Financial Times

imes
P U B L I S H E D

BY

T I M E S

P U B L I S H I N G

H O US E

Dont Allow Taxation to

Define Your Investment
End of the lock-in period of an investment should not be
seen as a signal to exit because every asset class has its
own optimal holding period
PAGE 02

L I M I T E D

KORAMANGA LA

Koramangala Firm Mints

Money from Global Classes
Classmint is a consumer technology service used by
teachers and students. Most of its current traffic, notes
and revenue comes from US and Spain
PAGE 03
No arrangements with Financial Times,London

Not for sale outside India

Pool Makers Add USP to

Koramangala Realty Mkt
Projects having swimming pools constructed by experts not only adds value but
also enhances developers face value, giving boost to sales by near 10 percent
ASIT MANOHAR
KORAMANGALA

N A bid to lure the home

buyers for having a swimming pool developed by the
expert and pump up their home
sales, majority of the real estate
developers are moving towards
specialised swimming poolmakers for residential projects.
The developers informed that it
helps them to showcase this
facility as a USP (unique sale
proposition). The tactic has
pushed up the sales by nearly
10 percent in the locale.
Navin Raheja, chairman,
National Real Estate
Development Council
(NAREDCO) said, There are
developers in the locale who do
not hire expert pool makers and
if we compare the sales of such
developers with the developers
who hired experts, then the difference is around 10 percent in
favour of developers who are
hiring experts.
He said, The developers are
highlighting it as their USP and
buyers will be satisfied that the
swimming pools they are going
to use in future is being developed by the ones who have expertise in it. Buyers are taking
it as a sign of commitment and
sincerity of the developers to
provide quality life to the customers. Raheja even added that
it helps the developers to garner
government sympathy, as it

helps save the water level and

environment in the locale.
Standing in sync with Raheja;
Suresh Bajaj, Director,
Millennium Pools said, We are
living in a world of specialisation, general contractors by and
large are foxed, when it comes to
building pools. Pools besides being water tight structures, need
a neat clean finish, and aesthetics. A pool is not a pool if it is not
a piece of art, and added, We
recommend building shallow
pools. A pool with a depth of
900mm to 1200mm should be sufficient. We also suggest ozonisation or UV treatment to the
pools. Discharging chlorinated
back wash water to the sewage
systems, is something we dont
recommend whereas, discharging ozonated backwash water is
considered safe, as the life of
ozone in water is only 20 minutes. We also recommend discharging this backwash water to
a rainwater harvesting pit, for
recycling purposes.
On expert pool-makers helping the environment Bajaj said,
One of the major issues we suggest to the promoters of buildings that the backwash water be
drained out into rain water harvesting pits, to recharge their
ground water. Ozonated back
wash water can also be used for
watering landscaped areas.
Batting in favour of the expert
pool-makers and its positive impact on the developers and buy-

ers Vivek Mishra, MD and technical head, Premium Pools said,

Since swimming pool concerns
water a precious resource
that is as important as life itself,
one should understand that ideally a properly done swimming
pool should never be emptied.
On extra cost which a developer
need to pay while going for the
expert swimming pool maker,

Mishra said, We believe that

the cost of a pool depends on the
priorities of the builder. Per
square feet cost would vary from
`1,500 to `4,000.
On how a developer uses the
well-designed and developed
pool in its residential projects
and the role of expert swimming
pool-makers in success of a real
estate project Vivek Mishra of

Premium Pools said, A builder

normally attracts customers
with international designs and
foreign concepts. Many unique,
value additions are created to
lure users. They incorporate
various elements in the landscape for the project to stand
out. About 99 percent projects
have pool as a part of the clubhouse with the pools becoming a
necessity. Role of swimming
pool makers comes in, when a
water element in the whole
scheme of things has already
been shown as a part of the marketing brochure.
On difference in demand
between the north and south
Indians using swimming pools;
Suresh Bajaj of Millennium
Pools said, Swimming pools in
the northern states might
require heat or cool pumps, as
the weather is quite extreme.
Elaborating upon the difference
in taste of north and south
Indian swimming pool users,
Vivek Mishra of Premium Pools
said, Delhi-NCR demands features like a hydrotherapy system in a pool along with spa
lounges and Jacuzzis. For the
best of aesthetic effect, people
want to have striking water features that can be accommodated
in a pool to trickle a wow effect
with water. Fountain bubblers
are hugely popular with kids
and the best part is, these are
fairly inexpensive.

asit.manohar@timesgroup.com

Food Apps With

Varied Features
Help in Choices

FoodFood, Faasos, iTiffin & Hipcask are

providing calories counts, right wines

On the Screen
FoodFood
Suggests recipes
based on ingredients that users
have in stock

Faasos
Displays menus that are
appropriate for the time
of the day and location

iTiffin
Provides calorie
content of
dishes ordered
by users

Hipcask
Offers wine-pairing options for various dishes
and also delivers liquor

OUR BUREAU

WHEN it comes to food, technology has gone beyond placing your

orders online. New apps offer a
range of options - from recipes
and cooking to calorie counting
and picking the right wine to go
with your food.
FoodFood, a venture conceptualised by famous chef Sanjeev
Kapoor, is set to launch a tool on
their app that suggests recipes
based on ingredients that users
have in stock. An app by
Bengaluru-based iTiffin provides
the calorie content of dishes
ordered by users controlling their
diets and lists out healthy food
outlets across the city.
The app by Faasos, which
specialises in wraps and rice dishes, displays menus that are to be
appropriate for the time of the day
and location. If a user wants to
order breakfast, the app wont suggest biryani and other items usu-

ally consumed at lunch and dinner times. Faasos plans to start

breakfast delivery in May.
Hipcask, a wine and spirits
platform, has an app available in
Mumbai that offers wine-pairing
options for various dishes and
also delivers liquor. The eightmonth old app has 12,000 users
and will soon be launched in
Bengaluru.
Even with regular online foodordering entities, apps are
increasingly becoming the most
preferred option used by their
customers. Foodpanda, which operates in 200 Indian cities with a 10
lakh user base, gets 50 percent of
its orders through its app. After
books, fashion and real estate, the
next thing that had to take the app
route was food. We need food more
than we need any of the above,
said Saurabh Kochhar, CEO
of Foodpanda.
Continued on Page 3