I have a few queries regarding your story on townships (The Township Advantage, 1 May).Who takes care of the facilities such as schools, hospitals, clubs etc? What is the monthly maintenance expense borne by the residents in townships compared to usual apartments?
—Mahesh Krishnaswamy, Kochi
Builders usually maintain the facilities through their facility management companies but sometimes a committee of residents is formed to look after the maintenance. Additional facilities such as schools and hospitals are turned into ‘profit centres’ and therefore no charges are paid by the residents. Overall, the maintenance cost in a township is comparable to those of usual apartments because of the economies of scale. The actual cost, however, varies from place to place. Depending on the city, it ranges from 50 paise to Rs 3 per sq ft a month.
The story on franchises (Start Your Franchise, 15 May) should have also provided a list of companies that offer franchises in different industries along with their contact information. This would have been useful for readers who are interested in becoming a franchisee. The same issue had an article on financial frauds committed by identity theft (Protect your Identity, 15 May) which was very interesting. Many people make electronic transactions without realising the possibilities of fraud. There is a need to improve safety measures to prevent such occurrences.
—Akhilesh Kumar Sah, Faizabad
We had listed a few popular franchisers under different investment categories. Those interested in more information can either write to us or contact the Franchising Association of India. Identity theft is increasing at an alarming rate in the country. The only way to safeguard against it is higher awareness.
Your explanation of a reader’s query on the difference between growth and dividend option of a mutual fund (Query Corner, 1 May) was very exhaustive. I will retire next year in March. Please advise where I should invest to generate a monthly income of about Rs 10,000 after retirement.
—Bhanu Null, e-Mail
It is difficult to suggest an investment strategy without knowing your financial details. As a rule of thumb, invest your retirement savings in a mix of fixed income instruments (like Senior Citizen’s Scheme), monthly income plans of mutual funds (which invest only 20% in equities) and large-cap equity funds. Keep about three months’ expenses in a bank account that can be accessed in emergencies. For details, refer to Query Corner in our issue dated 20 March .
Please send me the contact details of a retailer from whom I can purchase the button camera and camera detector featured in the story on spy gadgets (Gizmo H@ppy, 1 May).
—Sanjiv Maheshwari, e-mail
Log on to www.gadgets.in and browse through the product list for the information.
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