businesses to rely on business intelligence platforms that can derive valuable insights and improve overall marketing performance.

According to Mr. Naren Vijay, EVP – Growth, Lumenore, “Using a data analytics and business intelligence platform, businesses must capture and use data effectively to create a marketing strategy that works for the brand. With the right set of insights by collecting data seamlessly, an organization is better placed to increase the use of data in day-to-day operations. The focus should be on reducing data silos by connecting various data sources and managing data integration irrespective of the diverse sources, formats, and types. Lumenore helps marketers develop customized client experiences by centralizing all data and obtaining precise marketing intelligence in one robust platform.”

Among the several industries, the automotive industry is the most active in using consumer data at 80%, followed by e-commerce at 75% and media and entertainment at 64%. Around 48% of the marketing budget was spent on brand building by consumer packaged goods, while healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations spent 46%. Companies from the automobile, education, technology, and travel & hospitality industries spent over half their marketing budget on performance and growth.

Using personalized recommendations to make better decisions from a large data set is critical for any business. With business intelligence solutions powered by AI, organizations can make quicker and better decisions. By doing this, companies harness the full potential of data-driven strategy and ensure that the most relevant information is considered when making decisions.

Day-2 :PragatiE Vichaar Literature Festival Virtual festival

New Delhi 11 January 2023: Discussing nationalism, patriotism, mental health, women empowerment, copyright, and IP, PragatiEVichaar Literature Festival touched some of the key ideas virtually on 10^thJanuary 2023. ‘Taking Humanity Forward’ as its theme, the event was honoured by acclaimed speakers. The necessity for self-limitation for freedom, finding hidden answers, it’s all within you, an ode to fearless women, freedom to publish, murder or romance were the sessions that were conducted.

On the second day of the PVLF 2023, Speakers discussed, “In her PVLF 2023 Session, Author Ma Anand Sheela expressed that every woman has power and potential within themselves. In her opinion, women need to recognize their true potential and the power that resides within themselves. Moreover, she shared her perspective on women being always expected to endure pain and compromises.”

“Author Rajesh Talwar, during his session at the PVLF 2023, discussed that his book ‘A Boy Who Wrote the Constitution’ mainly focuses on the childhood days of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar. He delineated that despite his atrocious background, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar managed to go further in his studies and later became the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. He also pointed out that during India’s struggle for freedom, the contributions of Dr. Subhash Chandra Bose remained in the shadows for a long time.”

“During his session at the PVLF 2023, Author Avinash Agarwal highlighted the objective of composing his book- ‘Stop Being A Maggu’. According to him, students require proper guidance, direction, and a planned approach to crack any exam or succeed. He exemplified that only by transforming ourselves from within and taking charge of our life we can achieve and move ahead in life.”

Watch all upcoming sessions of the PVLF 2023 on Frontlist. in website.

The event celebrates the literary ecosystem that aspires to instil love of writing, inner thinking of authors, and discussing focal topics from around the world. The event is conceived by Frontlist, hosted by PragatiE and Nielsen BookScan data as its knowledge partner. The event is supported by IPA (International Publishers Association) and FIP (Federation of Indian Publishers).

Raj Subramaniam honored with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award

INDIA, January, 2023 – Raj Subramaniam, President & Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX), the world’s largest express transportation company, has been recognized with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest civilian award in India for overseas Indians. The award acknowledges the contribution of the Indian diaspora for creating a better understanding of India abroad, support India’s causes and work for the welfare of the local Indian community[1].

Every day, in every corner of the world, FedEx is connecting communities, moving goods, and providing services that power the global economy. With operations in more than 220 countries and territories, this large presence makes a measurable difference in economic vitality in all the areas in which FedEx operates.

To help combat the COVID-19 pandemic in India, FedEx donated three Boeing 777F charter flights of oxygen concentrators, PPE, and other critical supplies in May and June 2021. Overall, FedEx moved more than 50,000 oxygen concentrators to India in collaboration with non-profit partners and customers. Under Raj’s leadership, the FedEx charters flew into Mumbai and New Delhi.

Raj Subramaniam, President and CEO, FedEx Corporation, said, “I am honored to receive this award on behalf of all our team members whose above-and-beyond efforts, paired with our unparalleled global network, put FedEx in the unique position to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a shining example of who we are and what we do.”

FedEx has been an integral part of the global vaccine supply chain delivering COVID-19 vaccines and supplies to more than 60 countries and territories around the world. The company is also involved with the movement of active pharmaceutical ingredients and therapeutics that play an important role in the fight against COVID-19.

The delivery of the lifesaving supplies is consistent with the company’s FedEx Cares 50 by 50 goal to positively impact 50 million people around the world by the company’s 50th birthday in 2023.

Pre- Budget and expectations 2023 : Mr. Shujaul Rehman, CEO, Garware Technical Fibres Limited

“This year’s budget is going to be of great significance, especially after visible global economic headwinds pointing towards some Western countries facing recession-like situations and China witnessing a slowdown due to re-surge in it’s Covid cases. What we expect from Honourable Finance Minister is to provide more incentives and remittances for manufacturing sector, which will help India to grow its exports base .This will positively impact the technical textiles sector, thereby furthering the original objectives of the Make in India scheme. We also hope that some recommendations in this budget will encourage companies to take more initiative on innovation, research & development.” –Mr. Shujaul Rehman, CEO, Garware Technical Fibres Limited

Pacific Super Dancer’s first season Grand Finale takes place at Pacific D21 Mall, Dwarka

Hanu Software Solutions collaborates with Generation India to upscale job opportunities for graduates across India

January 11, 2023: Hanu Software Solutions (an Insight company), an award-winning Microsoft partner for more than 15 years, has collaborated with Generation India Foundation, a non-profit organization that transforms education into employment systems to reduce the employability gap at entry-level jobs for graduates.

Under this partnership, Generation India will support, train, and prepare young learners who will undergo a 16-week training program on Jr. Full Stack Java Developer role and 12-week AWS Cloud Practitioner role. The high-impact training will cover technical and behavioural skills and mindsets thus creating a pipeline of pre skilled entry level talent for Hanu – an Insight company.

Commenting on the collaboration, Apurva Kadakia, Chief Customer Officer, Hanu – an Insight company, said, “We are excited to welcome on board budding engineers and innovators trained under Generation India. It is imperative that the younger generation is upskilled for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. We also believe in providing them equal opportunities. The outcome will be a win-win for us as an employer and for aspiring graduates who are looking to build their career in digital technologies.”

As per the World Economic Forum, of the 13 million people who join India’s workforce each year, only 1 in 4 management professionals, 1 in 5 engineers, and 1 in 10 graduates are employable. The most common reasons cited include the fact that employees lack technological skills due to which many entry-level positions are left unfilled.

Commenting on their partnership with Hanu – an Insight company, Arunesh, CEO, of Generation India, said, “Our objective is to transform the life trajectories of our learners, by providing employment at large, training, and making them ready for the market and competition. The repercussions of this magnificence in their income will increase the well-being of their families and entire communities.”

Hanu – an Insight company, believes in repurposing the skills of their employees to create new forms of value and provide them with new training. Their other training programs include HANU Azure Academy which restructures its workforce to use new digital technologies to make organizations more flexible. Another program called – HAA Lite Program gives professionals the skill to grow their careers with Azure Cloud. Hanu also aspires to recruit more women in the technology space and will continue to come out with more opportunities to upskill and reskill women workforce in the coming times. While major tech companies are going for layoff at present, Hanu is going strong and is looking to attract and retain the right talent.

“This collaboration opens new avenues to extract the best out of all the talent available in the market. We are constantly on the lookout for passionate people who can help us drive technology into a force of good. With Generation, we will be able to extract a talent pool which is distinct from traditional means of sourcing. Our joint programs with India.Generation.org will intensively train graduates to be cloud-forward,” said Apurva Kadakia, Chief Customer Officer, Hanu – an Insight company.

Generation India aims to create programs that address employer needs and help improve skill sets, resulting in higher productivity and retention after deployment. Generation rigorously tracks the return on investment for both learners and employers across all of its programs. Young people benefit from increased earnings, valuable technical and behavioral skills, and opportunities for long-term career advancement. Employers benefit from lower recruitment costs, improved on-the-job performance, and increased employee retention.

Generation, which is currently the world’s largest, demand-driven youth employment program by annual volume, has well-established programs, with more than 70,000 graduates already across the seventeen countries.

The preview party for Kinetic Symphonies A solo art exhibition by Suparna Mondal was held at the Treasure art gallery Curated by Dr. Mandankini Devi

This exhibition showcases works of art representing Suparna’s journey from Haldia to New Delhi. Her transition from an industrial and rural landscape to a metropolitan city like New Delhi   Suparna says My creations are marvelously kinetic – the paintings are like taking a roller-coaster ride through a space station  Tina Chandroji founder of the Treasure Art Gallery says The collection not only reminds us of urban spaces but also demonstrates the remarkable and compelling ways artists have employed and exploited her materials. The exhibition sought to capture the idea of modernity and the sensations and aesthetics of speed, movement, and industrial development. The exhibition was attended by friends and curators artists  Pradeep Karera, RJ Abhishek, Anand Moy Banerjee,  Adil Khan, Shobha Broota, Shridhar Iyer, Tina Chandroji, and Alka Pandey.