New Delhi: India is on Trump’s map — literally. The New York Times reports that India’s luxury market is the perfect place to welcome the Trump Organization, with “status-hungry home buyers” clamouring to buy into the famous American brand.
Headquartered in the US, the Trump family’s real estate empire consists of a Trump Tower each in the Philippines, Turkey, and Uruguay. However, NYT reports that India stands out because the business partners of the Trump company have plans to build no less than ten Trump-branded buildings in the country in the next few years.
Part of the draw is the ever-expanding luxury market in India as wealthy buyers choose to invest in luxury properties, such as The Camellias in Gurugram—a perfect example of the phenomenon. And now, Indian real estate experts estimate that the Trump brand will find its market in India, especially with him set to retake the presidential office.
Besides already-existing buildings in Mumbai and Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Delhi-NCR will now get Trump towers, with more towers also expected in Mumbai and Pune.
And all the action is happening in Kolkata, according to the NYT. “A 38-storey tower has been rising slowly from former marshland in Kolkata. The building was started by a local developer, Unimark. In the summer of 2016, a licensing deal turned ‘Unimark Eternia’ into Trump Tower Kolkata — and buyers flocked to purchase units, even at higher prices,” the report says.
And the pitch is working. Buyers want their apartments associated with the Trump name even as they wait for construction to end.
“The due date for Trump Tower Kolkata, postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic, was extended to September 2024. Owners are still waiting, according to more than a dozen aggrieved customers who shared their experiences in a group chat on WhatsApp,” the report says, adding that it does not seem to be dampening their spirits. Buyers have become even more hopeful since Trump’s election.
After viewing Gadkari as Modi’s possible successor, The Economist turns its attention to Jay Shah. “Jay Shah has arrived at the top of world cricket at the speed of a fast yorker,” the profile begins. “But the person he has to thank most is his father: Amit Shah.”
However, the story immediately disclaims that Jay Shah is unlikely to have become a cricket administrator without his father’s influence. He did dabble in sports in his youth but never became good enough to play it professionally. But, he conquered national cricket in a way Amit Shah and Modi conquered national politics, The Economist writes.
“Whatever he may owe to his father’s prominence, Jay Shah has got some things done. His colleagues say he is a workaholic. On his watch, the BCCI’s revenues have nearly doubled, from 33.7bn rupees in 2019-20 to 65.5bn in 2022-23. Some of those riches have been funnelled into women’s cricket,” the story says, adding that his time has also attracted criticism due to a host of problems, from logistical issues to corruption.
According to the profile, the BCCI also turned more hostile towards Pakistan under Jay Shah. “Politics and cricket in India have always been intertwined. In the 2000s, Sharad Pawar, a senior opposition leader, took the same journey from head of BCCI to ICC. But never has the link been as strong. In 2021, the connection was literally set in concrete when India’s biggest arena in Ahmedabad was renamed the Narendra Modi Stadium in a ceremony attended by both Shahs,” the profile says.
It ends in a meditation on nepotism. The BJP has slammed the Congress’s dynastic politics for years but now appears to be helping friends and family. After all, the next rumoured BCCI chairman is Rohan Jaitley, Arun Jaitley’s son.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that the Indian government’s plan to build a “Hong Kong-like” development project on the Great Nicobar Island has sparked alarm among local islanders, threatening their local ecology and economy.
The Shompen, one of the most vulnerable tribes in the world, are at risk of losing their way of life. “A nomadic tribe, most of them live deep inside the forest where they forage for survival – not much is known about their culture as very few of them have ever had contact with the outside world,” the BBC reports, adding that their population has dwindled to roughly 400 people.
Earlier this year, 39 international experts warned that the project would be a “death sentence” for the Shompen people.
They could “meet the same fate as the Nicobarese, the biggest tribal group on the island, which suffered displacement in 2004 when a massive tsunami in the Indian Ocean wiped out their villages”, the BBC reports.
There will also be huge environmental costs. Roughly 80 per cent of the island remains covered in rainforests, home to rare flora and fauna. Marine life could be affected. Ecologists warn of the potential impact on Galathea Bay, a nesting place for giant leatherback sea turtles.
“Even though the project would take 30 long years to finish, people can’t help but feel anxious about how it will irreversibly alter the delicate balance of both the environment and the lives of the island’s indigenous people,” the BBC concludes.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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