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The NDA government has taken key policy initiatives like easing of FDI conditions for the real estate sector which are expected to help in attracting enhanced investment into the industry and give a new impetus to the governent’s flagship programmes like Smart Cities and Affordable Housing. Dr Anil Kumar Sharma, CMD, Amrapali Group, shares with Infraline Plus his views on real estate’s growth prospects and challenges. Excerpts.
Smart cities and affordable housing to drive real estate growth.
The NDA government has taken key policy initiatives like easing of FDI conditions for the real estate sector which are expected to help in attracting enhanced investment into the industry and give a new impetus to the governent’s flagship programmes like Smart Cities and Affordable Housing. Dr Anil Kumar Sharma, CMD, Amrapali Group, shares with Infraline Plus his views on real estate’s growth prospects and challenges. Excerpts
The real estate sector has been in the grip of slowdown for a while. Do you see sector showing signs of improvement?
The initiatives taken by government in last quarter were definitely on the right direction but the desired impact was missing. This new year, the activity increased for us but it cannot be said same for other players, the environment has indeed become positive. However it is too early to say it has stabilised.
How is your company doing in terms of sales?
We have done really well in the last month of 2015 owing to “Amrapali Adarsh Awas Yojna” which was only for serving and retired government employees. In this project, we launched 5000 flats initially and booked 4000 number of flats in just 20 days of its launch. Similarly, our other projects have seen some more growth in terms of queries generated and sales. So, overall it has been a satisfactory response.
How do you see long-term prospects for the real estate business given the government’s focus on smart cities, affordable housing?
In long term real estate will become the backbone of Indian economy and will contribute in double digits of the GDP pie. Smart cities and affordable housing will be the two drivers for the industry as we move ahead.
How do you see the Real Estate Regulatory Authority Bill approved by the Union Cabinet recently?
We are very positive about the bill. But there are some suggestions like single window clearance system, Industry status to the realty sector, easy taxation and funding process, relief on housing interest rates to be incorporated.
The government has eased conditions for FDI into the sector recently? How do you see its impact on investors’ sentiments?
The eased conditions will now make the investment scenario much more lucrative for FDI. Ease of exit for foreign investor will be the biggest draw for the investors.
Do you see interest rates coming down in 2016?
We would want them to come down so that more and more buyers come forward but it is not up to us, we can just speculate and wait.