Track2Realty: Western suburbs of Mumbai are set for a facelift through redevelopment post the new Development Control Rule (DCR). Ravi Sinha speaks to Lalit Kumar Jain, CMD, Kumar Urban Development and CREDAI President to understand whether it would add more pressure on the existing crumbling infrastructure of the suburbs. Excerpts of the interview:
Track2Realty-Agencies: Land prices will escalate leading to rise in housing price if the Land Acquisition Bill is passed by Parliament, real estate developers and property consultants have said.
Track2Realty: Subdued economic growth on the domestic front and persistent concerns about the economic outlook in USA and Euro Zone moderated business confidence among office space occupiers in 2012. As a result, the major seven cities in India witnessed restrained office space take-up in 2012.
Track2Realty: The National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) has requested the government to extend the computation period for availing itself of income tax benefits by one more year. This period is going to end on March 31, 2013.
Track2Realty-Agencies: A retired judge will head an inquiry to determine whether government officials were bribed to help retail giant Wal-Mart gain access to Indian markets.
Track2Realty: CREDAI has urged lawmakers to consider reforms in the real estate sector to boost growth. In an open letter to MPs, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) National President Lalit Kumar Jain said, “Though the government is moving in right direction with bold reforms agenda, much more can be achieved without any controversy or incurring additional cost just by focusing on the housing sector.”
Track2Realty: India’s urban housing shortage is estimated at nearly 18.78mn households in 2012. By 2050, 900mn people will be added to Indian cities. The rapid pace of urbanization owing to the rural–urban migration is putting a strain on the urban infrastructure in these cities, indicates the KPMG – NAREDCO study on Real Estate and Construction industry, “Bridging the Urban Housing Shortage in India”.
Track2Realty-Agencies: To provide cheaper houses for lower income groups, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) is working for the inclusion of affordable housing in the infrastructure list.
Track2Realty: President of India Pranab Mukerjee on Friday, Dec 7, urged the private sector to come forward to meet the housing shortage in the country. He was inaugurating the two day convention on Sustainable Housing For Masses organised by National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO).
Track2Realty: The acceptance of FDI in multi-brand retail is likely to accelerate building of shopping centres in the country, says Cushman & Wakefield.