French luxury goods maker Hermes has launched a limited edition Indian sari range to “connect” with Indian culture as it target buyers in new markets.

Indian women may wear Western dress to the office during the day but for weddings and other formal occasions they often prefer to wear six-yard (five and a half metre) elegantly draped saris, reflecting the strong pull of tradition.

“This is part of our effort to connect to India’s culture and to the tradition of elegance of Indian women,” Bertrand Michaud, president of Hermes India, told AFP.

Aston Martin on Friday announced its entry into India, one of the world’s fastest-growing automobile markets, with the launch of three models in the country.

The British luxury sports car maker joins Ferrari, Maserati, Bugatti and Lamborghini, whose vehicles are sold in India to a growing list of rich sports car enthusiasts.

“India represents a new opportunity for us,” said Michael van der Sande, chief commercial officer at Aston Martin.

The iconic carmaker will offer the V8 Vantage, priced at 15.5 million rupees ($348,341), the Rapide at 21.5 million rupees ($483,146) and the One-77 at 200 million rupees ($4.5 million), and will soon add more models, it said.

Luxury auto marque Maserati, which produces supercars such as the Maserati Quattroporte and GranTurismo, is to open its first outlet in India this year.

The top end brand, will open a showroom in Mumbai this year, followed by another dealership in the capital New Delhi in early 2012.

By 2015, the Italian automaker plans to have showrooms in seven major Indian cities, it said in a statement, although buyers in Mumbai and New Delhi are expected to account for three quarters of all Maserati sales.

W Hotels has just announced plans for the Namaste Tower, a new W Hotel in Mumbai that is due to open July 2015.

To follow the long tradition of great Indian architecture, the striking 984-foot-tall building will house 62 floors combined into a hotel, office, and retail space.

The design of the tower is actually meant to reflect the namaste yoga gesture where two wings of the hotel are clasped together like hands greeting the city of Mumbai.

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani has hosted a lavish housewarming party to show off his just-completed new skyscraper residence.

Some 80 of India’s rich and famous attended the party on Friday night at the 27-storey building, which dominates the Mumbai skyline.

Indian novelist Shobhaa De called the building – reported to be the world’s priciest private residence -”the Taj Mahal of the 21st century”.

The heart of Mumbai city, once a cotton mill hub, is seeing a rapid change in its skyline as more than 30 skyscrapers are mushrooming out of slumland in the city’s most congested district.

The transformation reflects the breakneck pace of growth in Asia’s third largest economy, as India’s property and capital markets boom and developers build dream homes for a rapidly-growing list of Indian millionaires.

Most of these high-rises, all over 40-storeys, are under construction while some are ready for owners to move in.