Several good things in this Union Budget may positively impact the real estate sector. For instance, the establishment of a logistics network will provide an impetus to the development of infrastructure in the country. It will positively affect the development of the housing sector along the corridors. Moreover, the announcement by the Central government that it will work with the States for a reduction of time for land and construction-related approvals promoting affordable housing for the middle class and economically weaker sections in urban areas is laudable. Easing land and construction-related approvals will help the development firms in meeting the delivery timelines. In this light, the establishment of a high-level committee on the urban sector to drive modernisation of building bye Laws, TDR reforms, Transit-Oriented Reforms and sustainable development, including single-window green clearances will help the sector in the long run. Moreover, increment of tax deduction limit to 14% from 10% on employers contribution to NPS account of state government employees will strengthen the hands of those aspiring to buy homes.
However, the sector was expecting more in terms of incentives to boost sales and to fulfill the dream of Housing for All by 2022.
While the government’s focus remains on affordable housing, the industry was hopeful of incentives under sections 24(b) and 80IA 2 (a) and (b). & on Bringing Capital gain tax on par with Equities. Hopefully, in times to come, the government will pay attention to these requests too. – Rajan Bandelkar, President, NAREDCO
With a focus on four pillars of development — inclusive development, productivity enhancement, energy transition and climate action — the Union Budget 2022-23 presents a blueprint for India @100 focusing on farmers, women, youth, and marginal class for FY 22-23. Infrastructure development has been given the continued importance once again with the announcement of PM Gati Shakti masterplan. The National Highway network will be expanded by 25,000 km in 2022-23 and other modes of transport too will be expanded. The government aims to facilitate technology enabled development by leveraging the knowledge of start-ups for special initiatives like Drone Shakti and plans to introduce E-passports, digitisation of land records, digital rupee by RBI etc. in 2022-23. The government has once again underlined the importance of industry linkages in skill development & upgradation and announced the setting up of digital university too. FM reiterates the importance of faster environment clearances as part of Ease of Doing Business.
Recognising the importance of urban housing and the increasing pace of urbanisation, the government will emphasise on better planning for sustainable living in Tier 2 -3 cities. In this regard, investment in urban sector capacity building, modernisation of building bye-laws & mass transit projects on hub and spoke model will be executed. The work on National Generic Document Registration System( NGDRS) will be accelerated. Data centres to be given Infrastructure status which in turn will boost financing to the sector.
Allocation of ₹48,000 crore towards completion of 80 lakhs home under PMAY is a welcome step. The Finance Minister also announced that approvals related to land and construction particularly for affordable housing in urban areas will be given priority. Increase in Capital Expenditure by the government by 35.4% to 7.5 lakh crore without any increase in direct taxes is expected to add momentum to overall development process across sectors. – Harshvardhan Patodia, President, CREDAI