What is fueling the demand for Holiday homes in India?

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New Delhi– Just when the globe thought they’d had enough of COVID-19 and were looking forward to happier times, Omicron appeared and confirmed that the pandemic was far from over. This new type, which has been dubbed “extremely transmissible,” has caused mayhem across countries and disrupted businesses. This new version has had a significant impact on the travel and hotel industries.

The holiday home segment is prospering in the midst of all of this commotion. For a long time, the concept of a vacation home has been gaining traction. The section, however, really took off during the pandemic.

Commenting on the growing popularity of holiday homes, Aditya Kushwaha, CEO and Director, Axis Ecorp, says, “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of a holiday home or a second home has gained widespread acceptance.” With most corporate professionals working from home, geography is no longer a constraint. Millennials who are scouting for a perfect balance between work and personal life have fueled the concept of a weekend retreat in a holiday home. Given that people are giving extra importance to health and hygiene, a holiday home makes perfect sense. ”

Vinit Dungarwal, Director, AMs Project Consultants, says, “The demand for luxury properties has seen an uptick worldwide and India is no different. Prospective buyers are attaching a lot more value to community, design, surroundings, greenery, amenities, and services. This trend is fuelling the demand for holiday homes. Earlier, for a getaway, people would either rent a place or check in to a hotel, but with the pandemic, people are apprehensive about common spaces and thus more receptive to the idea of having a holiday home. ”

It makes financial and practical sense to have your own home in a beautiful, well-equipped, and fully-stocked place. Holiday homes are also considered to be a relatively safe investment option because they produce higher capital appreciation than residences in metro areas. These houses can be rented out to home-stays and tourism firms, a burgeoning market that offers investors a secure and consistent source of income. (IANS)

A festival to salute India’s vibrant democracy

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The Republic Day this year is a time when citizens of India must rededicate themselves to fulfilling their duties

Republic Day is not only an occasion to take pride in our identity as Indians but also an occasion for the citizens of our country to reiterate our resolve to promote equality and brotherhood in the country.

This year we are celebrating our 73rd Republic Day. This journey of our Republic had started on January 26, 1950 when we had resolved to abide by and remain faithful to the principles enshrined in our Constitution. On the day our Constitution came into force, India became a fully sovereign democratic republic. The Constitution has been our guiding force in the journey of the nation as a mature democracy among comity of nations.

Also Read India has shown unmatched resolve in facing challenge of pandemic: President

Much thought and work

The task of drafting the Constitution of India was assigned to a seven-member committee under the chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The Constituent Assembly undertook intensive deliberations over a period of two years, 11 months and 18 days spread over 11 sessions, during which the Constitution of India took shape which was then adopted on November 26, 1949. January 26, 1950 was the momentous day when, at last, decades of struggle for true Swaraj finally bore fruit and the supremacy of the sovereign will of the people was truly established.

Our Constituent Assembly played a dual role after Independence, given the insurmountable task of nation-building. On the one hand, there was the task of framing an enlightened Constitution for an independent India and on the other, to play the role of a legislature for the nascent nation. The Constituent Assembly of India acted as the first Parliament of independent India. It is an interesting historical fact that Dr. Rajendra Prasad chaired the sittings of the House when it met as the Constituent Assembly while Ganesh Mavalankar presided over as Speaker when the House met as the legislature.

Our Constituent Assembly had performed the functions of the provisional Parliament of India in the interval between the time our Constitution was enforced and the day when the new Parliament was formed following the first General Elections (October 25, 1951-February 21, 1952).

Also Read Why Republic Day is celebrated

May 13, 1952 was the historic date when the first sitting of the newly elected First Lok Sabha, representing the hopes and aspirations of the 36 crore citizens of India, was held.

A beacon

Since then, in the seven and a half decades of this glorious journey, our Constitution has not only upheld the hopes and aspirations of the 135 crore population but has also acted as an unwavering beacon of light, guiding us on the path of building a great and resilient country.

Representative institutions and democratic traditions have always been an integral part of our rich heritage. This is why when India adopted the modern form of a democratic structure of governance after Independence, it was a seamless transition which was much lauded the world over. Today, when we celebrate ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to mark the 75th anniversary of our independence, it is high time for us to evaluate the gains made so far and strive for a futuristic action plan of building a new India. We have to ensure that our institutions and governance ensure inclusivity and the participation of our population in our developmental journey, particularly our women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and all other marginalised sections become equal partners in our growth story.

Our Parliament has been playing a pivotal role in the all-round development of the nation by adopting many parliamentary devices for ensuring free and fair discussions and dialogue. These devices have enabled the Members to raise the concerns of the people in the House and to draw the attention of the Government towards their satisfactory resolution, and also ensure transparency and accountability of the executive.

Help for legislators, MPs

To ensure that best legislative practices are shared, a national portal is being planned to serve as a repository of the proceedings of Parliament and all State/Union Territory legislatures in the country. At the same time, measures are being taken to provide support for capacity building of the Members of Parliament. Research support is being provided to Members to help them participate better and meaningfully in matters brought before Parliament. A dedicated parliamentary research team is being set up for the purpose. Efforts are on to reform and strengthen the parliamentary committee system to make it more effective.

Our goal is to make our legislatures a forum where meaningful, positive and result-oriented discussions are held; a legislature where all sides are able to put forth their opinions; a legislature where we are able to arrive at a resolution through constructive dialogue while respecting divergent views. It is also time in the journey of our nation to take stock and review laws that were enacted during the pre-Independence era so as to make them more relevant to our current requirements and future challenges. For this, all political parties will have to enter into a constructive and healthy understanding through mutual dialogue.

Republic Day is an occasion for people’s representatives and all citizens of this proud nation to reaffirm faith in the ideals enshrined in our Constitution. Baba Saheb Ambedkar, in his speech before the Constituent Assembly on November 4, 1948, had underlined that the basis of constitutional morality is to hold the values enshrined in the Constitution as paramount.

Republic Day is also an occasion to contemplate as citizens our responsibility in the diligent discharge of our duties just as we continue to cherish our fundamental rights.

A vision for the future

Let us celebrate this Republic Day as a festival and firmly rededicate ourselves to the fulfilment of our duties to bring happiness, prosperity and a better quality of life for all our citizens in keeping with the vision of the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi — of creating an ideal democracy with morality at its core, discipline in the hearts of its citizen, and where everybody fulfilled their duties and the rights of all were protected. It is that vision which guides our Constitution, and it is the same vision that should be our guide for the future.

With this belief, I wish all my fellow countrymen a very happy Republic Day.

Om Birla is Speaker, Lok Sabha

Bank Holiday in January: Banks to be Shut for Republic Day. Check Other Holidays this Week

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Bank Holidays in January: As we are headed towards the end of the first month of the year, bank holidays of the month also seemed to have been largely used up in the initial days. Banks across all private and public sectors will remain closed for up to two days in the last week of January, with one of them being a Sunday. If we count from January 24, Monday, banks will be closed for two days — on January 26 and January 30 — during the last week of January. On that note, you must know that there were 16 bank holidays in January, 14 of which have already been used up, including the weekend leaves.

The Reserve Bank of India has issued a list of bank holidays for the year 2022 in its annual list. The holidays have been prepared according to this list. So, if you have any bank related work, you should check with your nearest branch first regarding the bank holidays in January so that you can carry out your work seamlessly. On that note, you should also keep in mind that it should not be much of a concern as these bank holidays are largely state-wise. This means that they are not usually uniform in nature.

Bank holidays come into effect as per a list released by the Reserve Bank of India or RBI. According to a list by the central bank, the number of holidays has been fixed at 16 this month. The remaining are the weekend leaves. This includes all Sundays of the month, as well as second and fourth Saturdays. Banks remain open on the first and third Saturdays of every month. The RBI’s list of holidays falls into three categories. These are state-wise celebrations, religious holidays and festival celebrations.

The central bank’s notification for holidays has been notified under three brackets, including ‘Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act’, ‘Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement Holiday’ and ‘Banks’ Closing of Accounts’. On these notified holidays, all branches of banks, which includes the public sector, private sector, foreign banks, cooperative banks and regional banks, will remain shut.

While there are no national holidays lined up for the month of January, most banks will remain closed on January 26 on the occasion of Republic Day. Having said that, let’s take a look at the list of holidays when banks will be closed during the last week of January, so that you can make a schedule accordingly.

Here is the full list of holidays for the last week of January 2022, as per RBI mandate: (Counting from January 24 onwards)

January 26: Republic Day - Across the country except in Imphal, Jaipur, Srinagar, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh and Agartala.

Apart from the varying state-wise holidays. The banks were kept closed on some of the days of the weekends, one of which is still left. It must be noted in this regard that weekend leaves are uniform in nature across India. These are mentioned below:

January 30: Sunday

So, if you have any bank-related work this week, keep these bank holidays in mind before heading out.

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here.

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To engage in shared traditions is to take part in something larger than oneself and spend valuable time with loved ones.

With students celebrating a wide variety of cultural and religious holidays, there was no shortage of celebration this season. Whether it be the harvest festival Makar Sankranti, the Jewish tradition of lighting the Menorah during Hanukkah or decorating the Christmas tree, students’ traditions are characterized by exciting festivities and family union.

One such holiday celebrated by students at the University is Makar Sankranti — a Hindu festival celebrated each year in January that marks the beginning of a new harvest season. Although the celebration has many different names, in North India it is often referred to as Makar Sankranti and in South India it is referred to as Pongal. This year, Makar Sankranti is to be celebrated on Jan. 14.

Aparna Ramanan, fourth-year Engineering student and culture chair of the Indian Student Association, is South Indian and values the Pongal tradition of boiling milk. Sometimes with rice added in, the milk is boiled until it overflows, which is a manifestation of hope for abundant crop yields during the harvest season.

“We wake up [at dawn] and then we boil milk in the morning because in India, boiling milk is a symbolism of prosperity and good health,” Ramanan said.

Ramanan recognizes the diversity of Pongal traditions in different regions of India. In Northern India, people go to Melas, or fairs. Following their participation in a ceremonial river bathing in the Son, Banas, Mahan or Gopad River, those celebrating Makar Sankranti will consume traditional cuisine and freshly harvested produce. Another common tradition in North Indian celebration of Makar Sankranti is kite flying and decorating.

Living in Northern Virginia, Pongal allows Ramanan to maintain cultural tradition and garner a sense of connection by participating in a widely and diversely celebrated holiday.

“[Pongal is] a way for me to connect back with my Indian roots. No one else really knows that it exists compared to the more generic holidays like Diwali,” Ramanan said. “I personally like celebrating Pongal because it’s niche and reminds me of, you know, the smaller traditions of my culture and also reminds me of the vast differences of culture in India.”

Another holiday celebrated by students is Hanukkah, which occurred from Nov. 28 to Dec. 6 this past year. On each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, families recite Hanukkah blessings and light one of the eight candles of the menorah. The eight candles evoke the story of the Hanukkah miracle — when the oil to light the menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem miraculously kept the candles aflame for eight nights despite being projected to extinguish after the first night. This event marked the Jews’ triumph over a tyrant king who forced them to worship Greek Gods and their reclamation of the holy temple.

Second-year College student Adin Yager celebrated Hanukkah for the first time on Grounds this year. Yager has found ways to adapt to this unique context such as returning to Grounds after Thanksgiving break with a large bag of Hanukkah presents gifted to him by his mother. Although he left his Menorah at home, Yager has still managed to experience the emblematic cultural tradition of Hanukkah — the lighting of the Menorah.

“Every night for candle lighting, I’ve been FaceTiming with my family … [My mom] gave me a bag of, you know, little presents to take so I’ve been opening them [over FaceTime],” Yager said.

Yager said he has also attended one of the Menorah lightings hosted by the Chabad House, where he ran into University President Jim Ryan engaged in discussion with Rabbi Shlomo.

When home for Hanukkah, Yager shared that his family’s celebration includes many of the conventional Hanukkah traditions like Menorah lightings, singing Hanukkah songs and joining with family members to enjoy traditional Jewish cuisine.

“At home we’ll light the menorah every night. [We] say all the blessings, sing some Hanukkah songs afterwards, [and] open some presents. We’ll, you know, have family and friends over,” Yager said. “Every once in a while, we’ll do a, you know, bigger Hanukkah dinner with a ton of latkes and … jelly donuts.”

Beyond conventional Hanukkah traditions, Yager said that his extended family lives as far as Michigan, a distance demanding unique traditions such as a long-distance gift exchange.

“All the cousins that are around my age group, we do our little gift exchange,” Yager said.

“And that one’s a really fun one where we get to, you know, pick out something funny for a cousin, and then write them a funny note and have them try to guess who gave it.”

Students of other religious and cultural backgrounds also took up the holiday spirit over winter break. Many students celebrated the Christian holiday of Christmas.

While many still celebrate the day as a religious holiday, the annual celebration has also evolved into a cultural event with secular traditions. Many place a Christmas tree decorated with lights and ornaments in their homes. Children commonly believe in Santa, a mythical figure who arrives at their homes on a sleigh led by flying reindeer and leaves presents under their trees. Many families also hang stockings — large socks that may be filled with presents or candy.

Second-year College student Livie Nute celebrates Christmas with her family each year, though her experience is far from conventional. Living in Crested Butte, Colo., a popular ski town, Nute says it is tradition in her town to ski on Christmas morning.

“Every year, [my town tries] to break the record of the amount of people dressed up as Santa that were skiing on Christmas,” Nute said. “And so [the ski resorts] would give out cheaper lift tickets if you came dressed as Santa. So one super fun thing was just seeing all these Santas on the slope.”

Prior to waking up early to hit the slopes, Nute and her family have historically planned to sit down to a nice Christmas Eve dinner, though this plan often does not materialize.

“My mom is normally a really good cook, but she is cursed on Christmas Eve, because she’ll always try to cook us some nice, elaborate meal and it always goes horribly wrong,” Nute said. “We almost always end up eating Raisin Bran.”

Some families choose to travel during Christmas, replacing presents under the Christmas tree with memorable experiences. Nute says it is tradition for her family to travel the globe on Christmas day.

“One time we opened presents on a train in Thailand,” Nute said. “One time we went to Machu Picchu on Christmas Day. Another time we went to these backcountry saunas in Guatemala … our tradition is kind of to not have a tradition.”

Whether traveling the world or skiing the slopes at home, Nute recognizes a universal value for those who celebrate Christmas.

“My favorite aspect [of Christmas] is probably just being with family,” Nute said. “I know that’s stereotypical, but usually my parents and I, and my brother, will all go skiing on that day and then open presents… it’s a great time to be around my loved ones.”

Nute notes the common thread of all holiday traditions — they are formed through human connection. Whether participating in tradition as a means for cultural connection like in Ramanan’s Pongal celebration or for familial connection like in Yager’s long-distance FaceTime calls and gift exchanges, to engage in shared traditions is to take part in something larger than oneself and spend valuable time with loved ones.

Mamata urges PM Modi to declare Netaji’s birth anniversary as national holiday

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West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday urged the central government to declare Netaji Subash Chandra Bose’s birthday as a national holiday. The repeated request comes days after the central government decided to start the Republic Day celebrations from January 23 in order to include Bose’s anniversary, which has been declared as ‘Parakram Diwas’ (day of valour) by the Centre.

“We again appeal to the Central Government that Netaji’s birthday be declared a National Holiday to allow the entire Nation to pay homage to the National Leader and celebrate #DeshNayakDibas in most befitting manner,” Mamta Banerjee said in a tweet.

Paying homage to the iconic leader, Banerjee said, “he is an epitome of patriotism, courage, leadership, unity and brotherhood. Netaji has been and will continue to be an inspiration for generations”.

This year on Republic Day, West Bengal will exhibit a tableau on Netaji that will also feature other prominent freedom fighters from the state to commemorate the 75th year of India’s Independence.

West Bengal is soon going to have a separate Bengal Planning Commission, Banerjee proclaimed.

“Drawing inspiration from Netaji’s thoughts on National Planning Commission, a Bengal Planning Commission will be set up to help the state in its planning initiatives”, she added.

ALSO READ| Subhas Chandra Bose 125th birth anniversary: Unveiling of Netaji’s statue, floral tributes at Central Hall

Highlighting some long-term initiatives of the state government, Banerjee said a national university with international collaborations, Jai Hind University, is being set up with 100 per cent state funding.

The government of West Bengal is all set to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji as ‘Desh Nayak Dibas’ in a befitting manner all over the state following all the Covid-19 protocols, she added.