DLF Ltd. has sold 49 percent equity interests in two residential projects in India for a combined $426 million in two separate transactions, to Merrill Lynch and Brahma Investments.

Merrill Lynch paid the Indian mega-developer $377 million for a 49 percent share in seven housing projects in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Idore. DLF also announced that it sold 49 percent of a housing project in the state of Haryana to Brahma Investments for $49 million.

200 million middle class Indians now have a phone, color TV, and a motorized vehicle, said Jean-Claude Goldenstein (pictured), executive director of NAI Global Solutions. Home sweet home is a natural next step, with people moving out of the traditional joint family households into their own homes. The natural evolution also was for Merrill Lynch to continue its growth in India, which, in this deal, also allowed DLF to unlock some of its land investments by diluting some equity.

More : cpnonline.co

Lights. Camera. Action. Words usually reserved for the filmi world are now increasingly being heard at railway stations in the NCR. From Bollywood masala fare to Japanese documentaries, and Canadian movies to Punjabi pop video, the action is surely on track at platforms and railway bogies.

Sample this: l Twenty-one films were shot on stations or inside trains between April 2006 and 2007 — up from nine the same period, previous year.

l The Delhi region of Northern Railways expects to make over Rs 9 lakh in the ongoing fiscal, double of last years Rs 4,49,000.

More : cities.expressindia.com

The two murders that look place in Delhi were not isolated incidents. Here is a look at similar incidents that have taken place recently.

On May 19, a property dealer, his wife and their seven-year-old son were murdered in their Gurgaon home. The domestic help, Lallan, a native of Bihar, later confessed to the crime.

Just three days before that, on May 16th, a 40-year-old housewife, Archana Grover, was found murdered at her residence in Saket in South Delhi. Her maid Rakhi Saha is under arrest for the crime.

More : ibnlive.com

Having burnt its fingers in Nandigram and Singur, the state government appears to be taking a different, more generous, approach to compensation for land-losers in future projects.

This was made clear today as state municipal affairs and urban development minister Mr Ashok Bhattacharya announced a rehabilitation package that includes a number of new facilities for those due to be evicted to make way for a township project in Siliguri. The minister also announced they would follow the same rehabilitation package for the DLF project at Dankuni.

According to the new package, announced at Writers Buildings, those who give up their land for the township project will be given alternative plots or flats in addition to financial compensation for the land itself. They will only have to pay the cost of acquisition for the alternative plots.

More : thestatesman.net

Days after a motorist in south Delhi was bludgeoned to death by young men on motorcycles, a group of Gurgaon call centre cab drivers brutally assaulted a 58-year-old property dealer with hammers and screwdrivers in Karol Bagh on Wednesday evening.

The victim of this latest instance of road rage, Rajender Dhawan, is in hospital with multiple skull fractures and temporary loss of memory. The attack followed an altercation in the morning between Dhawan and one of the drivers after he had parked in front of the property dealers shop. The police have lodged a case of attempt to murder against the five drivers, who are absconding.

The main accused, who was involved in the spat in the morning, has been identified as Rohit, alias Rishikesh. The attack comes amid reports that the BPO industry is putting pressure on transporters to sensitise cab drivers and avoid bad publicity.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

THE National Consumer Commission has directed Ansal Properties and Ansal Buildwell to pay nearly Rs 40 lakh as compensation to a buyer who did not get her apartment despite paying for it 11 years ago.

In a recent judgment, the Commission directed the builders to pay Rs 7.5 lakh as compensation for the delay in handing over possession, and Rs 30 lakh as refund, including simple interest. This makes it one of the countrys single biggest private property compensation cases.

The buyers, however, now plan to file a criminal case against the real estate giants for planning to sell off the property.

More : cities.expressindia.com

The film city project proposed to be set up in Jaipur has got a boost with an Australian company showing interest in the project.

Australia-based Movie World had made its presentation before Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and senior government officials here recently, officials said.

The proposal has a list of the facilities, along with ideas on the model, scale, size and design of the film city. The presentation contained details about how the project would give a boost to employment in Rajasthan for artists, technicians and others.

More : business-standard.com

Having burnt its fingers in Nandigram and Singur, the state government appears to be taking a different, more generous, approach to compensation for land-losers in future projects.

This was made clear today as state municipal affairs and urban development minister Mr Ashok Bhattacharya announced a rehabilitation package that includes a number of new facilities for those due to be evicted to make way for a township project in Siliguri. The minister also announced they would follow the same rehabilitation package for the DLF project at Dankuni.

According to the new package, announced at Writers Buildings, those who give up their land for the township project will be given alternative plots or flats in addition to financial compensation for the land itself. They will only have to pay the cost of acquisition for the alternative plots.

More : thestatesman.net

The two murders that look place in Delhi were not isolated incidents. Here is a look at similar incidents that have taken place recently.

On May 19, a property dealer, his wife and their seven-year-old son were murdered in their Gurgaon home. The domestic help, Lallan, a native of Bihar, later confessed to the crime.

Just three days before that, on May 16th, a 40-year-old housewife, Archana Grover, was found murdered at her residence in Saket in South Delhi. Her maid Rakhi Saha is under arrest for the crime.

More : ibnlive.com

Highwoods Properties Inc. has bought Eola Park Centre and just under an acre of development land on the northwest bank of Lake Eola in downtown Orlando.

Raleigh, N.C.-based Highwoods (NYSE: HIW) paid $40 million for the 167,000-square-foot Class A office building and the adjacent land.

The Eola Park Centre purchase was a joint venture with Kapital-Consult, a European investment firm. The joint venture, Highwoods DLF 98/29 LP, intends to enter into a $27 million secured loan on the assets. Highwoods will lease and manage the property.

More : sanantonio.bizjournals.com