Land record software developed by Goa Government wins international award

A land record portal developed by the Goa government has won an international award for making e-governance concepts people-friendly and accessible, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said Tuesday.

Dharnaksh, an e-government project conceived and implemented by the department of settlement and land records, won the Geospatial World Application Excellence award at Holland’s Rotterdam last week, beating over 270 nominations from across the globe, he said.

The citation issued by the organisers of the conference, the Geospatial World Forum, describes the Dharnaksh, as a “robust, reliable and people-friendly land records management system”. The conference which was held in Rotterdam also had union Communication and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal as one of the key speakers.

Dharnaksh enables anyone with a computer and an internet connection to search through all the land records as well as survey numbers as well as see the property in question via satellite imagery by just logging in the corresponding property details.

The details available online also enables land owners to ensure that the land and the title deed and survey records has not been surreptitiously transferred by land sharks.

HC allows property sale on power of attorney

NEW DELHI: Spelling relief for thousands of property owners in the city, the Delhi high court has struck down a controversial circular of the state government that restricted property transaction via general power of attorney.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher faulted the state government for wrong interpretation of a landmark 2011 Supreme Court on the issue of power of attorney (GPA), pointing out the apex court never issued a blanket ban on registration by taking recourse to a GPA. The circular had created massive confusion among property owners who had to regularize their property through a fresh sale deed and pay stamp duty.

"The Supreme Court has not said that in no case a conveyance can be registered by taking recourse to a GPA. As long as the transaction is genuine, the same will have to be registered by the Sub-Registrar. There is distinctly a specific reference to the fact that, a person may enter into a development agreement with a land developer or builder for development of a parcel of land or for construction of apartments in a building, and for this purpose a power of attorney to execute sale agreements, can be executed," the court observed.

In October 2011, the SC had ruled that sale transactions carried in the name of GPA will have no legal sanctity and immovable property can be sold or transferred only through registered deeds. Last year, the state government came out with a circular banning sale of property on the basis of a GPA, a will, and agreement to sell, collectively or separately in respect of an immovable property. "No transfer of property will take place until a clear sale deed is executed and duly registered by the executants in the office of the Registrar/ Sub-Registrar," the circular stated, with the government claiming it issued it in "strict adherence to SC ruling" on property transactions.

The government had clarified that property transactions involving GPA, done after the SC order of October 2011 would not be null and void and property holders can "regularize" them by paying the difference in the stamp duty.

HC's order came on the petition of a builder who had entered into a property transaction in south Delhi by way of a GPA. The builder highlighted how the government's circular failed to make a distinction between registration of a genuine GPA and those done to evade stamp duty. Source: Abhinav Garg, TNN

Transforming Beyond 'Factory Asia' Key to Keeping Economies Strong

NEW DELHI, INDIA – Developing Asia must invest in skills, technologies, and the private sector to move beyond low-cost manufacturing and ensure economic growth remains strong, delegates at the Governors’ Seminar at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) heard today.

“’Factory Asia’ itself is clearly evolving,” ADB President Takehiko Nakao said. “Huge investments must be made in education and skills training that are appropriate for the needs of the future. For any of this evolution to proceed, the right infrastructure must be in place.”

Exporting manufactured goods has transformed many Asian economies over the past few decades, helping lift millions out of poverty. However, that growth model needs to evolve given changing global patterns of growth, demographics, and technology, according to Beyond Factory Asia: Fuelling Growth in a Changing World, which was presented at the Governors’ Seminar, the flagship seminar of the Annual Meeting.

Slow growth in the US, Europe, and Japan together with a growing Asian middle class means demand is shifting away from developed markets to emerging economies. Expanding markets in other regions of the world may also present a new opportunity for Asia.

Meanwhile, production in Asia is becoming more expensive as wages and commodity prices tick up and as the labor pool shrinks, eroding Asia’s cost advantage. Complex supply chains and volatile foreign exchange rates make management of manufacturing across multiple countries difficult and increasingly risky.

While low-cost manufacturing will remain a key part of Asia’s economies going forward, its contribution will decline and governments need to be ready now to help their economies continue to transform.  The region needs to boost domestic demand and help firms target other emerging markets in Asia and beyond. Greater regional cooperation will open up trade across borders and keep protectionism in check.

Support will be needed to help the private sector move up the value chain and to develop the financial markets needed for companies to raise funds and manage risks. Meanwhile, countries need to help their people learn the skills that companies need to produce more sophisticated goods and to invest in the research that will encourage development and adoption of new technologies.

Other panelists at the seminar included Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso; Anne Sipilainen, ADB Governor for Finland; Armida Alisjahbana, the Indonesian State Minister for National Development Planning; Raghuram Rajan, the chief economic advisor to the Government of India; and Harvard Business School Professor Tarun Khanna.