Tag: Arvind Subramanian

Strong end-user demand driving residential market growth, says Mahindra Lifespaces MD Arvind Subramanian

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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[wealthdesk shortname=”Mahindra Life” isinid=”INE813A01018″ bseid=”532313″ nseid=”MAHLIFE” sector=”Construction & Contracting – Civil” exchange=”nse”]

Arvind Subramanian, MD & CEO, Mahindra Lifespaces is continuing to see strong end-user demand, which is driving the residential markets. “It has been a fantastic quarter two seasonally. Particularly in the Mumbai market, the quarter two tends to be softer because of the monsoons and other factors but this year we have seen a very strong growth sequentially from quarter four onwards,” Subramanian told CNBC-TV18.

The Mumbai property registrations have come in strong with over 20 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth. August traditionally records a sequential drop in registrations but it has been the best August in the last 10 years.

Shares of Mahindra Lifespace Developers touched their 52-week high for a second consecutive day on Tuesday. The stock, however, gave up gains to touch an intraday low of Rs 528.05, down 2.13 percent on the BSE.

“A lot of our growth depends on continued land acquisition,” said Subramanian. The realty firm on Monday said it was looking to acquire a few land parcels this fiscal year to build housing projects with sales potential of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore.

Also Read: Mahindra Lifespace eyes land parcels to build housing projects with Rs 4,000 crore sales potential

The company is holding on to its target of Rs 2,500 crore bookings with 4 million sq ft of volumes. “That is our first milestone in our growth journey. We do see strong tailwinds and do believe that we are well on course to hit that target. Last couple of years we did just under Rs 700 crore in FY21 and over Rs 1,000 crore in FY22. So, we expect to maintain similar growth this year as well,” he explained.

Going into next year, the order pipeline is looking very strong for the company.

In terms of quarter one bookings, he said, “We must recognise there were two very strong launches in that quarter – Mahindra Eden in Bangalore and Mahindra Luminare in Gurgaon. Both of them contributed very strongly. We don’t expect to have such similar launches in the subsequent quarters.”

On redevelopment projects in Mumbai societies, he said, “We are in advanced conversations in a couple of situations in the redevelopment societies, redevelopment space in Mumbai and if all things go well, we should see some positive movement in the next couple of months.”

Also Read: Mahindra Lifespace touches 52-week high as it looks to build projects with Rs 4,000 crore sales potential

Mahindra Lifespaces is participating in a couple of resolution processes and is looking at some distressed assets, particularly some transactions that are going through a resolution process.

When asked about the geographies the company is looking at, he replied, “Currently there are Mumbai-based assets but we are keeping an eye on Pune and Bangalore which are the other two residential markets of interest to us.”

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video

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Mahindra Lifespaces says Mumbai’s old apartment redevelopment projects picking pace fast

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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[wealthdesk shortname=”Mahindra Life” isinid=”INE813A01018″ bseid=”532313″ nseid=”MAHLIFE” sector=”Construction & Contracting – Civil” exchange=”nse”]

Mahindra Lifespaces MD and CEO Arvind Subramanian on Thursday said the company was seeing strong interest in society redevelopment in Mumbai.

“There are a lot of old societies that are coming up for redevelopment, and as soon as we announced our intent to participate in this space, we have been flooded with enquiries from societies,” he said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

Mahindra Lifespaces is not the only developer who thinks Mumbai is doing well. Prestige Estates recently told CNBC-TV18 that the company would launch more flats after Mumbai sales boosted its average price realisation.

Irfan Razack, chairman and managing director of Prestige Group, said that the Mumbai market had given 25 percent of the entire Rs 3,000 crore sales in June quarter, and thus they are confident of an uptick in the coming times.

Also Read: Moving to net zero was a natural evolution, says Mahindra Lifespaces

Apart from redevelopment projects in Mumbai, Mahindra Lifespaces MD and CEO Arvind Subramanian said there was strong demand the overall real estate market in Pune and Bengaluru.

“All these three markets are very exciting,” he said, adding there is a clear customer preference to do business with more reputed developers who have a track record.

In terms of geographical expansion, he said, “Our strategy is to focus on a few geographies and go deeper into them. Our residential developments over the next few years are going to be focused on Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru and we are seeing a strong demand.”

Also Read: Top 8 Indian cities where real estate prices keep rising

The company recorded multi-quarter high levels in terms of sales volumes and bookings in quarter one of FY23. “June has been a record quarter for us both on residential sales as well as industrial bookings,” Subramanian said.

In the June quarter, the company had two successful launches, one in Bengaluru — Mahindra Eden, India’s first net zero energy project — and the second in Gurugram. “Both have contributed to a very strong sales performance on the residential side,” he said.

But Subramanian doesn’t expect every quarter this year to be similar because the future pipeline of launches is more intermittent.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ashoka University acknowledges ‘lapses in institutional processes’. Here’s what we know so far

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Days after political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta and former Chief Economic Advisor of India Arvind Subramanian quit Ashoka University, the administration on Sunday issued a joint statement, acknowledging there were some “lapses in institutional processes”, which the varsity “will work to rectify”.

The university said the rectification will “reaffirm our commitment to academic autonomy and freedom which have always been at the core of the Ashoka University ideals”.

About Mehta, the university said it was its privilege to be led, guided and counselled by him, first as V-C and then a senior faculty. Subramanian, Ashoka said, “brought eminence, stature, fresh ideas and energy”, adding his exit “leaves a void that will be hard to fill”.

India’s premier liberal arts institution has been in the eye of a storm over the past week after Mehta resigned as a professor on March 16. Even as  students, faculty and academia at large were still coming to terms with Mehta’s decision to quit, his colleague Arvind Subramanian too followed suit, citing the “circumstances involving Mehta.”

Two high-profile resignations within a few days apart triggered protests from students and statements from the faculty at Ashoka University. While Mehta resigned as University’s Vice-Chancellor two years ago, he continued as a professor until his resignation on March 16 this year. Subramanian had joined the varsity as recently as July 2020 in the capacity of a professor in the Department of Economics.

March 16:

Pratap Bhanu Mehta quit as a professor, saying the founders of Ashoka had made it “abundantly clear” to him that his association with the varsity was a “political liability”. In his resignation letter, Mehta wrote that his public writing that tries to honour constitutional values of freedom and equal respect for all citizens is seen as carrying risk for the institution.

March 18:

Just two days later, Arvind Subramanian, the former Chief Economic Advisor of India, also submitted his resignation, saying the circumstances involving the “resignation” of Mehta, a dear friend and a truly inspirational national figure, have “devastated” him. “That even Ashoka—with its private status and backing by private capital—can no longer provide a space for academic expression and freedom is ominously disturbing,” the former CEA wrote in his resignation letter. His resignation takes effect at the end of the academic year.

March 19:

The following day the faculty at the Ashoka University issued a statement, demanding the institution ask Professor Mehta to rescind his resignation, adding his resignation was “a direct consequence of his role as a public intellectual and critic of the government”. They further said that it would set a “chilling precedent” for the removal of future professors too.

The faculty added that more troubling for them was the possibility that Ashoka University might have “acceded to pressure to remove Professor Mehta or to request, and accept his resignation”.

Students, too, organised sit-ins on college campus the same day and demanded Professor Mehta be brought back. #NotMyAshoka was one of the trends on Twitter in support of Mehta.

March 20:

Former RBI governor and eminent economist Raghuram Rajan hit out at the Ashoka University and described Mehta’s resignation as “a sad development for India”, adding by allowing this to happen, the founders had bartered away varsity’s soul.

Speaking of both resignations, he said Subramanian as well as Mehta’s resignations suggested the founders of the university buckled under outside pressure.

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Ashoka University acknowledges lapses in institutional processes over resignations of Mehta, Subramanian

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Ashoka University on Sunday acknowledged “lapses in institutional processes” and expressed “deep regret” at the recent events surrounding the resignations of political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta and noted economist Arvind Subramanian from its faculty. Meanwhile, Mehta wrote a letter to students, urging them to not “press” for his return asserting that the circumstances that led to his resignation will not change in foreseeable future.

The university in Haryana’s Sonipat became the centre of a controversy earlier this week, when Mehta, who had resigned as its vice-chancellor two years back, chose to step down as professor, saying that the founders made it “abundantly clear” that his association with the institution was a “political liability”. Subramanian, the former chief economic advisor to the government, had resigned from the university two days later in solidarity with Mehta.

“We acknowledge that there have been some lapses in institutional processes which we will work to rectify in consultation with all stakeholders. This will reaffirm our commitment to academic autonomy and freedom which have always been at the core of the Ashoka University ideals,” the institution said in a statement. “Ashoka has been privileged to have been led, guided and counselled by Pratap first as Vice Chancellor and then as senior faculty. Subramanian brought eminence, stature, fresh ideas and energy to the university and his exit leaves a void that will be hard to fill,” it added.

Joint Statement – Issued by Chancellor Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Vice-Chancellor Malabika Sarkar, Former Vice-Chancellor and Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Professor Arvind Subramanian and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Ashish Dhawan.https://t.co/i8NHEnKVuR

— Ashoka University (@AshokaUniv) March 21, 2021

The statement has been jointly issued by the university chancellor, vice-chancellor and the chairman of Board of Trustees, along with Mehta and Subramanian. “Pratap and Arvind would like to emphasize that Ashoka University is one of the most important projects in Indian higher education. They are sad to be leaving Ashoka, especially its outstanding students and faculty. They continue to believe strongly that Ashoka University should embody a liberal vision and commitment to academic freedom and autonomy. “And they remain lifelong friends and well-wishers of the institution and are committed to its success wherever they are,” the statement said, adding that the two professors will remain “available for advice and consultation to the university in the future”.

The students have called for a two-day boycott of classes from Monday in protest over the developments. Mehta, however, said he wants to close this chapter. “The underlying circumstances that led to the resignation will not change for the foreseeable future, in my case, at any rate. So I must close this chapter. I urge you not to press on this matter. I know you will be disappointed. But if I may exercise one last bit of professorial discretion: your mission is larger than the fate of two Professors, Mehta said in his letter addressed to the students.

“The poise and articulacy with which your defended important values and demanded accountability should make anyone want to associate with this university. You are its beating heart and soul and nothing can damage that,” he said. “Second, it is not for me to intercede in this matter. But I imagine your voice will, in the long run, make Ashoka a better university and get it to recommit to its ideals and values. So your outpouring is already a victory of sorts. You have taught us by example, what we were badly trying to teach you by lectures,” he added.

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Ashoka founders bartered away varsity’s soul: Raghuram Rajan on Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Arvind Subramanian’s resignations

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Days after two high-profile resignations — first Pratap Bhanu Mehta and then Arvind Subramanian — at the Ashoka University, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan hit out at the institution, saying that the founders had bartered away its soul.

The eminent economist described Mehta’s resignation as “a sad development for India” in a LinkedIn post. Addressing the founders of Ashoka University in his note, Rajan said they should have realised their mission was never to take political sides but to protect the rights of people like Pratap Bhanu Mehta, who had resigned as the institution’s vice-chancellor two years ago.

Rajan said by protecting the rights, the founders were allowing Ashoka “to make its greatest contribution to India’s wellbeing — identifying what is wrong and encouraging us all to remedy it”.

On the resignation of former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian, Rajan said that his as well as Mehta’s letters announcing resignations suggested the founders of the university, which was seen as India’s answer and “likely competitor to Cambridge, Harvard and Oxford in coming decades,” buckled under outside pressure.

According to the former RBI governor, “The reality is that Professor Mehta is a thorn in the side of the establishment. He is no ordinary thorn because he skewers those in government and in high offices like the Supreme Court with vivid prose and thought-provoking arguments. It is not that he has much sympathy for the opposition either.”

Rajan said Mehta was an equal opportunity critic, a true example of an academic, adding he hoped the former Ashoka professor will continue to be “one of the intellectual leaders of liberalism in India.”

Rajan’s criticism of university administration and founders comes after Pratap Bhanu Mehta resigned as a professor, saying the founders had made it very clear that his association with the varsity was a “political liability”. Just days later, his colleague Subramanian, too, quit the University, calling Mehta’s departure “ominously disturbing.”

Besides the “circumstances involving Mehta”, Subramanian said that “even Ashoka — with its private status and backing by private capital— can no longer provide a space for academic expression and freedom is ominously disturbing”.

The faculty at Ashoka University has issued a statement, demanding the institution ask Mehta to rescind his resignation, while students organised protests on campus and demanded the professor be brought back.

In its statement, the faculty said that Professor Mehta’s resignation was “a direct consequence of his role as a public intellectual and critic of the government” and that it would set a “chilling precedent” for the removal of future professors too.

They further said that more troubling for them is the possibility that the varsity may have “acceded to pressure to remove Professor Mehta or to request, and accept his resignation”.

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Former CEA Arvind Subramanian to join Ashoka University as professor of economics

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian will join Ashoka University as a professor in the department of economics beginning July, the university said in a statement on Friday.

Subramanian is currently visiting lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School.

He will also be the founding director of the new Ashoka Center for Economic Policy, which will be devoted to research and analysis on policy issues related to India and global development, Ashoka University said in the statement.

Subramanian was appointed CEA on October 16, 2014 for a period of three year and was given an extension in 2017.

However, he had quit the job with close to one year of his tenure remaining and returned to the US. Subramanian’s official contract was till May 2019.

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Coronavirus cure difficult to emerge; likely to spread further, says Financial Times’ Martin Wolf

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator at Financial Times is of the belief that the coronavirus will hurt the global economy in the second quarter as well.

“My view has been not to have expectations about what could happen because we don’t know but it seems very plausible that it could spread. It is a very difficult disease because you are infectious before you are symptomatic. So unless you stop everybody from moving, it is likely to spread,” said Wolf.

“Now that it is in Europe, it is going to spread across Europe and that almost certainly means it is going to spread across the world because Europe is completely integrated into the world. We have to hope that the disease will die down in the summer, we don’t know but it is clear now that this is going to be a significant factor for the world economy,” he said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

“Everybody expects this first quarter to be very bad and I would say now it seems likely that Q2 will also be very bad; lots of movement will stop, tourism will be down, trade will be down and Europe is a very important continent from this point of view. So, I would expect it to be a significant jolt,” he added.

Now real question is would the world economy recover in Q3 and Q4 as the disease dies down but at this stage we don’t know. Moreover, we don’t know what the fatality rate will be,” he said.

According to him, it is always difficult to find a cure for virus,” What I have been reading suggests that cure is not likely to emerge quickly. They of course know the structure of the disease but creating a cure that works seems to be quite difficult. So, I am assuming it is not going to be available in the next couple of quarters and it is therefore likely to spread further,” he added.

When asked about India and growth slowdown, he said, “I do think if nothing changes very much, Indian policy remains sort of where it is and the world is sort of where it is, India’s growth is not likely to be above 7 percent and is more likely be around 6 percent.”

“If everything goes roughly where we are now without any huge negative shocks, if India is to grow much faster than that, which means it is going to grow 2.5-3 times as fast as the world economy then some things have to improve a lot and the most obvious one is export competitiveness has to improve and that is a point that Arvind Subramanian has been making. You cannot have rapid growth without exports growing at least as fast as your economy,” he noted.

“Indian exports have to start growing at 8 percent a year or so, which is nowhere near what is happening and for that to happen, you need massive improvements in competitiveness, attraction of foreign investment. So, you have to do almost what China did. So, that needs change, a purposeful change,” he said, adding that it is not just about export competitiveness, it is also about the infrastructure and the other things, the skills etc.

“So, I am assuming that without those policy changes, particularly with the instability we are seeing now, India’s growth is probably going to be in the 5-6 percent range and that is very depressing because that means employment growth is not adequate. If employment growth is not adequate, you have got a lot of unhappy people here –so, where does that lead Indian politics? It could lead it to a very dark place. So it is very important that policy improves if India is to remain stable, prosperous and happy, which is what I want it to be,” he further mentioned.

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GST Council meet on Dec 18: What’s on agenda?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The GST Council will take a cognizance of the falling revenue levels and its deviation from the revenue neutral rate (RNR) in its meeting to be be held on December 18, 2019, according to the agenda note for the meeting accessed by CNBC-TV18.

The agenda note talks about the reasons behind the current decline in revenue, and how government deviated from RNR.  The government’s GST revenue declined, as current RNR is lower than the rate suggested by then chief economic adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian. Subramanian suggested RNR at 15 percent to 15.5 percent. Several late rationalisation exercises has deviated the current rate structure from RNR, leading to shortage of funds, it said.

It suggested some measures to augment revenue collections through either rate rationalisation of cess or cut down items from the exemption list.

GST Council meeting: What’s on the agenda

-To take detailed cognizance of falling GST revenue
-To consider broadening I-T tax base, additional resource mobilisation
-To consider improved tax compliance

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow