Realtors' Relying on Budget's Infra Focus to Open New Avenues

"We congratulate the FM for coming up with a Budget with a focus on overall economic health; the announcement will lead to better-earning opportunities for people directly impacting the retail sector. We can see the retail and commercial segment moving to more Indian cities as infrastructure will improve after various announcements in the Budget. Though there was not much in terms of tax savings for people, overall economic growth will lead to increased income that will support retail consumption," said Abhishek Bansal, Executive Director, Pacific Group.

Added Yash Miglani, MD, Migsun Group, "We appreciate the efforts of Finance ministry for boosting the overall economy of nation with this budget. Although, the real estate sector has not been directly benefited, but infra, urban planning measures introduced will add to the profits of industry. In 2022-23, 80 lakh households will be identified for the affordable housing scheme under PM Awas Yojana. This will be giving multiple job opportunities to the construction workers and contractors on a large scale."

This year's budget focus was more on boosting the overall infrastructure, urban planning etc. not just in metros but also to Tier II-III cities. "The measure of setting up a high-level committee for urban planners and economists to be formed for recommendations on urban capacity building, planning implementation, and governance is a giant leap to introduce modern urban planning structures. Overall, the Union Budget 2022-23 had a mixed bag of announcements for the real estate sector, much was expected on the terms of single window clearance, industry status and tax incentives which did not come through," said Uddhav Poddar, MD, Bhumika Group.

Realtors were expecting some incentives in the aftermath of the current challenging situation and when demand is going through an upward graph. The unanimous view is that improving highways and infrastructure will open new horizons for the sector.

"We anticipated a budget that is both people and business-friendly; the current Budget made it clear that economic growth is the prime focus as the Economic Survey projected a GDP growth of 8-8.5 per cent in the next fiscal. The emphasis on improving transport infrastructure, including highways, will go a long way in creating sustainable pockets of real estate development. Though there was no announcement related to the sector, we are hopeful that job creation and the announcement of Ease of Doing Business 2.0 will lead to increased demand," said Amarjit Bakshi, CMD Central Park.

The Budget will help in overall economic growth; ECGL extension will help the manufacturing sector or COVID affected sector. "Allocation for infrastructure has increased, including the announcements related to the expansion of highways. As far as the real estate sector is concerned, Government has allocated Rs 48,000 crore fund for PMAY and the completion of 80 lakh affordable houses by 2023. The sector will benefit as demand will increase due to infrastructural development and the launch Ease of Doing Business 2.0, which will lead to income generation," said Kunal Bhalla, CEO & Founder, CRC Group.

This years Budget laid emphasis on holistic infrastructure development not only in metros but also focused on Tier-II and Tier-III cities by encouraging urban planning etc. "The establishment of a high-level committee for urban planning comprising planners, economists etc highlights the immense potential sector holds. Overall, there was a mixed bag of announcements for the real estate sector in the Union Budget 2022-23. Some of the long-standing demands of our real estate community like single window clearance, industry status allotment and tax incentives did not materialise even during this year's Budget," said Gurucharan Singh, Director, Maasters Infra.