The Union Budget was declared on Tuesday (February 1, 2022) by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has offered an allocation of funds of Rs 48,000 crore for the Prime Minister Awas Yojana Scheme (PMAY) houses. Wherein the real estate sector stakeholders gave mixed reactions to this budget.
Deepak Goradia, Chairman and Managing Director - Dosti Realty commented, "This is a growth-oriented budget with a special focus on infra development, planning, and design of Urban cities which is a much-needed requirement when scaling up for the future. The Rs 48,000 crores of outlay for the PMAY scheme will definitely boost the affordable housing sector and the announcement of 5 Centers of Excellence for Urban design and planning is a positive step that will complement the overall growth of the real estate sector."
On the other hand, Vipul Shah, Managing Director - Parinee Group expressed disappointment for offering no tax provision for this sector. "The Real estate is currently reviving from its lows. From this budget, we were hopeful that tax incentives or some credit provisions will be facilitated to make the segment up and running the way it was around 7-8 years ago. Although this will take time, we were still anticipating a start. This budget has nothing for the developers and the hardships they are facing. Overall, if we look at it, the focus is mostly on agriculture, banks, post offices, and digitisation".
While Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Group expressed that the Union Budget 2022-23 is progressive – especially with its emphasis on building the infrastructure of the country. "The FM clearly emphasised the top priorities of the government - PM Gati Shakti for sustainable growth, inclusive development, productivity enhancement, and financing of investments. Notably, the government also expanded the Capex target by 35.4% - from INR 5.54 lakh crore to INR 7.50 lakh crore - which may help boost overall spending towards economic growth. The budget also emphasises the need for proper urban planning, provides some relief to states while keeping the fiscal deficit well under control. In another major positive, the government’s aim to create 6 million new jobs over the next 5 years will enable the growth of residential real estate across the country." Allocation of Rs 48,000 crore for Pmay urban and rural will push forward it's housing for all initiative, he added.
Similarly, leading developer Sandeep Runwal - President, NAREDCO Maharashtra and Managing Director, Runwal Group said, "For the first time the Finance Minister has sought to transform the real estate sector by bringing in transparency and efficiency in the business. This will help to reduce the cost of transactions and will ultimately benefit the homebuyers. The Government's plan to launch ‘Ease of Doing Business 2.0' is a step in the right direction and its continuous efforts to promote the same along with digitization will help the economy and the real estate sector business going forward. Single Window clearance mechanism too will go a long way in improving ease of doing business in India. This should include more dynamic aspects and make India a more investment-friendly destination."
"In 2022-23, 80 lakh households will be identified for the affordable housing scheme and Rs. 48,000 crore allocated for PM Awas Yojana. This together will boost the affordable housing segment and help to achieve the Prime Minister's vision of Housing for All. Also, the 60,000 houses to be identified as beneficiaries for PMAY in rural & urban areas will ensure that more and more homebuyers get to avail of this benefit. As anticipated, it's a very futuristic budget focusing on economic recovery benefitting from public investment and capital spending," Said Runwal.
