Pune Property Blog

Anil Pharande

Affordable housing is a term we use for residential units in India’s urban areas which are affordably priced with respect to households that fall within a specific limited income range. There is no single set of parameters to define what an affordable housing unit should cost in India. This is because the pricing and feasibility to developers of affordable housing is a function of the city, location within the city, type of project being built and also the construction technology employed.

In India, it is appropriate to judge the affordability of a home on three broad parameters – the monthly income of prospective buyers from the target segment, the size of the home and, of course, its price. There is another element that should be mentioned, namely the target clientele itself. We tend to look at the word ‘affordable’ solely in terms of the LIG (lower income group) segment. For this segment, affordable housing would mean 200-300 square foot dwellings priced at between 7-12 lakh.

But what about people who earn more than the average factory labourer but still cannot afford to buy a decent 1 BHK flat of 300-450 square feet within ten to fifteen kilometers of their workplaces? They too need affordable housing – housing appropriately priced for the middle class. The home buyers in this segment can afford to buy flats in the price range of Rs. 30-35 lakh via home loans.

Obviously, they expect a certain standard of living, comforts and facilities for this expense. However, but even such flats are hard to come by in our larger cities. This is the case even in Pune.

Today, around 30% of India’s population lives and works in urban areas. This means that they occupy less than 2% of the land available in the country. If we zoom in on Maharashtra, it emerges that close to 60% of the overall population lives in urban locations. Distressingly, a closer look at a city like Mumbai reveals that over 50% of its citizens live in slums. Mumbai’s slums occupy less than 4% of the land available in the city. Obviously, the affordable housing quotient has gone badly wrong in Pune’s prosperous neighbouring city. However, the problem is larger than just one city, which continues to get negative press only because of its exorbitantly high property rates and enormous annual inward migration.

Despite everything being said on the matter, the shortage of affordable housing in India is getting worse instead of better. The country’s urban population of 285 million has multiplied itself by five over the last half century. It is projected that it will continue to increase at this fast pace, and that 50% of all Indians will be living in urban areas by the end of the next three decades. So, if the shortage for housing for the lower income segment stands at 25 million today and there is no increase in the pace of supply of affordable housing launches, what will this figure look like in 30 years?

Let us look at the situation from a real estate market point of view. There is, in fact, a gigantic market for affordable housing in India. Currently, it is valued at anything between Rs. 5-10 trillion. What is really being done to address this huge market – especially the one constituted by the ever-growing middle class? There are next to no Government incentives for projects with flats in the Rs. 30-35 lakh bracket.

While the only answers to this question in Mumbai seem to lie in small projects on the far outskirts of the city, Pune presents a far more encouraging picture. Developers of township properties in Pune have now begun addressing this market with an internationally inspired property development model called integrated townships. This model is based on maximum value for money to buyers, based on high-grade common infrastructure and shared facilities in more cost-effective, yet progressive areas like the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

With fully integrated township projects like Woodsville and Celestial City, we at Pharande Spaces have been successful in delivering affordable housing for the mid-income segment of home buyers in Pune and the PCMC area.  There are various reasons for this success.

For one, land for these integrated townships was acquired early on in upcoming locations such as Ravet and Moshi. This meant that the price of the finished products could be kept within the means of Pune property buyers. Secondly, townships like Woodsville and Celestial City are conceived and constructed on a model that allows luxurious facilities and amenities on an economy of scale. In other words, it is possible to provide luxurious features for all units in these projects on the basis of a large-scale master plan.

Anil Pharande is Vice President – CREDAI (Pune Metro) and Chairman of Pharande  Spaces, a leading construction and development firm that develops township properties in the PCMC area of Pune, India.

This article may be reprinted with proper attribution to the author and a link back to PunePropertyBlog.com

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It is generally known that abundant urban green spaces – large areas allocated to trees, lawns and all types of flora and fauna – are a major contributor to high quality living environment. Sufficient green spaces in cities improve the quality of the air in residential areas because trees absorb pollutants such as ozone, nitric acid vapour, ammonia, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide. In turn, they provide life-giving oxygen, provide shade, attract rain and improve the aesthetic quality of the whole area.

In its heyday, Pune was renowned for its generous urban green spaces. Unfortunately, the hammer of commercialized real estate proliferation has caused most of the city’s green cover to vanish. Coupled with the massive traffic movement within the PMC limits, it is not surprising that so many Punekars now suffer from various ‘mysterious’ ailments. High blood pressure, asthma, bronchitis, energy depletion and depression are rapidly becoming common-place. The city that once rivaled Bangalore with its generous urban green spaces is now literally oxygen starved.

When the PCNTDA (Pimpri Chinchwad New Town Development Authority) set out to plan the residential zones in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation – Pune’s prosperous sister city – the vital factor of green cover was a main priority. Not many are aware of how much thought went into the real estate blueprint for Pimpri-Chinchwad, which is now a masterpiece of systematic residential zone development. Thanks to close collaboration with healthcare officials, construction and civil engineering agencies and the town planning authorities ensured that PCMC would remain a predominantly green zone. The rationale was based on firm scientific facts:

• People who live in residential zones with abundant green cover suffer fewer health problems and experience lower stress levels
• The survival rate of senior citizens who spend their Golden Years in green surroundings is far higher than that of their contemporaries living in the concrete jungles of the inner city
• Green cover in a residential zone encourages its residents to spend more time outdoors and show lower preference to an unhealthy sedentary lifestyle
• The happiness level and mental/emotional health quotient of any residential community is directly related to the extent to which individuals socialize. The availability of green areas such as parks, gardens and lawns encourages more inter-personal contact between residents

By now, social scientists know for a fact that urban green spaces tend to attracts people outside their homes and to interact with each other. Parks and gardens are places where people can meet and spend time together in the outdoors. People who have access to green spaces in cities like Pune enjoy a higher level of social activity, tend to know their neighbours and are more concerned about the general welfare of the community.

Despite the rapid depletion of urban green spaces within the Pune Municipal Limits, Pimpri-Chinchwad offers the citizens of Pune the option of green living. The verdant residential townships in localities like Ravet and Moshi have been designed in complete compliance to the PCNTDA guidelines for green spaces within PCMC residential zones. At the same time, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation offers to them vastly superior civic and social infrastructure and significantly lower property rates.

Anil Pharande is Vice President of CREDAI Pune Metro and Chairman of Pharande  Spaces, a leading construction and development firm that develops township properties in the PCMC area of Pune, India.

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Affordably Priced, Will Cater to Management Cadre Homebuyers

Pune, June 27, 2012:  Pharande Spaces, the leading construction and development firm specializing in township properties in the PCMC area of Pune, is launching its premium residential project L-axis on the PCMC Spine Road, in Sector 6 of Pradhikaran. The launch date is June 28, 2012. The project is spread over 11 acres of verdant green land and will feature 2, 2.5 and 3 BHK apartments.

“Projects by Pharande Spaces have become a byword for value for money, and our mid-income housing townships in Moshi, Ravet and various locations in Pradhikaran have met with resounding success,” says Anil Pharande, Chairman – Pharande Spaces. “L-axis is our offering to the premium segment of home buyers who value even more advanced levels of comfort, generous living space and high-tech amenities.”

Spine Road, which is where this ahead-of-its time luxury housing project is located, has become one of the most talked about infrastructure embellishments in the progressive Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. This area is fundamentally at the core of Pune’s most vibrant industrial area, with many manufacturing giants such as Tata Motors, Force Motors and Bajaj Auto close by. It is also well-connected to the Chakan industrial area, which is home to national and international automobile companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz and Mahindra & Mahindra. Apart from this, the Talawade IT Park is also within easy access.

In addition, L-axis is advantageously placed close to the Bhosari District Centre, Sadhu Vaswani International School, Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir, the PCNTDA Traffic Park and the upcoming International Exhibition and Convention Centre at Moshi. The project will feature technologically advanced security and lifestyle features to its residents and boasts of vast green spaces, with paved area kept at a minimum.

L-axis also includes a modern clubhouse with gymnasium, tennis and basketball courts, a multi-purpose community hall and a massive water-world-style swimming pool that offers limitless enjoyment to all family members.

“We have conceived L-axis in response to the huge demand for luxury living spaces coming from the managerial cadre of these industries,” explains Anil Pharande. “Keeping in mind the clientele, we have added every possible lifestyle feature, including multiple parking spaces, luxurious atriums and lobbies in each building and high-speed lifts.”

In fact, L-axis represents a first-of-its kind residential option for discerning homebuyers in the PCMC area for whom ease, luxury and convenience are the primary watchwords. No effort has been spared to make this a landmark development which will become its own distinctive address. The launch price for apartments at L-axis is currently Rs. 4500 per square foot, and will be augmented to Rs. 5000 per square foot thereafter.

Pharande explains that PCMC’s Spine Road is the perfect location for this project, providing a residential catchment that is a focal point of the region’s most prestigious industries. The 10-kilometer road connects two major highways and also runs through Pimpri Chinchwad’s industrial, residential and commercial areas on the eastern side.

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Pune property market is a lot more conservative than Mumbai, and there is certainly a market-dictated cut-off point for price escalations, says Anil Pharande, Vice-President of CREDAI Pune Metro and Chairman of Pharande Spaces, a leading construction and development firm that concentrates on township properties in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) area of Pune.

Excerpts…

From technocrat to leading builder…. How did this transformation happen?

I was very interested in what was happening in Pimpri-Chinchwad back then. The idea of being involved in the raising of a planned city on the lines of Chandigarh, so close to Pune, was an exciting prospect. The Pimpri Chinchwad New Town Development Authority (PCNTDA) had taken on an ambitious and laudable task. My first objective was to help steer the path of this planned development, which is why I got involved with CREDAI. Getting into the creation of township properties that would take the best advantage of the benefits that the PCMC offered in terms of superior infrastructure and phased real estate growth was the next logical step.

Can you give us an overview of Pune’s reality market and its growth prospects?

Pune is a powerhouse of potential when it comes to real estate. It is a city of learning and entrepreneurship, and there is a distinctly progressive flavour to everything that happens there. Thanks to the fact that it has become a magnet for IT/ITES and manufacturing companies, the real estate market in Pune is not likely to lose its forward momentum. Having said that, I always had misgivings about the opportunistic manner in which property development was taking place within the PMC limits, and was far more interested in the holistic approach being adopted in Pimpri-Chinchwad.

What is the impact of the price upheavals of metropolis Mumbai on Pune’s realty market?

There is doubtlessly an impact, since a lot of cash-rich buyers from Pune are looking at Pune both as a property investment and retirement home option. The level of demand from Mumbai tends to exert a certain upward pressure on property prices in Pune. However, the Pune property market is still a lot more conservative than that of Mumbai, and there is certainly a market-dictated cut-off point for price escalations.

Do you think that the dismissal of a few big builders from CREDAI over non-compliance will affect the body’s advocacy on transparency?

Not at all. Every administrative body must experience occasional churn in order to maintain its vision and to stay flexible and open to new avenues of progress.

About your ongoing and upcoming residential projects…and future expansion plan?

Woodsville in Moshi is virtually a small town within PCMC, spread over 40 acres with vast tracts of open spaces and a very healthy environment. This hugely successful project, which is being developed phase-wise, has been and continues to be a primary focus for us. I’m also very excited about (L)-Axis, which we are launching along the PCNTDA Spine Road. In contrast to our other projects, which cater mainly to the middle-income group, this is a luxury project which will have no rivals in Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Apart from (L)-Axis, Pharande Spaces is planning a residential/IT-ITES SEZ project at Punawale, near Hinjewadi/Wakad, Dehu Road-Katraj Expressway bypass. It will encompass 42 acres in the residential segment and 28 acres for the IT Park. The residential part will have apartments, row houses and bungalows.

What is your take on green building concept? Why is it not popular in India compared to West?

There is a lot of change-resistance and no end of misconceptions about green buildings in India. It is taking a long time for developers and buyers to understand the sound rationale behind them. However, I am seeing a definite awakening now, and I am confident that the next ten years will usher in a slow but steady green revolution in Indian real estate.

There is a general belief that affordable housing by private players is a non-starter in India, do you agree?

I completely disagree. A huge amount of affordable housing stock in our cities is created by small private developers who cannot imitate the scale of the larger players. Countless people would still be waiting in vain for the many Government-driven budget housing schemes that are yet to see the light of day if it were not for these private players. Many national players have also made their mark in this segment and consistently delivered.

(As told to KR Iyer (ramanaathan.iyer@sulekha.net)

http://property.sulekha.com/pune-has-more-potential-for-real-estate-growth_news-1093

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There is little doubt in anyone’s mind that Pimpri Chinchwad is now Pune’s new hotbed for affordable residential property. In fact, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation is one’s of India’s most resounding real estate success stories. PCMC is a planned city, and its development profile has nothing in common with what is happening in the Pune Municipal Corporation limits.

Thanks to the unflagging efforts of the Pimpri Chinchwad New Township Development Authority (PCNTDA), PCMC is now a showcase of outstanding residential areas. The PCNTDA has been vigilant in defending this showcase sister city of Pune from the central city’s unregulated real estate development pattern. One of the hallmarks of this careful town planning is the availability of affordable township properties, which are the best examples of the masterfully planned social, economic and real estate development in Maharashtra.

Those who have never seen PCMC before are amazed at the futuristic look of this progressive city. When it comes to urban planning, the PCNTDA has gone several steps further than CIDCO of Navi Mumbai. Navi Mumbai was Maharashtra’s first planned city, and it certainly began on a good note. However, lack of vigilance by the town planning authorities there soon caused it to fall prey to commercialization. Charles Courier’s initial blueprint was son abandoned, and today Navi Mumbai has become just another extended suburb of unregulated Mumbai.

In Pimpri Chinchwad, however, the PCNTDA was determined to avoid the mistakes which caused the real estate market in Navi Mumbai to degenerate. The blueprint which was adopted was one of uncompromisingly regulated real estate growth, and organized urban planning was the constant watchword. Keeping its focus firmly on the long-term objectives of rational real estate development, the PCNTDA has managed to turn PCMC into a genuine city of the future.

Residents of township properties in PCMC have the unique advantage of owning homes which are near to their workplaces, yet affordable and blessed with green natural surroundings. They live high quality lifestyles and do not have to sacrifice their family’s health to the pollution which defines the inner city. On an average, township property owners is the PCMC spend upto 35% more time with their families than Pune residents, and have up to 40% more living space at the same cost.

The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation is truly a prime example of social-minded real estate development. Only here will one find spacious properties at affordable prices, coupled with a modern and efficient transportation system. Only here can one find a multitude of employment opportunities, superior infrastructure and modern, yet very affordable homes close to one’s place of work. And only in the PCMC can one enjoy the benefits of carefully preserved natural splendour.

Thanks to the approach taken by the PCNTDA, the PCMC property market is today seen as the smartest option for residential property buyers from Pune and beyond. Yearly inward migration figures clearly indicate that this city is indeed growing rapidly. The year-on-year appreciation rates of residential property in the PCMC range between 15-20%, and this has also attracted property investors from all over Maharashtra.

 Anil Pharande is Vice President of CREDAI Pune Metro and Chairman of Pharande  Spaces, a leading construction and development firm that develops township properties in the PCMC area of Pune, India.

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In Pune, property and quality of life were once synonymous, but that can no longer be taken as a given. In earlier years, it did not really matter much where one chose to buy property in Pune – all locations were more or less supportive of peaceful family life in their own right.

Today, while considering flats for sale in Pune, one has to consider a number of variables – among them the levels of traffic congestion and pollution, the availability of basic facilities such as water and, of course, quality of the neighborhood.

Let us take Kothrud, for example. This once charming area was one of the first suburbs to be developed after the old city. Even today, it is considered a desirable core area due to its strong connection with the city centre via Karve Road. However, for better or for worse, Kothrud is also mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records as the suburb with the fastest urban growth in the world.

Kothrud started developing in late 90s. Back then, Pune City was truly a Pensioner’s Paradise, with little economic activity. People from Mumbai looking to buy property in Pune preferred Kothrud, naturally leading to an accelerated rate of development.

By the time the IT/ITES boom began in 2000-02, Kothrud was a full-fledged residential destination. Because of this, it fortunately did not go the way of suburbs like Aundh and Baner in the West or Viman Nagar in the East as they joined the IT/ITES bandwagon.

Over the past decade-and-a-half, Kothrud has evolved as one of the most densely populated residential destination in Pune. Residential projects are very scarce and the demand is enormous. However, because of the manner in which it grew, Kothrud was not developed holistically in terms of social infrastructure.

Many other areas in Pune developed on similar lines, and the old Pensioner’s Paradise charm soon gave way to massive, relentless development. This began the hunt for less cluttered and more lifestyle-supportive residential locations.

Thanks to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Wakad is only about 80 to 90 minutes away from Mumbai

Fortunately, Pune is not a sea-locked city like Mumbai, and there was scope for looking further ahead. One of the first areas to emerge as a preferred area to settle down was Wakad – a once-nondescript village with 5000 locals who farmed sugarcane, onion and groundnut in its rich, black, fertile soil.

In 1983, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) acquired 50% of this virgin location. By 1998, PCMC counted Wakad as one of its areas. Today, Wakad has emerged as the focus of younger, financially fit families that are looking to upgrade their lifestyle by moving to larger, more nature-endowed homes on the outskirts of Pune City.

With the increasing congestion of the previously preferred area of Aundh, neighboring Wakad was seen as the perfect location, with close proximity to the Infotech and Biotech Parks at Hinjewadi, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Industrial area, the Mumbai-Bangalore Bypass, the Super Express Highway to Mumbai and the Balewadi National Sports complex.  Thanks to the Expressway, Wakad is only about 80 to 90 minutes away from Mumbai, and Mumbaikars looking to buy property in Pune saw it as an excellent value proposition.

Of course, Wakad is just one of the chapters that the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has in its book of Pune real estate successes. Today, Ravet and other sectors of Pradhikaran in the PCMC have become the new residential real estate watchwords in Pune. These areas are developing fast and are even now venues of extremely modern integrated residential projects.

However, the development of Wakad marked the beginning of a new residential real estate trend in Pune – the quest for better environments to settle down in and recapture some of Pune’s erstwhile glory as Queen of the Deccan.

Anil Pharande is Vice President of CREDAI Pune Metro and Chairman of Pharande  Spaces, a leading construction and development firm that develops township properties in the PCMC area of Pune, India.

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In the rush to develop projects during Pune’s real estate boom time, the very important factor of support infrastructure was neglected. This was especially true for projects within the city and the adjoining areas. Due to the high demand for properties, people kept on buying and developers kept on building even though infrastructure was declining rapidly.

However, Pune property buyers soon discovered that both their standard of living went down and the investment value of their properties stagnated because of the inferior infrastructure. Eventually, the new breed of Pune real estate buyers became more aware of the importance of basic infrastructure, and of their right to expect it. The highest demand is now for Pune flats that are affordable and also offer basic civil infrastructure such as adequate sewage, access roads, connectivity to important places, water and electricity supply, etc.

The problem of Pune’s infrastructure deficit is actually very surprising. The problem should logically be lower for projects developed within the city limits. After all, the municipal corporation has the advantages of sufficient funding and opportunity for forward planning. However, it is areas such as PCMC which have taken the infrastructure message more seriously. As a result, infrastructure in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation is visibly superior to what Pune City has to offer. People who have bought homes in township properties in Pimpri Chinchwad are even better off, because these projects offer high-class internal infrastructure, as well.

The PCNTDA (Pimpri Chinchwad New Township Development Authority) has ensured that all residential areas in the PCMC have sufficient infrastructure. As a result, the quality of life and appreciation potential of residential properties in PCMC are at a very high level. Meanwhile, Pune continues to face problems of traffic congestion, lack of adequate open spaces and green areas, pollution, etc. The Maharashtra Government has been proactive in assisting with infrastructural enablement for its cities. However, it is not possible for the Government to rush in with support infrastructure whenever developers decide to build.

As such, developers should assume a larger share of responsibility for the establishment of infrastructure for their projects if they aspire for success for their projects. However, there is one more thing the Maharashtra Government can do to ensure that Pune’s newer areas get sufficient infrastructure. It can revise its policies on development and follow the model adopted by forward looking bodies such as the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA), which has implemented large-scale infrastructure reforms that do not necessarily involve huge budgets.

The model involves acquiring a larger tract of land, putting in all necessary civic infrastructures, and returning that component to the owners as developed land that has immediate market value. In return, they retain the remaining part for further development of their own projects.

 Anil Pharande – Vice President, CREDAI Pune Metro & Chairman, Pharande Spaces

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Anil Pharande

The demand trend of Pune residential property is slowly but surely changing to township properties. A growing segment of Pune property buyers now says that nothing less than the autonomy, independence and convenience of a township property will do.

Who are these people? Mostly employees from Pune’s booming IT and manufacturing sectors. The highest demand is from home buyers employed in Hinjewadi, Kalyani Nagar, Viman Nagar, Hadapsar and the PCMC MIDC belt. These home buyers are fed up with the congestion or the inner city and are seeking homes in the new and established township projects that are taking Pune real estate by storm.

What is it about these Pune townships that make them so different from other property options available on the market? Many of these township projects are located in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation in locations such as Ravet, Moshi and Punavale. Existing residents affirm that nothing within the main city can match the bliss of living in these magically located projects.

Nature is, indeed, still master of the situation in these areas. Real estate development in the PCMC area is tightly regulated. There is abundant green cover and almost all of these projects offer unobstructed view of distant hills, while traffic is just a dim, far-off echo from the Express Highway. The environment is absolutely perfect for residential family units. Naturally, prominent developers have snapped up prime land exclusively for the building of township projects in the PCMC.

Other factors have added to the popularity of these locations. The Express Highway, of course, is a vital one. It is the umbilical cord between Pune and other major metropolises, beginning with Mumbai, and is the very lifeblood of Pune’s commercial progress. In addition, the Mumbai-Bangalore Highway (in the close neighborhood) brings in further commercial growth and intercity connectivity.

With the kind of exposure that localities lying along these two major highways get, their popularity comes as no surprise. However, it should also be remembered that it was the Expressway which brought about the existence of the Hinjewadi Infotech and Biotech Park – which is the very important economic driver for Pune City today. Professionals from the city’s IT and manufacturing sectors need homes close to their offices, and also relative privacy in their time away from work. This has been a heavy driving factor behind the demand for township properties in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

In the not-so-distant past, township properties were a residential genre reserved exclusively for the rich. This has changes drastically with their rising popularity. The fact is, owning a township property in the PCMC has now become a feasible option for the city’s middle class. High competitiveness among housing finance institutions has ensured that loans for the purchase of homes in these township properties are easily available to the middle class.

All of the above reasons have combined to make township properties the No. 1 choice for Pune property buyers, and therefore a priority for many developers. Recognizing the wave of the future, prominent builders in the PCMC have appropriated land in these high-demand localities and are developing incredibly modern township projects there. These multi-acre township projects offer within their boundary walls every convenience of modern living to the property buyers. In fact, they can justifiably be seen as lifestyle resorts in which one can actually buy units.

The inherent commercial potential of this Pune township property boom cannot be ignored. Obviously, it presents a great opportunity to builders as well as real estate investors. In fact, a huge number of outstation investors – most notably from Mumbai – have already taken note of the Pune township trend. If Bangalore has earned the label of Silicon Valley of the East, Pune is well on the way of being called India’s Township City.

Anil Pharande is Vice President of CREDAI Pune Metro and Chairman of Pharande  Spaces, a leading construction and development firm that develops township properties in the PCMC area of Pune, India.

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PUNE, January 13 2012:  Sri Sri Ravishankar, the iconic spiritual guru and founder of the internationally acclaimed Art of Living spiritual lifestyle system, will personally inaugurate Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir school at Woodsville, Moshi (Pimpri-Chinchwad) on January 15, 2012.

The inauguration and ‘bhoomi pujan’ ceremony will take place at 2.30 PM on January 15 at the school’s venue in Woodsville, a residential township project at Moshi in PCMC. Anil Pharande, Vice President of CREDAI Pune Metro and Chairman of leading township developers Pharande Spaces, will also be present as Shri Shri Ravishankarji conducts the ceremonial blessing of the school and addresses his followers and the school’s staff.

“The arrival of SSRVM in Pune’s Pimpri Chinchwad area is a landmark event in the history of a city which is known as the Oxford of the East,” says Anil Pharande. ”We are indeed honoured that Guruji has selected Woodsville as the place in which to launch this unique school, which will be a blessing to parents and children.”

The renowned spiritual leader, a staunch supporter and advocate of sustainable living, has personally selected Woodsville as SSRVM’s venue on the basis of its ecologically friendly configuration. Woodsville is Pimpri-Chinchwad’s most talked-about self-sustaining residential township.

The SSRVM educational model is a proven process of self-learning that builds life skills and nurtures leadership. It is staffed by highly qualified teachers who receive special orientation and training at Sri Sri Teachers Training Academy. In the words of H.H. Sri Sri Ravishankar, “Every parent would like to have a child whose personality shines wherever the child goes. It is the personality that is appreciated everywhere. Such pleasing personality is the main aim of this education.”

The educational system developed by Sri Sri Ravishankar employs an innovative and compassionate system of learning which features a curriculum for all-round development of its young students. The school’s syllabus is customized to NCERT guidelines and includes Sanskrit, Yoga, Karate, Sports, Dance, Music and Arts, which helps the child to blossom in all aspects of life. SSRVM is an initiative of the Art of Living Foundation, which has centres in more than 150 countries and enjoys a special consultative status with the United Nations Economic & Social Council of United Nations.

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