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Home sales across the top seven cities declined 47 per cent to 1.38 lakh units in 2020, according to a report by Anarock Property Consultants. In 2019, overall sales across the major cities was nearly 2.61 lakh units, it said.
The new housing supply in 2020 declined by 46 per cent against the preceding year, nearly 2.37 lakh units in 2019 to nearly 1.28 lakh units in 2020.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune were the showstoppers in overall residential activity in 2020.
“While residential real estate bottomed out in 2020 against the previous peak of 2014, there are strong revival signs in Q4 2020 – with home affordability being at its all-time best,” said the report.
Amid varied offers and discounts, the top seven cities saw robust sales of nearly 50,900 units in Q4 2020, rebounding to nearly 86 per cent of the corresponding period in 2019.
In 2019, the festive quarter saw overall home sales of 59,160 units. MMR and Pune drove residential sales with the two cities accounting for more than 53 per cent overall share.
On the supply front, the top cities added 52,820 units in Q4 2020 as against 51,850 units in Q4 2019, increasing by 2 per cent Year-On-Year (YoY). Hyderabad outpaced other cities and added a massive new supply of 12,820 units in the quarter, followed by MMR with more than 11,910 new units.
Due to increased new launches across cities, unsold inventory declined by 2 per cent on a yearly basis, from more than 6.48 lakh units in Q4 2019 to more than 6.38 lakh units in Q4 2020. However, in comparison to the peak levels of 2016, when unsold stock stood maximum at nearly 7.91 lakh units in the top seven cities, it declined by a significant 19 per cent.
Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants, said, “2020 has been an unprecedented year due to Covid-19 causing all-round upheaval. However, the residential segment was quick to pick up momentum in the last two quarters of 2020 on the back of growing home ownership sentiment – catalysed by the exigencies of the pandemic.”
He said this pent-up demand was further accelerated by the ongoing discounts and offers, the prevailing lowest-best home loan interest rates and limited period stamp duty cuts in states such as Maharashtra.
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US President Donald Trump has presented America’s highest military decoration, The Legion of Merit, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership and vision under which India’s emergence as a global power has accelerated and for elevating strategic partnership of the two countries.
Official sources said, The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, bestowed on Prime Minister Modi on behalf of the President, is a rarely-awarded, prestigious decoration that can only be bestowed by Trump, typically to heads of state or heads of government of other countries.
India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, accepted the award on behalf of the Prime Minister from the US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien at the White House.
The citation with the award states: “For exceptionally meritorious service as the Prime Minister of the Republic of India from May 2014 to August 2020. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s steadfast leadership and vision have accelerated India’s emergence as a global power and elevated the strategic partnership between the US and India to address global challenges. Prime Minister Modi’s personal engagement expanded US-India ties across all facets of the relationship, helping to establish a strong foundation for an enduring partnership that is based on shared commitment to freedom, democratic principles, the equal treatment of all citizens, and the rule of law.
“India is a key partner for the US in the Indo-Pacific, where the two countries are increasing collaboration to ensure freedom of the seas, open and transparent investment and infrastructure development, secure and reliable digital networks, and good governance.”
In a glowing tribute, the citation adds: “Prime Minister Modi’s personal initiative strengthened the defence partnership between the United States and India, enhancing the US’ ability to secure joint military cooperation that addressed shared challenges. His efforts to expand India’s economic cooperation with the US has advanced prosperity, investment and job creation in both countries.
“Prime Minister Modi’s superior effort, personal leadership, and unwavering commitment to advancing strategic cooperation between the United States and India and promoting global peace and prosperity reflect great credit upon himself, the Indian armed forces, and his country.”
The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander is a domed five-pointed American white star plaque of heraldic form bordered in purplish-red enamel 215/16 inches circumscribing diameter with 13 white stars on a blue field emerging from a circle of clouds; backing the star, a laurel wreath with pierced, crossed arrows pointing outward between each arm of the star and the wreath. The reverse is engraved with the words ‘United States of America’.
In September this year, after a very long gap, President Donald Trump awarded the Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, to Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait.
The decoration was last awarded in 1991.
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Cold War 2.0 has begun, and India seems on track to be part of the partnership of democracies opposing the march to primacy of the Sino-Russian alliance in the Indo-Pacific …. Writes Prof. Madhav Nalapat
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is the guest of honour at the next Republic Day parade to be held on Rajpath. He has talked more than once of a “concert of democracies” to tackle the challenge posed internally by extremism and externally by the emergence of another communist superpower, the People’s Republic of China.
It ought to be a given that any such grouping would include India, but in a less than logical world, this is not the case. The Atlantic Council, regarded as among the primary thought dispensers of the Atlantic community, includes not India but the European Union as a component of its version of the G10. That the EU is a coherent and unified group of states federated into a union with bonds sufficiently strong to be designated as a country is evident to the Atlantic Council, and to Brexit enthusiasts in the UK, who managed to prise Britain away from the EU on the grounds that membership in the grouping was a grievous infringement to sovereignty. They should know.
The British have been expert in extinguishing the sovereignty of more territories than any other country on the planet, in the process cobbling together an empire that straddled the world. It was only after the close of the war unleashed by Hitler and Tojo during 1936-45 (a period which includes the takeover of the Rhineland by the German military and the invasion of Manchuria and later historical China by Japan) that the US stepped forward to claim the mantle of global leadership, only to be contested in that by the USSR from the mid-1950s to around the 1980s, when the latter began a process of meltdown culminating in its fragmentation and collapse in 1992, the year P.V. Narasimha Rao began to seek (and eventually fail as a consequence of the myopia of the Clinton administration) an alliance with Washington to represent the vanished entente with Moscow.
Under Xi Jinping, the third foundational leader of the Chinese Communist Party after Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, the PRC has not hidden its intention to once again emerge as the Middle Kingdom, this time in Mao-Deng-Xi rather than in imperial hues. The apparent scientific and other successes of the PRC have led to a spurt of support for strong leadership in countries across the world, whether in India or Brazil or Russia, and in an intensification of the control of the state over the lives of citizens, an expansion of governmental power facilitated by the extraordinary curbs on activity placed as a consequence of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Much more than in previous years, the pandemic-caused expansion of the authority of the state in major democracies has made them resemble the governance structure of the PRC, rather than (as had been expected by numerous policymakers) the latter moving closer to the former over time.
India has a neighbour whose population of religious minorities has dropped from 38% in 1946 to less than 2% at present. School textbooks are filled with derogatory comments about selected religious practices, and the country has been majoritarian from the time it was separated from the rest of India and brought into the world by the British in 1947.
The thinking in Whitehall was that Pakistan would be a reliable ally of the Atlantic alliance during Cold War 1.0, while India under Jawaharlal Nehru and his ideology of a fusion of Stalinist administration, Gandhian forbearance to foes and a society designed by Beatrice and Sidney Webb would most probably be lost as an ally. Nehru stood by his principles, in the 1950s, refusing to join with Eisenhower in seeking a halt to the takeover of Tibet by the PLA and backing Mao for the permanent UNSC seat even during the 1962 conflict and despite it being informally offered instead to India by the US and later, the USSR.
Mahatma Gandhi would have been proud of such an act of sacrifice by the individual he chose over candidates such as Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and Vallabhbhai Patel as the Prime Minister of India on the grounds that when gone, Jawaharlal would “speak my language”. So deep was the compassion of the Mahatma that he advised the Viceroy of India to “allow Hitler to occupy British homes”, as such a gesture would transform the unmatched depths of the dictator’s depravity into a kindness not known to have been demonstrated by Adolf Hitler except perhaps to his Alsatian canine Blondi, which he finally killed (whether in a gentle manner or not we are not told) through poisoning.
Given such extraordinary and saintly views about a mortal foe of Britain and its allies of Nehru’s principal supporter, it was no surprise that the British were less than certain that India under such a Prime Minister would stand by the US and the UK during Cold War 1.0. Now Cold War 2.0 has begun, and India seems on track to be part of the partnership of democracies opposing the march to primacy of the Sino-Russian alliance in the Indo-Pacific (quaintly named the Asia-Pacific by Nehruvians in the Biden entourage). Prime Minister Johnson is right in placing India as a central player in such an alliance, in contrast to those in his country and elsewhere who get confused between India with Pakistan and speak of the former as being the country where minorities are disappearing and where religious supremacy reigns.
This about a country where there are 240 million religious minorities, among whom are some of the most influential (not to mention wealthiest) citizens in the land.
The Prime Ministers of the India and the UK, Narendra Modi and Boris Johnson, have much to discuss besides the symbolism of the two leaders being present together at India’s most consequential annual event. The democracies are running out of time in the face of the problems that await them, and both Modi and Johnson will be judged by their success in overcoming them.
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Virus Kills Christmas
The planned relaxation of coronavirus rules for Christmas has been scrapped for a large part of southeast England, and cut to one day for rest of the region…. Reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new Tier Four of coronavirus restrictions for London and other parts of England to combat an alarming surge in new coronavirus cases linked to a new virulent strain.
The planned relaxation of coronavirus rules for Christmas has been scrapped for a large part of southeast England, and cut to one day for rest of the region, Xinhua news agency quoted Johnson said at a virtual press conference at Downing Street on Saturday evening.
From Sunday morning, London, the South East and East of England will move into Tier Four restrictions, which will be broadly similar to national restrictions introduced in England in November, he said.
Under the new tougher measures, residents in those areas must stay at home, with limited exemptions.
People are also urged to work from home when they can, and should not enter or leave tier four areas.
Meanwhile, non-essential retails and indoors gyms must close, the Prime Minister said.
The restrictions will last for two weeks and will be reviewed on December 30, Johnson said.
He said the previous plan to allow up to three households to meet during five days around Christmas will have to be scrapped.
“We cannot continue with Christmas as planned,” Johnson said.
People should not to travel into a Tier Four area, though support bubbles remain unaffected as do the exemptions for separated parents and their children.
H.H. began his visit by inspecting the academic projects and the new expansion of the University of Sharjah, Khorfakkan Branch, and examining the progress of work in the buildings, classes and various facilities…. Reports Asianlite News
H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, visited a number of vital, academic and service projects in the city of Khorfakkan on Sunday morning.
During the tour, the Ruler of Sharjah listened to an explanation from Ali bin Shaheen Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Sharjah Directorate of Public Works (SDPW), about the established projects and their workflow, as well as the completion status of the most prominent projects.
H.H. began his visit by inspecting the academic projects and the new expansion of the University of Sharjah, Khorfakkan Branch, and examining the progress of work in the buildings, classes and various facilities. He directed to provide the optimal academic educational environment for students, in line with the development of the level the university has reached.
The new expansion, which was built on an area of 22,000 square metres, include a number of buildings, classrooms, and educational and administrative facilities.
Then Sheikh Sultan went to inspect the tourism and entertainment projects, including the Khorfakkan Square Park project, with an area of 163,000 square metres.
H.H. toured the Khorfakkan Square park and reviewed its entertainment services and facilities, listening to the development plans and the most prominent additional services.
During the tour, the Sharjah Ruler visited the Resistance Monument, which was built to commemorate the sacrifices of the people of Khorfakkan, who made the most magnificent sacrifices to defend their city against the Portuguese invasion that took place in 1507.
He was also briefed on the future facilities and services of the monument building, which include a large hall on an area of 898 metres, which is divided into two halls.
The Sharjah Ruler was accompanied by Sheikh Salem bin Abdulrahman Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Ruler’s Office, and a number of officials.
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President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government agreed to form a power-sharing government in line with the Riyadh Agreement signed with the Southern Transitional Council last year … reports Asian Lite News
The UAE has welcomed the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement between the legitimate Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council.
President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government agreed to form a power-sharing government in line with the Riyadh Agreement signed with the Southern Transitional Council last year. The new government, announced by Hadi on Yemeni state TV late on Friday night, consists of 24 portfolios divided equally between the north and south.
The UAE expressed its hope that this will be a step toward a political solution and an accelerated end to the Yemeni crisis.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation commended the pivotal role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in implementing the Riyadh Agreement, and its support for all actions that serve the interest of the Yemeni people and contribute to their stability and security.
The Ministry stressed the importance of Yemeni forces’ solidarity and cooperation, and urged them to prioritise the national interest while addressing specific dangers stemming from the Houthi coup. The Ministry reiterated its commitment to stand by the Yemeni people, and to support their legitimate aspirations for development, prosperity, peace and stability.
The new government was “an important step for enhanced stability, improvement of state institutions and increased political partnership. It is also a pivotal step toward a lasting political resolution to the conflict,” said Martin Griffiths, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy to Yemen.
Adel bin Abdulrahman Al-Assoumi, chairman of the Arab Parliament, said the formation of the new government would help restore security, stability and unity, activate state institutions, enable the implementation of development projects in liberated areas, and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.
Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Dr. Nayef Mubarak Al-Hajraf praised Yemeni parties for prioritizing the interests of the people, supporting the new government and playing a role in ending the Yemeni crisis. He also thanked the Saudi-led Arab Coalition for supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
Bahrain called it an important step in strengthening and unifying Yemeni efforts to confront the Iran-backed Houthi militia and achieve security, peace and stability for the Yemeni people.
“This is … another step toward peace that the Yemenis desperately need,” said British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
Britain’s Middle East and North Africa Minister James Cleverly urged the new government to work with Griffiths on “wider political progress” for the country.
Secretary-General of the GCC Dr. Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf has welcomed the decision.
Dr. Al-Hajraf expressed his appreciation for all the efforts of the Yemeni parties aimed at giving priority to the interests of the Yemeni people and preparing the atmosphere for the Yemeni government to practice all its work in Aden, praising the great efforts that the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to accelerate the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement.
He affirmed the GCC’s keenness to restore security and stability in Yemen, and the GCC’s support for the efforts of the United Nations aimed at reaching a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis, in accordance with the GCC Initiative, the outcomes of the comprehensive national dialogue, and Security Council Resolution 2216.
Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Defense, said that Saudi Arabia was continuing its policy of seeking to establish security and stability in Yemen, the Arab News reported.
“In support of previous efforts to find a comprehensive political settlement, the efforts of HRH the Crown Prince have succeeded in bringing together our Yemeni brothers to implement the military aspect of the Riyadh agreement and the formation of a new government,” Prince Khalid said.
The agreement, which the prince referred to as “a political, diplomatic and military achievement,” was the outcome of months of negotiations between the Yemeni President, the Yemeni government, the Transitional Council, and military leaders in Aden and Abyan.
“The Riyadh Agreement overcame all difficulties and obstacles with the efforts of the Kingdom, the brothers in the Emirates, and in the Coalition,” the prince said.
“Today, more than ever, we are looking forward to seeing the Yemeni government lead Yemen and its people to safety,” added.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir also praised the developments in Yemen and said it should help reach a political solution to the conflict.
“What has been achieved for dear Yemen in forming a new government in accordance with the provisions of the Riyadh Agreement, is an important step in achieving a political solution, ending the crisis, establishing security and stability, and achieving the aspirations of the Yemeni people,” he tweeted.
Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saudi echoed the ministers’ praise of the new Yemeni government and hoped it would end the current crisis.
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5G connected car sales volume in China will reach 7.1 million units in 2025, accounting for 40 per cent of the country’s total connected car sales volume, according to latest research.
The sales volume of 4G connected cars are expected to reach 7.8 million units in 2020 to account for 95per cent of the country’s total connected car sales volume, according to Counterpoint Research’s Smart Automotive service.
However, with 5G seeing a fast rollout in China and the automotive industry expected to grow faster starting 2021, the share of 5G connected car sales volume will show rapid growth.
“Despite the impact of COVID-19, China’s connected car sales volume are expected to reach 8.2 million units in 2020, a slight increase of 0.8 per cent YoY from the 8.1 million units shipped in 2019,” said Senior Analyst Aman Madhok.
In terms of the global share, China is expected to grab 26.8 per cent of the sales volume in 2020, becoming the second-largest connected car market.
With a projected share of 30 per cent, the US will continue to lead the market while Europe will take the third spot, but with almost the same volume as China.
The three state-owned telecom operators in China – China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom – are expected to invest around $184 billion in 5G networks by 2025.
Luxury brands Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Audi have been offering 4G connectivity in most cars since Q1 2019.
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After Huawei released the world’s first 5G telematics module (MH5000) in April 2019, Audi quickly deployed it in its passenger cars and showcased it at the Beijing-Chongli Expressway demonstration in 2019-end.
“We expect Audi to launch these models soon, followed by other brands,” the report said.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and British Petroleum (BP) have announced the start of production from the R Cluster, ultra-deep-water gas field in block KG D6 off the Kakinada coast.
RIL and BP are developing three deepwater gas projects in block KG D6 – R Cluster, Satellites Cluster and MJ – which together are expected to meet 15 per cent of India’s gas demand by 2023. These projects will utilise the existing hub infrastructure in KG D6 block.
RIL is the operator of KG D6 with a 66.67 per cent participating interest and BP holds a 33.33 per cent participating interest.
R Cluster is the first of the three projects to come onstream. The field is located about 60 km from the existing KG D6 Control & Riser Platform (CRP) off the Kakinada coast and comprises a subsea production system tied back to CRP via a subsea pipeline. Located at a water depth of greater than 2,000 meters, it is the deepest offshore gas field in Asia. The field is expected to reach plateau gas production of about 12.9 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) in 2021.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, said, “We are proud of our partnership with BP that combines our expertise in commissioning gas projects expeditiously, under some of the most challenging geographical and weather conditions. This is a significant milestone in India’s energy landscape, for a cleaner and greener gas-based economy. Through our deep-water infrastructure in the Krishna Godavari basin we expect to produce gas and meet the growing clean energy requirements of the nation.”
BP Chief Executive Bernard Looney said, “This start-up is another example of the possibility of our partnership with Reliance, bringing the best of both companies to help meet India’s rapidly expanding energy needs. Growing India’s own production of cleaner-burning gas to meet a significant portion of its energy demand, these three new KG D6 projects will support the country’s drive to shape and improve its future energy mix.”
The next project, the Satellites Cluster, is expected to come onstream in 2021 followed by the MJ project in 2022.
Peak gas production from the three fields is expected to be around 30 mmscmd (1 bcf/d) by 2023 which is expected to be about 25 per cent of India’s domestic production and will help reduce the country’s dependence on imported gas.
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