Full transcript of Sahil Vachani's panel discussion with Sri Lakshmi VS at Rising Bharat Summit 2025

So we couldn't get a better panel to talk about how things are changing, how they should change and how they should change sustainably. Sahil Vachani, one of the most prominent real estate developers in India, with huge investments in Noida and in Gurugram, and Sri Lakshmi, the whole and sole of the Greater Noida Authority. So let me begin with you, Sri Lakshmi ji. We have the Jewar Airport coming up in Greater Noida very soon, probably around September. So what do you see as the impact of the Jewar Airport on the economy of that region and the plans that you have made and the ones that you are supervising to capitalise on that?

Sri Lakshmi:

Thank you. I am glad that I am invited to be a part of this event. As far as Jewar Airport is concerned, I would say that getting an airport in the vicinity of a region like NCR, like close to the capital city, it will for once decongest the traffic which is in Delhi and next to that, it is the investment which we are expecting to attract. The regional connectivity when it improves through an airport, it will bring more investors, either in IT, real estate, industry, because the travel of both professionals as well as freight will be greatly improved by this Jewar Airport. So there will be huge attraction for the investment as well as the regional tourism also will be promoted as you know we have this Agra as well as Mathura which is nearby and so in all manners, it will be boosting the economy because more investment will be coming to the region and also improving the connectivity.

Nalin Mehta:

How much investment are you expecting?

Sri Lakshmi:

Depends on, you know, we plan to attract more of industry as well as IT sector and also promoting the tourism. That is what we are…

Nalin Mehta:

Sahil, you have made a really big bet on Noida. I think you are talking outside around 6500 crores in that whole region, Noida, Greater Noida and the wider region. How are you seeing the evolution of this region with the airport coming in, the area becoming a new hub for logistics and transport and things like that?

Sahil Vachani:

Thank you for having me here. So the first thing that we see, Nalin, in Noida is that the physical infrastructure has always been fantastic. If you go back, it's been a well-planned city. There were challenges around safety, security which over the last few years have been addressed largely. What was lacking is a huge element of social infrastructure. Now we believe with investment across industry as ma'am mentioned, across GCCs, Global Capability Centers, across real estate investments and other sectors, we are very confident that the social infrastructure of Noida will evolve to really make it a city of choice and a destination in itself.

The other aspect, I think it's a more important point of a global trend that we are seeing, Nalin. And if you see how America was developed, America was developed with suburban cities where you worked in the middle of the city and you lived at the other end of the city. Whereas the current model where the world is going to today is what is called the 15-minute city where you can live, you can work, you have your healthcare, your education and other needs within a commute of 15 minutes per se.

So we believe that's the future, that's the sustainable way to grow. And this particular, the airport that's coming up is a step in that direction for those micro-cities there. So yeah, we are very confident not just for Noida but for the NCR at large.

Nalin Mehta:

And that's a very evocative idea, the idea of a 15-minute city. Sri Lakshmi Ji, when you are looking at investment plans or how do you attract, you are also in a comparative world, right? So how do you, when you compare say Greater Noida with areas, with other growth centers in India like (0:05:42) in Tamil Nadu, with Whitefield in Bangalore, with Pune, with Hyderabad, what is your comparative advantage in your view? What are you telling companies, why come here and not go there?

Sri Lakshmi:

So there are two things I feel which is USP of Greater Noida. One thing is that Greater Noida is a greenfield project. So it was not that it was once a center or a city in olden days and later it got developed or it grew. It was entirely planned from scratch. So the land was acquired and plans were made, sectors were made, different sectors for residence, commercial activity, industry, institution all were planned; broad streets, green areas, open spaces all were planned.

So being a well-planned city which is, you know, in just a handful all over India is one big thing. People prefer, it is not just profession or work which people now look for. It is like livability in a city which actually helps make people choices. So in that way Greater Noida is a well-planned city and people from Delhi even prefer to come and settle down in Greater Noida and commute from there in that manner.

So because these sectors are segregated, it is very organized and the infrastructure which has been developed, be it water lines, be it the roads and be it the sewerage system or the solid waste management, everything are of high standards in the city. The second point is that the another unique feature of Greater Noida, it is at the cross junction of eastern and western dedicated freight corridor as well as it is connected to the major highways in a very short distance. For instance the Yamuna Expressway or the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Western Peripheral Expressway.

By infrastructure wise, it is at a junction of all these major roads and railways and now again as we have discussed, we have the Jewar Airport. So these two features where, you know, are something which is unique only to Greater Noida.

Nalin Mehta:

So which are the industries you are focusing on, attracting specific industries, key focal areas?

Sri Lakshmi:

See being in NCR, we will have to, you know, we have this categories of industries which are only permissible. So as per the norms, we can do for such kind of industries. But again, high tech industries as well as IT companies are what we are planning in our near future, next future. Foreign companies, investors are also invested provided this strategic location.

Nalin Mehta:

Sahil, she made a very important point about livable cities and we will come to that in a second. But before that, I wanted to ask you that as somebody who has really invested your money in Noida, also in Gurugram, about 3500 crores or something like that, around that number, when you look at the larger real estate landscape of India and you look at these two regions, what's your prognosis on real estate? Would it be fair to say that Noida is now where maybe Gurgaon was 15 years ago at an inflection point where things were just taking off? Would that be a fair comparison or not?

Sahil Vachani:

So, Nalin, two or three points. First, the prognosis for NCR in my view is very, very optimistic and we are very bullish. Because if you are mostly from the northern part of the country, this is the tri-city that you will most likely want to live in. This is the economic hub. This is the infrastructure hub. This is where a lot of activity is happening. So you would want to live here. Within that, I think that Noida, like I mentioned, has a huge opportunity to really evolve into a twin city, into another city. It doesn't have to be either or. It has to have the infrastructure.

The social infrastructure is what is missing today. And I am sure with the coming of companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and many other companies, there is going to be a huge opportunity for everyone to be able to see the city evolve. The larger question you ask is still one that we have to address. I think for NCR at large, which is how do we make this city more livable? And I think we have challenges with respect to air pollution. We have challenges with respect to infrastructure, the walkability of the city. Climate change is only aggravating some of those problems.

Nalin Mehta:

You have two small children, I have two small children. Is the city livable for us?

Sahil Vachani:

I think we have to step up and take a little bit more ownership to see what we can do to make our cities more livable and more habitable. Of course, it has to happen under the purview of the government and we have to work with them and enable them to see what we can do.

Nalin Mehta:

So what's the way out? Do you see more public-private partnerships? Because in India, we have this whole thing that you clean everything inside your house and that's perfect, but you just dump everything outside. So how do you deal with that kind of stuff?

Sahil Vachani:

I think there are multiple layers. The first is we definitely need to increase our own sense of civic awareness. We have to-- exactly to your point, we make sure that our four walls are very clean, but what do we do about outside? And as real estate developers, I say this for our fraternity, we've been