TRENDS
What global citizens want: Economic opportunities with quality of life
The BCG Cities of Choice report’s findings have some important takeaways for a rapidly urbanising India which is planning to accommodate almost half its population in the next decade or so in towns and cities
BUSINESS
Professionalising The Real Estate Broker: Maharashtra RERA has set a syllabus
With its latest move to train and certify agents across the state, MahaRERA has given the first rung of the real estate ladder a position and authority that spells good news for the sector. By invoking the PMLA Act to enforce systems among large agents with annual turnover of over Rs 20 lakh, it has defined the boundaries of safe working within the sector
BUSINESS
Maharashtra regulator uses data, red flags to end real estate woes
Maharashtra RERA chairman Ajoy Mehta explains how acting on data can help address problems of the past and make real estate development in the state predictable and consumer-friendly
BUSINESS
Lenders can’t escape accountability for financing real estate projects
Banks now have to consider buyer interests when making real estate lending policies. The Real Estate Regulation Act was a game changer. Several RERA authorities have taken to interpreting the role of lenders vis-a-vis buyers
BUSINESS
How UP RERA addressed about 90% of consumer grievances
Even the Supreme Court has held the justification of UP RERA’s legal interpretations such as the Single Bench efficacy and allowed it to go through. But some provisos still remain to be corrected such as the removal of surrender to NCLT when solutions are within sight
BUSINESS
Budget 2023: Infrastructure investment to give employment a big boost
With forward and backward linkages to at least 250 industries and 70 trades, construction has the potential to generate lakhs of crores of jobs, if the planned investment gets off the ground
BUSINESS
Budget 2023 bets big on cities, infrastructure growth
A well-thought-out and visionary budget with lots of focus on efficiently managing growing urbanisation and reforms to make India an economic powerhouse
BUSINESS
Budget 2023: Policy directions to clean up real estate problems
From land records to land financing and timely approvals and clearances, the direction towards a clean and robust real estate industry is the need of the hour. Will Budget 2023 make these strong statements?
BUSINESS
RERA starts unravelling as key fixes in law are neglected
On February 7, a two-judge panel will rule on whether the Odisha RERA was at fault for not ruling on issues it did not have the power to execute. Many RERA conclaves have raised this issue, which, if not addressed, can dilute a law that had the potential to transform the real estate industry
BUSINESS
Budget 2023 must give a thrust to growing more cities, affordable housing
The real estate industry needs to look at the growing opportunity that rapid urbanisation is providing. Urban planning of census towns, tax breaks for sustainability initiatives could be some of the new demands for Budget 2023
BUSINESS
SC’s Chandigarh ruling on arbitrary changes by administrations good for urban planning
In the verdict on Chandigarh’s heritage zone, the apex court has drawn attention to the lack of checks and balances in city management and shown citizens that they can fight against injustice
BUSINESS
Real Estate | Clear guidelines, seed funding can fix legacy power issues in NCR
It all depends on political will to get the cities ready with modern, urban infrastructure. In power, Haryana has taken a clear lead over the Uttar Pradesh suburbs in the NCR
BUSINESS
Real Estate | Residents demand their share of FSI
As residential complexes age and are ripe for redevelopment, consumers are battling with developers for access to the enhanced Floor Area Ratio or Floor Space Index
BUSINESS
Morbi Tragedy | Cities need control over assets, focus on long-term governance
A bridge collapse in Gujarat’s Morbi exposes a faulty construction contract that gives the private concessionaire overarching powers. Indian cities have historically signed away city assets for funds to private parties
BUSINESS
Why are reverse mortgages important instruments in an asset-rich ageing India?
As India ages rapidly, and older population remains in urban settings, living independent lives, it is important to let the real estate assets they created in their youth, fund their old age
BUSINESS
Real Estate | Construction sites cannot remain death traps for workers
Safety laws are ignored, except in large organisations, and Indian workplaces remain the most unsafe in the world
BUSINESS
Real Estate | Phasing of projects can lead to home buyers being short-changed
A recent notification in Haryana, proposing that single licence projects be allowed to be split into phases has consumers up in arms
BUSINESS
Many positive lessons to learn from the Supertech tower demolition
The demolition is a victory of aggrieved consumers fighting for justice, it is a blow to the authority-developer nexus, a triumph of advanced engineering, and the pre-eminence of the judicial system
BUSINESS
Sovereign entities’ real estate solutions are an example for DDA to follow
The Uttar Pradesh regulator and the investment manager of SWAMIH fund came up with successful models to resolve legacy real estate problems. Can the Delhi Development Authority take a leaf out of this book to get the capital’s land pooling moving as well?
BUSINESS
Real Estate | Why is India’s affordable housing segment shrinking?
As prices move up, inventories drop, and active home buyer numbers show only a marginal drop, the Indian housing industry finds itself at a crossroads
BUSINESS
Sort out legacy issues to make realty plinth strong
Proper execution of laws and availability of long-term capital are key to the growth of the real estate sector
BUSINESS
A stalled real estate sector was nobody’s and everybody’s fault
Buyers, sellers, land bankers, bankers, NBFCs, and investors, all felt the pinch of realism in the mid to late 2000s. By 2014, the real estate market was at a complete standstill and a newly elected government brought law after law to clean up the system. Problems were complex and nobody benefited
BUSINESS
Housing | What went wrong with India’s real estate?
In 1998 the first housing policy was envisaged to provide affordable and formal housing to urban Indians. So what went wrong and why are millions of Indians struggling to get the houses they paid for over a decade ago?
BUSINESS
How can India urbanise when planners are in short supply?
Even as the government acknowledges the shortage of urban planners to meet the needs of a rapidly urbanising India, an immediate start to the diagnostic study of urbanisation is critical
