3 hours ago

The West Bengal government is examining land pooling, industrial parks and changes to land laws to make larger parcels available for industrial development without relying on direct land acquisition. Subrata Gupta, adviser to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, said the state was evaluating land pooling to address fragmented land holdings while reducing direct government involvement in transactions with individual landowners. The approach is politically sensitive in West Bengal, where the Singur and Nandigram land agitations have had significant political consequences. The government is also considering closed industrial sites as an alternative source of land and reviewing rules governing land holding and utilisation. Gupta said repealing the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act would not by itself resolve the issue because industrial units generally fall outside its scope. The state is also examining legal issues concerning bargadars, or sharecroppers, who retain land rights despite no longer farming.Read more

6 hours ago

Embassy Office Parks REIT plans to acquire 10-12 million sq ft of office space over the next three to four years as it seeks to expand its portfolio amid sustained demand for premium and flexible workspaces. The REIT currently owns and operates more than 52 million sq ft across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR and Chennai. It is also developing 6.2 million sq ft of office space at an estimated cost of INR 3,500 crore. CEO Amit Shetty said foreign companies establishing Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and demand from managed workspace providers were supporting office leasing. Embassy REIT leased 1.3 million sq ft during the June quarter, including 0.7 million sq ft of fresh leasing. GCCs accounted for 81% of quarterly leasing, while AI-related companies contributed 21% of new leasing. The REIT reported quarterly NOI of INR 1,020 crore and distributed INR 598 crore to unitholders.Read more

8 hours ago

The Goa government has introduced an ‘Anywhere Registration within the District’ facility, allowing citizens to register property-related documents at any Sub-Registrar Office within the district where the property is located. Launched on July 29 under the National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS), the reform is intended to improve access to registration services and reduce waiting times. Goa is the third state in India to implement the system. The state has two districts, North Goa and South Goa, with officials citing increasing property registrations, particularly in coastal talukas, as a reason for the change. The facility allows applicants to choose another office if appointments are unavailable at their preferred location. Officials said the system would benefit senior citizens, working professionals, non-resident Indians and foreign nationals by reducing travel requirements, while distributing registration workloads more evenly across offices.Read more

12 hours ago

Asia Pacific's real estate market recorded its strongest first half since 2022, with investment activity reaching USD 105 billion in H1 2026, according to Colliers' Asia Pacific Capital Markets Snapshot report. Office assets led investment activity across the region, with USD 40.2 billion deployed globally and over 40 per cent of India's total real estate inflows directed toward the segment, driven primarily by domestic investors. Domestic capital deployment in India rose 80 per cent year-on-year, accounting for approximately 57 per cent of total inflows, while foreign investor participation grew 24 per cent year-on-year to contribute around 43 per cent.Read more

14 hours ago

Global investment firm KKR will acquire the India hospital operations of international healthcare and diagnostics provider Medicover AB, at a valuation of EUR 1.2 billion. Medicover and its minority shareholders have entered into an agreement to divest their entire equity stake in Medicover Hospitals India (MHI) to funds managed by KKR. The transaction is expected to generate gross cash proceeds of EUR 0.74 billion for Medicover, which said the divestment would enable accelerated strategy execution in Poland, Germany and Romania while strengthening its financial position.Read more

15 hours ago

Interarch Building Solutions reported a flat net profit of INR 28 crore for the first quarter of FY27, despite a 20.7% year-on-year increase in revenue from operations to INR 460 crore. The company’s total order book stood at INR 1,864 crore at the end of July. Its board has approved a stock split of existing INR 10 equity shares into INR 2 shares, subject to shareholder and other required approvals. The board also approved a proposal to raise up to INR 250 crore through a Qualified Institutions Placement, replacing an earlier INR 100 crore fundraising approval. The company also secured a major INR 165 crore order in Gujarat.Read more

16 hours ago

Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran has cautioned the financial sector against overlooking security risks linked to artificial intelligence as increasingly autonomous AI systems raise cybersecurity concerns. Speaking at an Assocham event, he said financial institutions cannot wait for AI-related threats to become real before taking preventive measures. His comments came amid concerns over AI agents attempting to access or breach other AI systems without being prompted. Nageswaran also discussed cross-border payments, saying their wider adoption would depend on sufficient bilateral trade and commercial transactions between participating countries to make settlements in local currencies economically viable.Read more

20 hours ago

Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched a hybrid home loan that allows borrowers to lock their interest rate and EMI for up to 65 months, offering greater certainty during the initial years of home ownership. Customers can choose fixed-rate periods of 39, 52 or 65 months, after which the loan automatically shifts to a floating-rate structure linked to the Repo Rate plus a predefined spread. The bank is currently offering home loans starting at 7.6 per cent. The product is available for home loans and loans against property across India to eligible salaried and self-employed borrowers.Read more

21 hours ago

The West Bengal government is holding discussions with the Tata group to explore fresh investments in the state, Industry Minister Tapas Roy said. The discussions are focused on sectors beyond automobiles, including the possibility of expanding the group's existing businesses or setting up new units. Tata Motors had withdrawn its Nano project from Singur in 2008 following prolonged protests over land acquisition and shifted it to Sanand in Gujarat. The state also faces a liability arising from an arbitral award of INR 765.78 crore, along with interest, related to Tata Motors' withdrawal from the project.Read more

23 hours ago

Eleven firms have reportedly expressed interest in taking up around 1.26 lakh sq ft of space at the Ananta IT Park in Ujjain, signalling growing demand for commercial space linked to the city’s emerging technology ecosystem. The Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC) is developing the project in phases, with Phase 2 involving construction of an IT park building at Ujjain. The official tender document places the value of the Phase 2 construction work at INR 46 crore, with a planned execution period of 730 days.Read more