Latest news with #Ohri
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Business Standard
16 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
DLF secures RERA approval for Privana North project, launch by Q1-end
Realty major DLF on Sunday secured Haryana RERA's approval for its upcoming luxury residential project, Privana North, located in Gurugram's Sector 76 and 77. The 17-acre project is expected to include six residential towers with around 1,164 housing units and five commercial units, according to documents available on the Haryana RERA website. This would be the third phase within DLF's 116-acre Privana project, following its launches of Privana South and West in 2024, which included 795 and 1,113 units respectively. Both projects saw a good response from investors, selling out completely within 72 hours for a combined approximate sales realisation of over ₹12,790 crore. While DLF did not respond to queries sent by Business Standard, the company, in an analyst call held last month, had stated that Privana North is expected to be launched towards the first quarter of the financial year 2025–26 (Q1 FY26). 'As soon as we have our paperwork in terms of RERA done, we will be in the market very soon,' Aakash Ohri, joint managing director and chief business officer at DLF Home Developers, had stated. Speaking on the demand for the project, Ohri had said that there has been sizable demand for both its upcoming products—in Privana and Mumbai—from local micro markets, the rest of the country, and non-resident Indians (NRIs). 'DLF products are agnostic to geography in terms of investors. So today, one is looking at various sets of people who are wanting to pick up a DLF home, as not only do they make money in capital appreciation, but once you lease them out, you have recurring income also,' he added. In the analyst call, the company had added that the two Privanas sold out last year are currently trading at a premium of ₹2,500 to ₹4,000 per square foot. The Privana project is located along the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) in Gurugram, which is being touted as an upcoming micro market within Delhi NCR. DLF's push in Gurugram comes even as it is planning to launch residential projects with an estimated sales potential of ₹73,900 crore in the medium term, according to the company's investor presentation. According to a report by real estate consultancy firm Anarock, SPR is a key micro market within Gurugram's real estate landscape, spanning from the juncture of Gurugram–Faridabad Road near Sector 58 to its convergence with NH-48 in the vicinity of Sector 74A.
India Gazette
20-05-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
DLF records highest ever sales booking in 2024-25 over premium housing boom
New Delhi [India], May 20 (ANI): Real estate major DLF on Tuesday announced it has recorded the highest ever sales booking in the just-concluded financial year 2024-25. It recorded booking worth Rs 21,223 crore in 2024-25, with Rs 2,035 crore in the January-March 2025 quarter. According to a statement from DLF, the consolidated sales booking in 2024-25 increased by 44 per cent year-on-year compared to that of Rs 14,778 crore in 2023-24. This massive boost, according to DLF, was primarily fueled by sales booking of DLF's latest super luxury offering, The Dahlias and their exceptional sell-out response of DLF Privana West in May 2024. DLF said it had also surpassed its annual guidance of Rs 17,000 crore. 'Our latest super-luxury offering - The Dahlias, received encouraging demand and generated Rs 13,744 crore in new sales bookings during the fiscal. The humbling response to our latest offering underscores our brand's strength and our commitment to customer centricity,' DLF said. 'This has resulted in the monetisation of approximately 39 per cent of the estimated total sales potential of this project within the first year of its launch. We also launched the next phase of our luxury project - DLF Privana West, which garnered strong interest and witnessed complete sell-out within a few days of the soft launch, clocking approximately Rs 5,600 crore of new sales bookings,' DLF added. On an analyst call today, Aakash Ohri, Joint Managing Director and Chief Business Officer of DLF Homes, said, '...there is a sizeable demand for both the products, both here in Privana and in Mumbai, both from the micro-geographies, rest of the countries, as well as the NRIs. ' He further highlighted that, 'Presently, the two Privanas that were sold last year are trading at a premium of Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,000 psf at present.' On housing demand in 2024-25, Ohri said, 'Housing demand for good houses in continuously there and Gurgaon today has become a very solid investment option too' He owed the growing demand in Gurugram to the cyber city, along with the major workforce.' On the timeline of the upcoming launch, Ohri said the launch of upcoming phase of Privana is expected in the first quarter of 2025-26 and the Mumbai project in the second half of this financial year. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan buys ultra-luxury flat in DLF's The Dahlias, Gurugram, for ₹69 crore
Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan has bought an ultra luxury apartment in DLF's real estate project in Gurugram, The Dahlias, for almost ₹69 crore, documents accessed by CRE Matrix, a real estate data analytics firm showed. The documents showed that the cost of the apartment is ₹65.61 crore and the total cost including the stamp duty is ₹68.89 crore. The former cricketer has paid a stamp duty of ₹3.24 crore for the apartment in DLF's The Dahlias located in Sector 54, Golf Course Road Gurgaon, the agreement for sale document showed. The transaction was registered on February 4, 2025, the document showed. Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, popularly known as 'Gabbar', has purchased a 6,040 sq ft apartment that includes five car parking spots. According to official documents, the price translates to ₹1.08 lakh per sq ft. Dhawan had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in August 2024. Queries have been sent to the developer. The former cricketer could not be reached for a comment. Earlier this year, DLF had said that it has sold 173 ultra-luxury apartments in its new project, The Dahlias, for ₹11,816 crore in almost nine weeks, on the back of strong demand from ultra-high-net-worth individuals, including top CEOs and non-resident Indians. DLF's Home Developers Joint managing director Aakash Ohri had told on January 27 that the project comprises bare-shell apartments and is expected to be completed in four years. For the uninitiated, a similar success was achieved in its project Camellias in almost 10 years. 'The Dahlias will be more luxurious than the Camellias,' he had said, adding that it will be launched in mid-2025. 'The size of these ultra-luxury units start at around 10,000 sq ft and go all the way up to 19,000 sq ft for penthouses,' Ohri had told Ohri had said the apartments were sold for ₹55 crore to ₹125 crore, while two penthouses were sold for ₹150 crore each. The Dahlias will span around 7.5 million square feet and comprise 420 residences across 29 levels and 8 towers, including 15 exclusive duplex penthouses of about 350,000 square feet. The project is the latest addition to the DLF5 Golf Links community and will overlook a proposed Lake Park. 'The residences will feature generous 4-meter floor-to-ceiling heights, expansive outdoor decks that span the width of each residence, and a seamless integration of indoor and outdoor living spaces,' Ohri had said. According to media reports, Shikhar Dhawan had also bought a house in Australia in 2015 for $730,000. He also owns a luxurious house in Delhi, worth more than ₹5 crore.
Mint
20-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
NHPC, NTPC, EIL yet to alter arbitration clause in contracts despite Centre's nudge
New Delhi: State-run companies NHPC Ltd, NTPC Ltd, and Engineers India Ltd (EIL) are yet to alter their contractual provisions related to arbitration, according to two people familiar with the matter. The finance ministry had advised all government entities last year to reduce their exposure to arbitration and attempt to resolve public procurement disputes using mediation or litigation instead. The department of expenditure, in its June 2024 advisory, had stated that arbitration was expensive and time-consuming compared to mediation and litigation. Major state-run firms shying away from arbitration may dampen the hopes of India's goal of becoming an arbitration hub, as the government is widely known as the biggest disputant in the country. Mint earlier reported that state-run firms Oil India Ltd and ONGC Ltd have reduced their exposure to arbitration, and the Delhi Public Works Department has said it will not arbitrate in future contracts. Arbitration vs mediation An arbitration clause is a commonly used dispute resolution clause. All contracts, agreements, and even treaties have dispute resolution clauses, which direct parties on how to resolve any issue. While arbitration is adversarial and binding on parties, mediation focuses on getting parties together to a singular consensus and is non-binding. 'While the finance ministry's guidelines rightly aim at curbing delays and inefficiencies in public procurement disputes, the de-emphasis on arbitration in favour of mediation and litigation merits caution," said Pragya Ohri, partner, HSA Advocates. "Mediation, inherently non-binding, lacks enforceability and often collapses in adversarial settings and when the stakes are high. This may result in an increased caseload for the already overburdened courts of the country," said Ohri. "Arbitration may not be flawless, but it remains preferable to the morass of prolonged litigation. Litigation, with the Government as the largest litigant, suffers notorious delays, often stretching into decades," Ohri at HSA Advocates added. Queries emailed to NHPC on 9 May, and NTPC and EIL on 17 May did not elicit a response till press time. NHPC contractor claims According to NHPC Ltd's FY24 annual report, the company benefited from the central government's 'Vivaad Se Vishwaas' scheme, where long-pending arbitrations were settled mutually by parties. Also, the state-run hydropower giant reduced the number of contractor claims against itself by settling matters in favour of the company. The company's contingent liabilities decreased by 9.62% year-on-year to ₹9,265 crore as of 31 March, 2024 "mainly due to contractors claim settled under the Vivad se Viswas II Scheme (contractual disputes) notified by the Government of India ( ₹676.32 crore) and reduction in contractors claims due to arbitration awards settled in favour of the company ( ₹755.85 crore)," NHPC's FY24 annual report said. Under the Vivad se Viswas II (contractual disputes) scheme, government entities can settle arbitral dues with contractors after an arbitral award or court judgement has been given, or when the dispute is being resolved. For court judgements passed before April 2023 and for arbitral awards passed before January 2023, government entities could settle the dispute by paying 85% and 65% of either the disputed amount or the amount stated by the adjudicating court or arbitral tribunal. Also Read: Supreme Court could reshape arbitration. Businesses are watching. NTPC, EIL arbitration expenses Meanwhile, India's largest thermal power generator NTPC Ltd has decreased its provisions for arbitral awards by a little over ₹625 crore in FY24, according to the company's annual report. In the same year, the power generator's income from arbitration cases has risen to about ₹143 crore compared to ₹33.92 crore the year before. Also, its expenses on arbitration cases have reduced to ₹125 crore in FY24 from ₹155 crore in FY23, according to the report. Commercial and employee-related claims against Engineers India Ltd have also reduced in FY24 to ₹229.75 crore from FY23's ₹262.55 crore, its annual report for FY24 said. EIL's FY24 annual report also dictated the facts of a case where a contractor claimed a hefty ₹400 crore from the company, and the company filed a counterclaim for about ₹120 crore. In this period, the contractor's creditor also filed an insolvency plea against the contractor. While the insolvency plea did not go through, it illustrated another example of how state-run firms challenges to arbitral awards impact private contractors. In a 2019 Supreme Court case of Hindustan Construction Company and others vs Union of India, contractors urged the court to ask public sector undertakings (PSUs) to comply with arbitral awards instead of challenging them as contractors were facing consistent insolvency scares from creditors. In July 2024, a Lok Sabha disclosure by the finance ministry said a study showed that over 60% of all arbitration awards involving NTPC Ltd and the National Highways Authority of India were challenged in court. "In all these cases, the government is compelled to spend on both arbitration as well as on litigation," minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha. Feasible mechanism The unchanged arbitration regimes of various state firms suggest that Indian arbitration remains the only feasible dispute resolution mechanism, especially for commercial disputes. India's arbitration regime, governed by the 1996 Arbitration and Conciliation Act, is at a tipping point. After being amended thrice before, the law is currently being amended for the fourth time in a massive push for institutional arbitration. Previous high-level committee reports by Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna and former law secretary T.K. Viswanathan have suggested that widespread reforms are necessary for India to become an arbitration hub, and there is a need to focus on institutional arbitration over ad-hoc arbitration. Also Read: Law ministry to start work on plugging gaps in arbitration law, as directed by Supreme Court Ad-hoc arbitration refers to cases where parties appoint an arbitrator, who then decides the rules of procedure. In an institutional arbitration, however, the rules of procedure are set by the institution providing the arbitration facilities, making the process more streamlined. Implementing new dispute resolution guidelines can be time consuming and resource-sensitive, said Arush Khanna, partner at Numen Law Offices in New Delhi. "There is also the fact that the amendments to the arbitration act are imminent, which, once implemented, are likely to assuage the concerns and trust deficit that the government undertakings are having towards arbitration," he told Mint. 'The proposed amendments aim to make institutional arbitration the norm rather than the exception, which in spirit, aligns with the finance ministry guidelines, which also encourage institutional arbitration, albeit in a restrictive manner," he added.
Khaleej Times
21-03-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Brunch with KT LUXE: Aakash Ohri, the chief business officer at DLF, on what super luxury real estate truly entails
At a time when work:life balance is an ideal to aspire to, one wonders if the C-suite ever disconnects. Turns out, it is a luxury even our leaders cannot always afford. That becomes increasingly evident as we engage in a conversation with Aakash Ohri, the chief business officer at DLF, at The Ritz Carlton, DIFC. Even though we are meeting over brunch, Ohri's appetite for work takes precedence over anything edible. He lives, and relives, every milestone that has catapulted DLF into India's top league of real estate developers. Mapping the journey of DLF is like mapping the journey of modern India itself. Established by Chaudhary Raghavendra Singh in 1946, the New Delhi-based real estate conglomerate has been instrumental in redefining the landscape of the Indian capital, and has in recent years pretty much defined what luxury living truly entails. In the 26 years that he has been part of DLF (he started with the golf business), Ohri himself has been a witness to, and a driver of, this change. In January, the company snagged record bookings in its $4 billion 'super luxury' home project, The Dahlias, in Gurgaon, as India's rich and famous clamoured to be the first to buy. Ask Ohri about the inspiration behind this bold business plan, and the dreamer in him comes to the fore. 'When the chairman thought of this way back in 2007, it was a big, big struggle to get good hospitality professionals to move from hotels to real estate in 2008,' he recalls. Instead of outsourcing its hospitality services to companies, like the Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton, DLF developed this expertise in-house within its hospitality vertical over a period of two decades, by onboarding some of the finest hospitality professionals from world's leading hotels and airlines, including India's Oberoi. Luxury real estate also lends itself to a larger-than-life vision, which translates into exclusive experiences that contribute to a fabulous lifestyle. The devil is in the details. From getting the right staff to having the right facilities, the canvas only gets broader. Ohri cites the example of the pastry shop at The Camellias, DLF's famed super luxury residences in Gurgaon and a predecessor to The Dahlias, where they flew down a choux pastry chef from Paris, who'd been trained by the best in the business, for a bakery that's aptly called Choux. 'It was not easy for us to get people from hospitality brands for a residential business. So, we had to work really hard initially to get them. This is how you create experience.' In that sense, The Dahlias and The Camellias have pretty much set the narrative on luxury living. But then India exists in contrasts, and more often than not, the West is too happy to paint the country in one hue. Ohri, who is yet to indulge, is most passionate when he is debunking these simplistic perceptions. 'I have been all over the world, and heard what people said about India,' he says. 'So, you have to come and see what we have done. It is a matter of pride for every Indian to have a place in which not many people can be. Every country has that one real estate icon: for Dubai, it's the Burj Khalifa; the US has its Beverly Hills, Manhattan has Central Park area, and London has Hyde Park. Today, The Camellias is that beacon of real estate for India, and the global real estate industry is enamoured with it.' Sample this: the residents across the project, which will total 429 luxury homes in nine towers, have access to facilities such as a health club, spa, infinity pool, clubhouse, bowling alley, a chef on call and laundry facilities, meeting rooms and a business centre, among many other services, available at its 160,000 square feet clubhouse. 'With a starting price of INR 1,40,000 per square feet (Dh6,000), The Camellias features 14 duplex penthouses, each ranging from 13,000 to 16,000 square feet,' he says. While Ohri admits that luxury is bespoke and means different things to different people, there is unanimity on The Camellias community being the 'billionaires' club of India', inhabited by the crème de la crème of the Indian society. As a result, it has also become what Ohri says is the 'biggest networking residential hub of the world'. The rush to buy in the 17-acre development was also the first time that the sales value achieved in a single project has crossed INR 100 billion ($1.16 billion) in one quarter, according to data from analytics firm CRE Matrix. With an average price of $8 million per unit, the sky is now the limit for India's super rich. Ohri notes that the trend of affluent Indians buying luxury houses picked up pace after the pandemic, as home buyers, unfazed by high borrowing costs, kept lapping up bigger, more amenities-laden houses. 'The pandemic taught us one thing: life is finite, so live it up,' Ohri says. 'If you have it and can afford it, go for it. A lot of people who had money didn't have the courage to spend it but here's what happened for real estate — after the first wave, we were boxed in. Wherever we were boxed in, we realised we needed bigger homes, that extra room, a bigger balcony, everyone was on everyone's toes. Even those who had larger homes, invested in more homes.' The rush to buy in the 17-acre development was also the first time that the sales value achieved in a single project crossed INR 100 billion ($1.16 billion) in one quarter. With an average price of $8 million per unit, the sky is now the limit for India's super rich" As was seen in other economies, holidays and car upgrades became less of a priority after Covid, with real estate becoming the number one on the list, the effects of which are sustaining today. 'People used to invest in hill and beach properties just for the sake of it, but post-Covid, people said if we have to move to Goa, our lifestyle won't change. We need to be at par with what we have right here in Delhi,' adds Ohri. The profile of the buyer, he says, has also changed. Today, 28-35-year-olds are looking at buying homes where it was once 35-plus. 'They're aspirational and work hard to get the best, and will not compromise,' he says, adding that 20 per cent of the owners of the newest development are unicorns, 'and think about the potential of that 20 per cent'. As a result of these monumental leaps, DLF has also become one of the largest employers of hospitality professionals in the country. 'By choice, these hoteliers leave and today, they have an alternate career. They can go back to hospitality and do even better. There have been general managers who have gone back to their alma maters and had promotions,' he says. And it is these teams, Ohri says, that must take the credit for the success of the brand's courageous steps — everyone from the housekeeping staff to the gardener and the 24-hour maintenance teams. 'Luxury is a process,' he says. 'Whether it's a watchmaker, a leather worker, it's about the work done every day.'
