Budget expectations: Real estate sector

21 Jan 2022 , 04:35 PM

“2021 was a ‘Year of Recovery’ for Indian Real Estate. The upcoming budget will play a pivotal role in fulfilling the growth trajectory across real estate and the overall economy. In order to improve the overall health of the sector, strengthen financial inflows and reduce delays there is a need for a single-window clearance system. Entitling REITs to invest in residential projects, relaxations in provisions for investing in REITs can also be an essential amendment that the government must take into consideration as it will enable developers and investors access to investment opportunities without spending a lot.

Some of the other areas that require attention include tax rebates on housing loan interest rates, GST waiver for under-construction properties, rise in FDI inflow, expanding the government-backed stress fund SWAMIH, the introduction of new mechanisms to ensure ease of acquiring funds for real estate projects and most importantly attaining an industry status. It will help towards the elimination of unnecessary processes, better transparency, ease of getting approvals. Incentivising both, rental as well as affordable housing sectors accompanied by incentivisation of private investment in the affordable housing sector can also be a critical push that the government can induce to ensure the growth of India’s real estate sector. For India to achieve the vision of a 5 Trillion economy, the government must provide requisite thrust to this labour-intensive sector as it supports employment as well as 200 ancillary industries including SMEs and MSMEs”. 

The author of this article is Prashant Solomon, MD, Chintels India & the Hon. Treasurer for CREDAI NCR

The views and opinions expressed are not of IIFL Capital Services, indiainfoline.com