The Budget 2018-19 was expected to support the residential real estate sector beyond just the affordable segment. Had this happened, 2018 would have been the ‘year of consolidation’ for the real estate sector. In the run up to the Budget Speech, my thoughts were that the hon’ble finance minister would bring out a Budget positive for all segments of the real estate.
Right at the start of his Budget Speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the budget would focus on the agriculture and rural economy. And, he did not disappoint, with what has largely turned out to be a ‘Socialist’ budget, one that is good for the economy, should work its magic for the rural and agriculture sector – but somehow seems to have missed out on the positives that focus on the real estate would have brought.
Housing for India’s poor did not miss the Finance Minister’s focus. During his speech he mentioned “a roof for one’s family”, terming it ‘another concern of the poor’. He said the poor only desire to have a roof, a small house by his earning of honesty, adding that the government was helping them fulfill the dream of their own house. Reiterating the target, that every poor of the country may have his own house by 2022, the finance minister said under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) Rural, 51 lakh houses in 2017-18 and 51 lakh houses during 2018-19; which adds up to more than a crore houses, will be constructed exclusively in rural areas. In urban areas the assistance has been sanctioned to construct 37 lakh houses, he added.
From a real estate perspective, the finance minister said in his speech that the government will establish a dedicated affordable housing fund in the National Housing Bank through various funding measures. This is a welcome step. The finance minister’s mention of reducing hardships faced in realty deals was ‘positive’. The knowledge take-away from the Budget speech: the government is shifting focus on ‘ease of living’ after successfully focusing on ‘ease of doing business’.
Despite having missed out on the real estate, I rate the Budget at 7 – and for obvious reasons: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has managed to balance populist demands, the need to support economic growth as also Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on fiscal discipline and reforms.
The Writer is National President, NAREDCO
