On the back of the recent policy initiatives by the government to bring in more transparency, India’s <keyword id="6543013" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="real-estate-sector">Real estate sector</keyword> is hoping for some key reforms to be passed in the upcoming <keyword id="6360189" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Union-Budget">Union Budget</keyword>, which will help sustain the positive momentum. 
 
 One of the key initiatives for the residential market is the Prime Minister's campaign of Housing for All by 2022. Incentives directly impacting this will provide a boost to the affordable housing segment and go a long way in fulfilling this goal. This includes exemption of service tax under GST for affordable housing, exemption of stamp duty for homes bought below a ticket size, increased funding to the National Housing Bank (NHB) for cheaper mortgages, standardized costs of building materials, faster approval processes, and a targeted fund allocation for low cost housing projects. Moreover, to urge more private builders to enter the affordable housing section, the Government should consider offering land and building materials at subsidized rates to these developers. 
 
Another key ask of the industry from the upcoming budget is for certain tax benefits to be announced. This includes allowing investors to exit/sell following a period of two years with a lower tax rate, tax breaks for NRI’s and tax reduction to the consumers from the date of booking of the property and not from the date of ownership, reviving demand in the market. Rationalizing of stamp obligations for Union Territories and improvement of property expense evaluation procedures for individual states could also possibly increase transactions. The segment additionally seeks the removal of the Sunset clause for Special Economic Zones (SEZ's) as withdrawal of any tax incentives from them directly impact exports and job creation. These benefits would go a long way in further encouraging transparency in the sector and boosting consumer and investor confidence. 
 
Much is hoped for from the budget which will be presented on 1st February, 2017. India’s position as a bright spot bright spot in the global economic environment coupled with a rising maturity among consumers and investors is working towards bringing back the much needed positive sentiment in the market. Amid indications that the Government will continue with its ambitious reform agenda in 2017, the budget will be an important tool to soften the rough edges around these landmark decisions. 
 
(This post is authored by Anshuman Magazine, Chairman, India and South East Asia, <keyword id="6376943" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="CBRE">CBRE</keyword>)

What India's real estate sector is expecting from Arun Jaitley's Budget 2017

(Photo Source: Reuters) 2018 turned out to be something of a mixed bag for the Indian <keyword id="6354553" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="real-estate">real estate</keyword> sector, marked by improvement in sales and some stability but only after the double blow of GST and demonetisation and a liquidity crisis. Stronger regulation 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="PMAY." msid="67318680" hostid="261"></div>







 On the regulatory front, while India has taken some key steps to protect home buyers through the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA), most states are apparently et to set up a permanent regulator. "Currently 28 states and union territories have notified rules under RERA and 15 of these have established a permanent regulator, the latest one being Delhi, which appointed a full-time regulator in November. As of November, more than 34,000 projects had been registered under RERA," Anshuman Magazine, Chairman, India and South East Asia region for CBRE, a global commercial real estate investment company, told IANS. However, India’s new Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), has introduced a provision to include home buyers as secured financial creditors in case of bankruptcy proceedings, meaning they will receive invested funds in case the <keyword id="6354516" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="property">property</keyword> or builder declares bankruptcy. <keyword id="52764" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Liquidity-crunch">Liquidity crunch</keyword> 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="payment-473685_1920" msid="67318734" hostid="261"></div>







 A major headache for the sector this year proved to be the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-reserve-bank-of-india-is-trying-to-prevent-a-liquidity-crisis-at-banks-by-relaxing-an-important-risk-requirement/articleshow/65978953.cms">liquidity crunch</a>, which came to light when the lending major <keyword id="17408" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="infrastructure">Infrastructure</keyword> Leasing &amp; Financial Services (IL&amp;FS) defaulted on its commercial papers in September. Parth Mehta, MD of Paradigm Realty told IANS: "The liquidity crunch that is going on currently has given a tough time to the real-estate sector as developer can't slow down their construction to meet the RERA (Real Estate Regulation and Development Act) timeline and on the other side NBFCs have stopped disbursals even against approved sanctions." "This liquidity crunch hit both developers and buyers and has led to a slowdown in home buying decisions creating mismatch in housing demand-supply," Mehta said. In fact, the liquidity crunch will continue to be in the upcoming year. Co-working 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="coworking" msid="67318735" hostid="261"></div>







(Photo Source: dfordelhi.in) 2018 also saw a rise in <keyword id="2784442" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Co-working-spaces">co-working spaces</keyword> popular among entrepreneurs and companies offering remote work options. It has been an emerging sector for commercial real estate in India with startups investing more because of space constraint. Over <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/real-estate/co-working-becomes-the-new-poster-boy-of-commercial-real-estate-market-in-2018-3310381.html">50% of the total leasing</a> in India comes from Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR, making them the largest markets for co-working models. Bengaluru has shown a rise of 37% for the commercial real estate. <keyword id="136927" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="affordable-housing">Affordable housing</keyword> 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="Affordable_housing" msid="67318681" hostid="261"></div>







(Photo Source: proptiger.com) Affordable housing got a big boost this year with the Indian government incentivising the sector with favourable tax structure. In fact, the growth and demand in affordable housing segment has been faster than the overall demand in Indian real estate. The government has also provided interest subsidies to Low Income Group (LIG) and Middle Income Group (MIG) under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). Housing sales 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="Housing_sales" msid="67318682" hostid="261"></div>







(Photo Source: indiaproperty.com) The commercial real estate has performed better than housing sales this year because of demand from investors and sufficient funds. With the depreciation in the Indian rupee against the dollar, the sector has attracted more Non Resident Indian (NRI investments), who invested over ₹699.6 billion in the current fiscal. While the housing sector has witnessed a <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/real-estate-housing-sales-rise-50-in-2018-but-liquidity-crunch-limits-recovery/articleshow/67250974.cms">rise of 50%</a> in terms of sales this year, ready-to-move-in homes will continue to attract investments. However, the liquidity crunch has decelerated the home buying process for both developers and buyers. Overall, according to data from PropTiger.com, housing sales in nine major cities in India was 25% higher than last year. The number of new launches dropped significantly by 22% compared to last year. With inputs from IANS

From affordable housing to co-working spaces — here’s how 2018 fared for Indian real estate

Top 10 Indian companies by market value in 2024

The Reserve <keyword id="6355303" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bank-of-India">Bank of India</keyword> (<keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword>) has allowed foreign institutional investors to invest up to 100% of the paid up capital in Crompton Greaves. 
 "Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now invest up to 100% of the paid up capital of <keyword id="130098" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Crompton-Greaves-Limited">Crompton Greaves Limited</keyword> under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS)," said RBI. 
 
RBI’s permission comes after the company's board of directors and shareholders passed resolutions to increase the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs. 
 
FIIs, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origins (PIOs) are allowed to invest in primary and secondary capital markets in India through precision investment services. RBI oversees FII/NRI/PIO investments in Indian companies on a daily basis. The shares of Crompton Greaves jumped 6% to Rs 190 in today’s morning trade.

RBI Approves Up To 100% FII Investment In Crompton Greaves

Shares of <keyword id="6355975" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Axis-Bank">Axis Bank</keyword> and <keyword id="45660" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Yes-Bank">Yes Bank</keyword> surged in trade after the government re-interpreted the percentage of equity that foreign investors can hold into Indian stocks. 
 The government has now introduced a composite percentage cap on the extent foreigners can own Indian shares. Earlier, there were separate sub-limits which would cater to FDI, FII, NRI and other non-Indian holdings within the overall cap which was different for each sector. For instance, in <keyword id="6354778" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Banking">banking</keyword> 74 percent equity in an Indian private bank can be owned by foreigners. Within the 74 percent, the foreign institutional limit was capped at 49 percent. Now these artificial sub-limits have been removed by the government. 
 
Axis Bank was the top gainer on the Nifty. It surged 21.55 rupees, or 3.7 percent, to 605.55 rupees. Its Futures were trading 3.5 percent higher on a strong rise in Open Interest, pointing to a build up of long positions in the counter. 
 
Yes Bank, a Nifty constituent as well, added 3.2 percent, or 25.80 rupees, to 830.10 rupees. The bank's FII limit was at 49 percent and 48 percent was already exhausted. With the introduction of the composite cap, FIIs can now buy up to 74 percent of Yes Bank in theory. 
 
With a higher availability of float, Yes Bank can now return to the MSCI Index. 
 
(Image credit: Indiatimes)

Govt’s decision,
banker’s delight! Removal of sub-limits on foreign ownership in Banks makes the
Bank Index & markets rally

These are the new TDS, TCS rates applicable on fixed deposits, dividends, contracts and more

Innovation doesn’t start and end with technology alone. Instead, innovation is all about touching life in a way that makes existence more fulfilling. Social networks have already proved that the stuff called human connects is a serious business. But here is <keyword id="1903470" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="SharingDard">SharingDard</keyword>.com, a 5-month-old <keyword id="1059934" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="social-enterprise">social enterprise</keyword> from India, which has gone one step ahead and started an ‘emotion-sharing’ network, along with a 24x7 <keyword id="1903478" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="tele-counselling">tele-counselling</keyword> service. Research shows that the Indian tele-counselling market focusing on <keyword id="6354774" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mental-health">mental health</keyword> and emotional wellness could be worth Rs 1,100 crore, but very few companies have entered this niche till date. Here is a snapshot that captures the start-up’s vision and viability. 
 
Who runs <keyword id="1903471" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="SharingDard-com">SharingDard.com</keyword>: A team of four – all of them from IIM Lucknow. They are <keyword id="1903466" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sumant-Gajbhiye">Sumant Gajbhiye</keyword>, <keyword id="1903463" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gaurav-Rajan">Gaurav Rajan</keyword> and <keyword id="952037" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ritika-Sharma">Ritika Sharma</keyword> while Lima James joined the venture later. After working for 2 years in MNCs, the co-founders left their jobs and set up <keyword id="1903464" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="SRG-Sharingdard-Networking-Pvt-Ltd">SRG Sharingdard Networking Pvt Ltd</keyword> in Mumbai. The website went live in May 2013. 
 
What inspired the venture: College parties, whether you believe it or not. “In those parties, we often shared our experiences. Those heart-to-heart chats helped us open up since all of us came from different backgrounds but needed support during emotional turmoil. That’s when the idea struck us – why not start a website where people can share all their problems anonymously, without facing any social stigma,” says Sumant. 
 
What’s the pitch: At SharingDard, a parallel world is created where you can share your Emotions, Feelings, Grief, Secrets, Your Dard (pain)… Without your identity! 
 
How it works: Users can put their life stories under a suitable category as you have 7 sections there – right from Jobs and Career to Family and Social issues, Love and Relationship trauma, Social Taboos, Matrimony Search, I Feel Lonely and Other (for miscellaneous posts). You only need to input your e-mail ID and birth date to register and no other information is required. Visitors to the site can read the posts but if they want to post their views, messages and encouragement in an effort to help, they need to register as well. Another plus, you get loads of language options on the site. 
 
Claim to fame: Traction and stickiness. Last we checked, the site had 37,088 registered users globally (the numbers change fast) and according to Sumant, it gets NRI hits from around 80 countries. Its Alexa ranking in India on Oct 15 stands at 22,811 while the global ranking on Alexa is 192,659, up 162,057 versus the previous 3 months. On an average, each visitor spends around 15 minutes on the site. 
 
Show me the money: Unlike most digital businesses that essentially chase advertisement revenues, this company is eyeing the mental health &amp; wellness space. Its current business model includes a pre-paid tele-counselling service (www.yourcandidfriend.com) for adolescents, conducted 24x7 by 16 fully trained professionals. Going forward, it will come up with web counselling and also target the NRI segment. Bootstrapped till date, the start-up is also looking for funding and is in talks with angel investors. 
 
Biggest challenge: Not funding, but positioning the business in the Indian context. Many people who need help live in denial and emotional trauma is often swept under the carpet. SharingDard is a bold concept – now we have to see if it can rake in the moolah.

This 5-month-old Start-up Runs A Network For Sharing Emotions, Eyes Rs
1,100 Crore Market

NEW DELHI: The <keyword id="6355512" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Cabinet">Union Cabinet</keyword> on Wednesday allowed foreign investment in the Railways for the first time and raised limit for such investment in the defence sector, steps intended to raise funds for expansion of the Railways and encourage domestic manufacture of arms. 
 
100 per cent foreign investment in railway infrastructure projects will be allowed while in the case of defence the limit has been raised to 49 per cent from the current 26 per cent, subject to the Indian owners exercising management control. 
 The <keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword> hike in defence is intended to cut imports by indigenising defence production as India is one of the world’s largest arms importers. 
 "It is a composite cap, incorporating all forms of foreign investment, FDI, FII, FPI, NRI, etc," said a <keyword id="6542458" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Government-official">government official</keyword> confirming that the proposals has been cleared. Experts did not seem impressed with the cautious stance of the <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword> on defence. 
 
"Good development, but not great. Round one has gone to protectionist forces. 49 per cent is the same as 26 per cent technically and hence may not open the investment floodgates," said Amber Dubey, Partner and India Head of Aerospace and Defense at global consultancy KPMG. 
 
"We hope better judgment prevails and we have the FDI limit enhanced to 74 per cent later this year," he added. Official notifications giving effect to changes will be issued soon, after the minutes of the cabinet meeting are finalised. 
 Foreign investment in defence will be though the approval route, implying it will have to be cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Though the 49 per cent cap will be general rule for the defence sector, 100 per cent overseas ownership will be allowed in case the <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> comes bundled with state of the art technology. Such investment proposals will have to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). 
 
In companies with a 49 per cent foreign holding, more than one Indian company will be allowed to hold the 51 per cent share, unlike the present norm that mandates that a single Indian entity should own and control the entire 51 per cent, a move that will encourage more domestic players to enter the sector. 
 
In case of Railways, 100 per cent FDI will now be allowed in railway infrastructure segments such as electrification, signalling, high speed and suburban corridors. 100 per cent FDI will also be allowed through the Special Purpose Vehicle route to provide last mile connectivity to ports and mines. Further, some railway operations have also been partially opened up to foreign investment. 
 FDI is now allowed in PPP projects, suburban corridors, high speed train systems, and dedicated freight lines. Estimates suggest that the opening of railways to foreign <keyword id="47916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="invest">invest</keyword>ors will add 1-1.5 percentage points to the overall GDP growth. China and Japan are keen to invest in the railways sector. 
 
As a result of these changes, railways transport will be removed from the list of prohibited sectors in the consolidated FDI policy.

Indian Cabinet Approves Raising FDI Cap In Defence To 49 Per Cent, Opens Up Railways

Closely after making a five-day three-nation tour to Seychelles, Mauritius and <keyword id="6355572" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sri-Lanka">Sri Lanka</keyword>, to reinvigorate the country’s ties with the Indian Ocean economies, Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> is about to embark on a five-day Europe-Canada tour, which is eagerly watched by observers world over. The tour assumes significance on several counts. 
 First, it is a continuation of the successful visits to <keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword>, Australia and the US over the last year, which not only enabled Modi to translate into trade, technology and defence pacts, but helped him market the ‘Make in India’ campaign that aims to position India as the ‘world’s factory’, in addition to being the top ‘services hub’ globally. Second, it points to the fact that the <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword> is keen on strengthening its foreign policy framework that aims at building and maintaining closer partnerships with not only global leaders such as the US and China, but strategic regional countries such as Japan in addition to key neighbourhood nations. 
 Significantly, <keyword id="87" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Germany">Germany</keyword> and France—two of EU’s most powerful countries that have been India’s strong trade partners—are a key part of Modi’s travel itinerary. In Germany, Modi is expected to inaugurate the Hannover Messe 2015 fair along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on April 12 (India is a partner country in the fair). The fair will provide an ideal platform for Modi to showcase India as an emerging manufacturing hub as part of his government’s Make in India campaign. Germany is the eighth-largest foreign direct investor in India—German <keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword> in India during 1991-2014 stood at $7.57 billion. Modi government’s focus on wind power, science, technology and engineering is expected to further enhance India’s trade with Germany. 
 <keyword id="6354785" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="France">France</keyword> is an equally important trade partner for India. Extending the civilian nuclear pact signed by India and France in 2008 with Areva—a French multinational group specialising in nuclear and renewable energy—selling 300 tonnes of nuclear fuel to <keyword id="79802" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nuclear-Power-Corporation">Nuclear Power Corporation</keyword> of India (NPCIL), the Modi government seeks to explore the possibility of a commercial agreement on supply of European pressurised reactors (EPR) for NPCIL’s proposed 9,900-MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra, though such as pact would depend mainly on economic and technical viability. 
 Modi and <keyword id="24935" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="French-President">French President</keyword> Francois Hollande are also expected to hold talks on the proposed $23-billion deal involving sale of 126 Dassault Rafale medium range multi-role combat aircraft to India. Also, with foreign direct <keyword id="47916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="invest">invest</keyword>ment in the <keyword id="35450" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="insurance">insurance</keyword> sector being raised to 49% from 26%, France is likely to invest $5 billion in the sector. 
 
The European leg of Modi’s trip is also important considering EU is India's largest trading partner, accounting for around 20% of India’s trade globally. Trade between India and the EU was $57.25 billion between April and October 2014 and stood at $101.5 billion for fiscal 2014-15, a major part of which was accounted for by Germany, France and the UK, while other partner countries including Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands too contributed. 
 Modi will be in Canada from April 14 to 16, making stops at <keyword id="29196" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Toronto">Toronto</keyword>, <keyword id="82333" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ottawa">Ottawa</keyword> and <keyword id="72145" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vancouver">Vancouver</keyword>. The highlight of his three-day visit to Canada will be a public meeting at Toronto that is expected to be attended by a huge NRI crowd. India is Canada's largest trading partner in South Asia and continues to be a priority market under Canada's Global Markets Action Plan. 
 On the flip side, Modi’s proposed stopover at <keyword id="59706" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Brussels">Brussels</keyword> stands cancelled after EU failed to respond to India’s proposal to include the EU capital in his itinerary. While it is not clear what led to EU’s muted response, there are those who believe the slow progress of the trial of two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012 is one of the reasons, given the fact that EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has been vocal in criticising India’s stance on the issue. India’s refusal to toe the line of the Western countries over the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s role in the conflict is also said to be one of the reasons. However, many European countries see dropping Brussels from Modi’s travel itinerary as a lost opportunity for providing a fillip to India-EU ties. 
 
Notwithstanding the political significance of the tour considering the changing global geopolitical climate, one key question is whether Modi will be able to take the trip beyond the realm of rhetoric and translate it into actionable trade and investment opportunities like what he achieved during the Japan visit which resulted in commitment for close to $40 billion Japanese investment in India. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

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What India's real estate sector is expecting from Arun Jaitley's Budget 2017

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From affordable housing to co-working spaces — here’s how 2018 fared for Indian real estate

BI India Bureau

Top 10 Indian companies by market value in 2024

BI India Bureau

RBI Approves Up To 100% FII Investment In Crompton Greaves

BI India Bureau

Govt’s decision, banker’s delight! Removal of sub-limits on foreign ownership in Banks makes the Bank Index & markets rally

Shailendra Bhatnagar

These are the new TDS, TCS rates applicable on fixed deposits, dividends, contracts and more

Rounak Jain

This 5-month-old Start-up Runs A Network For Sharing Emotions, Eyes Rs 1,100 Crore Market

Sanghamitra Mandal

Indian Cabinet Approves Raising FDI Cap In Defence To 49 Per Cent, Opens Up Railways

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Will Modi’s Europe-Canada tour translate into measurable gains?

Preetam Kaushik