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1. 12/20/2018 Serial entrepreneur unveils ‘affordable’ luxury homes - The Hindu
https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/serial-entrepreneur-unveils-affordable-luxury-homes/article25783887.ece 1/3
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Serialentrepreneurunveils‘affordable’luxuryhomes
K.T. JagannathanK.T. Jagannathan
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2. 12/20/2018 Serial entrepreneur unveils ‘affordable’ luxury homes - The Hindu
https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/serial-entrepreneur-unveils-affordable-luxury-homes/article25783887.ece 2/3
CHENNAI, DECEMBER 19, 2018 22:34 IST
UPDATED: DECEMBER 19, 2018 22:46 IST
Units eligible for PMAY subsidy, claims Sivasankaran
He thinks differently. His ideas are innovative. His nonchalant manner could have a
disarming effect. Once, he called himself a trader in money. Today, he has taken on himself
the role of an enabler.
Serial entrepreneur C.Sivasankaran, who shot into prominence with his low-cost Siva
brand of personal computers in the pre-liberalisation era, has added a new flavour to the
definition of ‘living rich’ by articulating an innovative solution to the shelter needs of the
evolving ‘nuclear’ family.
Signaling his foray into the realty space, Mr. Sivasankaran unveiled his project to provide
luxury smart homes at an affordable price under the brand UTOO Home.
“The idea is to help people enjoy luxury in an affordable way,” he informed the media at the
UTOO Experience Centre here on Wednesday. Quoting studies, he said a resident used just
over 90 sq. m. of living space in his home. “However, he pays for large areas that he/she does
not really use,” he said. UTOO Home would fix this inconsistency, he said.
321 sq. ft. carpet area
Each dwelling unit will have 321 sq. ft. of carpet area. These Italian designed, connected
homes come with a five-year warranty. “We will handhold these homes for five years,” he
said. Each apartment will cost ₹41 lakh.
“Since these are fully-built products, there won’t be any GST,” he said. These dwelling units
were also eligible for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) subsidy, he claimed. The
monthly maintenance cost of these dwellings would be ₹4,950 a month. The connected
homes will have access to host of facilities such as 24-hour laundry, spa, resident dentist,
centralised kitchen, fitness lab and the like, he said. “The project also comes with a
commercial kitchen serving food at cost price,” he added.
The focus of UTOO Homes would be young urban Indians in the age group of 22-34 years
and couples/individuals above 60 years, he said. “We plan to build 90,000 units in 30 cities
in five years,” Mr. Sivasankaran said. The first project with 350 units would come up at
Porur, here, he added. These units would up in co-operation with the developers. To a
question, he hinted that UTOO Homes could have a open-ended attitude to such
collaboration.
Mr. Sivasankaran, who founded the telecom services provider Aircel which has now filed
for bankruptcy, said this could prove a trend-setting exercise. “Competition could come in.
But I am not worried,” he added.

3. 12/20/2018 Serial entrepreneur unveils ‘affordable’ luxury homes - The Hindu
https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/serial-entrepreneur-unveils-affordable-luxury-homes/article25783887.ece 3/3
Printable version | Dec 20, 2018 9:47:09 PM |
https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/serial-entrepreneur-unveils-affordable-
luxury-homes/article25783887.ece
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