Ruchi Bakers

On a Strong Foundation

The Rajya Sabha passed a landmark Real Estate Bill on Thursday with a promise to secure the interests of home buyers and developers in equal measure and remove corruption and inefficiency from the sector.

Salient Features

- Mandatory for developers to deposit 70% money from buyers in a third party bank account
- Provision for imprisonment of up to 3 years in case developers are found guilty of fraud
- Registration of all projects in each state compulsory
- Developers not allowed to change plans unless two- third allotees have agreed to it
- Builders to be responsible for fixing structural defects for five years after transferring the property to a buyer
- Commercial real estate also covered

We hope it is indeed a step in the right direction.

RIP, Martin Crowe

Martin Crowe, one of New Zealands most elegant batsman passed away on Thursday due to cancer. A teenage prodigy who made his international debut at 19, he played 77 Tests – 16 of them as captain – between 1982 and 1995, and was the second highest run scorer in New Zealand Test history, with 5,444 runs at an average of 45.36. He had strong claim to being the best New Zealand batsman the country has so far produced.

He had a short spell as chief executive of the Royal Challengers Bangalore cricket team in the Indian Premier League as well.

R.I.P, Martin! We will never forget the way you regaled the crowds with your batting skills.

Budget 2016

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present his third General Budget on Monday. There are enough indications to suggest that the Union Budget for 2016-17 will primarily focus on stimulating growth without deviating too much from the fiscal deficit target set by Mr. Jaitley in his previous Budget.

The Government is expected to unveil a road map for big-ticket disinvestment, announce increases slightly more generous than the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission, the lowering of the corporate tax from 30 per cent to 29 per cent, the first cut in the series planned to bring it down over the next four years to 25 per cent, among others.

PM Modi ji told students yesterday that this budget is like an exam for him too. We hope he is highly successful in the exams!