Union Budget 2020: A positive outlook towards Real Estate Sector

“The thrust on infrastructure is indeed a positive move, especially the initiatives like setting up of 5 new smart cities, allocation of more funds towards transportation and warehousing, setting up of economic corridor etc will all have a positive impact on the building material industry. The proposal to set up 100 new airports by 2024, tax holiday for developers for affordable housing projects, bring in a new income tax regime, proposals to address the liquidity constraints faced by the NBFC and the simplification of GST will also give the industry the much needed boost. Though a progressive budget the building material industry would have benefitted extensively if the budget had granted infrastructure status to the entire real estate sector and helped the industry to experience an accelerated growth.” - Mr. Ashwin Reddy, Managing Director, Aparna Enterprises Ltd.

“Allocation of 103 lakh crore for infrastructure is a welcome and much needed move by the government. Infusion of funds into infrastructure will surely boost employment in the country which is required to accelerate today’s economy. Covering 6500 projects across 18 states and union territories will also help in improving housing real estate sector.”

Investment of INR 16 lakh crores will definitely boost up market sentiments towards affordable housing. Allocation of Rs 3.6 lakh crore towards piped water supply to households and along with the vision for five new smart cities will invariably help in building consumer faith towards affordable housing. The government needs to focus on the proper implementation and de-centralization of the funds for a holistic real estate development. Affordable housing needs exclusive attention from the government and developers today as it is one the key building blocks in today’s real estate” - Honeyy Katiyal, Founder, Investors Clinic.

“The union budget presented is quite visionary and drafted keeping the New India in mind. There are several infrastructural development foreseen by the government which will boost the economy and job opportunities in India. Providing options to individual tax payers will provide flexibility for spending or saving the money by their own choice and it may increase the purchasing power of the consumers. Extension of timeline for benefit on affordable housing for the developer is in the line of government intention to provide houses to every citizen. Abolishing of DDT ad IPO for LIC will bring opportunities for fund inflow from foreign investors. But these changes should have been also considered positively for our own Indian investors/promoters.” – Mr. Bijay Agarwal, MD, Salarpuria Sattva Group.

“With the announcement of income tax reforms, the finance minister has been able to nail the important issue of negative sentiment amongst the middle class. This will help bring back the animal spirit amongst the buyers of the mid-housing segment for sure. I must say despite the drop in revenue collection the government has been able to deliver a master act.” - Sakshee Katiyal, CEO, Home & Soul.

“Government’s announcement to extend INR 1.5 lakh tax benefit on affordable housing loans will offer relief to consumers. The date of approval of affordable housing projects for availing tax holiday on profit earned by developers by one year will help in minimizing challenges faced by the developers across the country. Increasing the transaction limit in real estate and concessions in real estate transactions will also boost affordable housing segments. Government has taken steps in the right direction to boost affordable housing in the country, we welcome the announcements and look forward towards working together for implementation of these announcements to boost housing for all.” - Sunny Katyal, Co-Founder, Investors Clinic.

"We view this budget in positive light. The budget has provided fresh stimulus to the ‘Housing for All’ vision by extending additional corpus of INR 1.5 lakh tax benefit on interest paid on affordable housing loans by one year. Affordable housing projects are given a deduction which adds to a concession for real estate transactions.

The long awaiting single-window clearance and industry status for real estate are not addressed, however the developers expects the National Logistics Policy to be released by the govt soon, to help enable single-window clearance for projects.

The budget has also addressed the liquidity issue by informing that the Govt. will offer support by guaranteeing securities floated to enable liquidity support to NBFCs. A mechanism to provide liquidity to NBFCs and housing finance companies was also proposed." - Mr. Madhusudhan G., Chairman and MD, Sumadhura Group.

“Entrepreneurship is indeed the spirit of India! It is a delight that the Government has considered to encourage start-up owners and entrepreneurs by creating more opportunities, to help towards the clearance cell of investment. Additionally, the proposal on deferment of tax payment by employees on ESOPs to minimum of five years will be a great support especially the aspiring young professionals. The focus on technology including AI/ML, robotics with number of productive age group cross-cutting streams in India is another exciting development. Further, the Government’s efforts to boost income and purchasing power, reflects well on the income tax. However, the fleeting mention on SOPs to boost real estate and affordable housing did not provide clarity. Entitlements for real estate and housing is extremely essential, especially for new homebuyers and those who want to set-up their homes. - Mr. Srikanth Iyer, CEO & Founder HomeLane.com

"The primary focus of this budget has been MSME and agriculture. With lower tax rate, there will be less burden on MSME. Also, the subordinate debt, an app-based invoice funding for MSMEs, will provide relief to the MSME sector at large. For me the highlight of the budget has been the special emphasis on village storage scheme run by SHGs, balanced use of fertilizers that is aimed at using excessive use of chemical fertilizers, widening of NABARD and MUDRA schemes, and aiming to double farm income by 2022. These will help in agricultural growth and increasing the contribution of agriculture in GDP," - Mr. Sethurathnam Ravi, former chairman of Bombay Stock Exchange.

"The focus on setting up a National Recruitment Agency for recruitment to non-gazetted posts is a welcome step and might prove to be a good step in months to come, but we do not see any immediate assurance for unemployed and unkilled youth of the country," - Dr. Neelam Gupta, President & CEO, AROH Foundation.

Updated: 2/3/2020 11:40:16 AM