Miscellaneous
Striking a fine balance
For several people, vaastu figures as an important factor while planning a home, says R. Ravikumar
Little Indias in every home
#When the Raos decided to build a house in Iselin, New Jersey, they went to an astrologer to determine an auspicious time for the ground breaking ceremony. That done, they explained to their Egyptian-born architect what they were looking fo
r in their home: a main entrance facing east, a large central courtyard and a separate `puja' room. The exterior would have to resemble the Wodeyar Palace in Bangalore.
The bigger, the better
The ICICI building puts a spell on any visitor with its larger than life ambience.
Biggest bang for the buck
#Owning a home has never been easier, or tougher. Today's wannabe home owner now has a whole portfolio of options to choose from in terms of size, price, location, finish, accessories and so on. Given the slump in the real estate market and the marketing
component becomes extremely important for any builder.
Pitching your home
#Forget talking about the old, old days. Its such a big change from even about ten years ago. For the average salary earner owning a home was the big love-hate thing in life. You wanted it, but the very idea - involving a cost that was beyond anything th
at you would ever spend on - intimidated you.Well, frankly it still does. But the difference is that there are so many attractions to owning a house today that some of the fear has worn off, and aspirations are taking the place of that caution based on r
egret.Its clear all around us. Any conversation among friends - who have been working even for about a couple of years - turns to buying a home. The housing loan companies are hard selling their products, and so are the banks for one thing. The tax struc
ture has for the last three to four years been adding sweeteners that we did not even know we wanted, bringing us closer to our aspirations! And there is the lifestyle thing. The pretty house or flat filled with all the goodies that we keep seeing on TV
all not only appear well within reach, they actually are.So, it is not enough if you have a house or a flat anymore. You just have to have that home theatre system, designer furniture and terracotta murals on the walls. The multimedia home pc is a forego
ne buy decision..And what is nice for you now is that with your higher aspirations the product range of home loan companies has also become more versatile. Or perhaps that just means that their aspirations have also grown to match yours! The main kind o
f loan you can take for doing up your interiors is the home improvement loan. Most of the leading home finance institutions give such loans. And the money can be used for doing woodwork - wardrobes, wall units and the like - and also for renovation, repa
irs, painting, remodeling, partitioning and the like. In fact, anything that does not require a building permit to carry out is allowed.
IT(C)'s all for art's sake
It's a dull red building in the Capital's Qutab Institutional Area, looking like most of the others and gives no indication of what is in store inside. But the moment one enters the marble-floored reception area, it becomes clear why the ITC Hotels build
ing is different from other corporate offices. Sure it has the usual marble, glass and wood found in every other office, but there is a lot more than what meets the eye.
A design that works
Winding one's way through the labyrinth lanes of Sainik Farms in South Delhi, amid the massive marble and granite exteriors of houses stands an old world haveli-like construction that stops one in the tracks. Did time stop at this particular spot for a c
ouple of centuries?
What a splash
#Utilitarian outlook is passe. You want proof? Well, check out the bathrooms of some urban Indians. Bathrooms are the innermost recesses and reflect the soul of a home. And most urban homes are quickly supplementing the traditional mug and a functional b
ucket, with some interesting throw ins.
Log in, buy house, log out
# Want to build a house without the agony of running around for contractors, architects, engineers and interior designers? Want to get yourself a residence without getting duped by building professionals and the hardware market ? Just log on to the span
king new builders portal, to be launched next month, that will list architects, interior designers, engineers, builders and all those who deal in building material on its five websites -- Indianarchitect.com, Indian_designer.com, Indianengineer.com, Indi
anbuilder.com and Indianbuildmat.com.
India Interior
KONKAN is a stretch of 720 km on the west coast of Maharashtra with Sahyadri hills on the east and Arabian Sea on the west. Except for four monsoon months, the narrow corridor is a dry place with fishing, agriculture and horticultu
re being mainline activities. Almost 40,000 to 50,000 from 375 fishing villages depend on 84,000 sq.km. of fishing area. Industry is mainly absent.
Taxation
A lousy case
THE New Delhi CEGAT got busy with lice in the Sujanil Chemo Industries case concerning an excise demand. The dispute was about the classification of the company's product `Licel' _ whether as insecticide or medicament.
READERS' RESPONSE
ONE factor that caused a post-Budget convulsion in the stock market was the steep hike in dividend tax _ any company declaring, distributing or paying dividend will now be required to pay 20 per cent tax thereon; up 100 per cent from the earlier 10 per c
ent.
Deductions take a beating
T. C. A. Ramanujam concurs with the Finance Minister's proposal to phase out tax concessions TAX REFORMS have so far meant only reduction in rates of taxes/duties and simplification of procedures. A corollary to reduction in tax rates should be a removal
of exemption provisions in the tax code. The tax code is often utilised to help fulfil the various socio-economic objectives. The innumerable provisions for incentives, deductions and concessions may be alright in a system of high taxation. But with eve
ry reduction in tax rates, the case for a separate provision for incentives gets weakened.
Making a beginning, at last
T. N. Pandey discusses the issues arising out of the proposed amendments that seek to bring to tax incomes from farm houses and land used for non-agricultural activities
