Union Budget 2022-23: Post-Budget Reactions from Real Estate Experts

Mr. Sandeep Runwal – President, NAREDCO Maharashtra and Managing Director, Runwal Group 

 

”For the first timethe Finance Minister has sought to transform the real estate sector by bringing in transparency and efficiency in the business. This will help to reduce the cost of transaction and will ultimately benefit the homebuyers. 

 

The Government’s plan to launch ‘Ease of Doing Business 2.0′ is a step in the right direction and it’s continuous efforts to promote the same along with digitization will help the economy and the real estate sector business going forward. Single Window clearance mechanism too will go a long way in improving ease of doing business in India. This should include more dynamic aspects and make India a more investment friendly destination. 

 

In 2022-23, 80 lakh households will be identified for the affordable housing scheme and Rs. 48,000 crore allocated for PM Awas Yojana. This together will boost the affordable housing segment and help to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of Housing for All. Also, the 60,000 houses to be identified as beneficiaries for PMAY in rural & urban areas will ensure that more and more homebuyers get to avail this benefit. 

 

As anticipated, it’s a very futuristic budget focusing on economic recovery benefitting from public investment and capital spending.”

Mr. Kaushal Agarwal, Chairman, The Guardians Real Estate Advisory

“The budget’s resolute focus on infrastructure will certainly aid the real estate sector growth trajectory. The impetus given to road infrastructure through the new 25,000 km National Highway network will offer new momentum for the sector by opening a new market in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The allocation of INR 48,000 crore for PMAY Urban and Rural will push the affordable housing segment.

The move to appoint a high-level panel for urban planning and designating the five existing academic institutions as the Centre for Excellence for urban planning with endowment fund of Rs 250 crore will prove pivotal for the real estate sector as both the emerging urban landscape and decaying city infrastructure need a complete overhaul. The emphasis on promoting the use of public transport in urban areas is futuristic, considering the traffic and pollution scenario in all metro cities.

Bringing 1.5 lakh post offices under the core banking system will enable financial inclusion and provide access to accounts through net banking, mobile banking, ATMs to the marginalized section. This will prove significant for farmers and senior citizens in rural areas to invest by enabling interoperability and financial inclusion. Eliminating 75,000 compliances and repealing 1,486 union laws for facilitating ease of doing business environment is a great step to promote young entrepreneurs and start-up ecosystem. In a nutshell, the budget is progressive.

However, the budget missed the opportunity to accord the long pending industry status to the Real Estate sector as a whole; currently the same has been accorded only to affordable housing. This long-pending demand would have helped developers raise funds at lower costs.”