26 - 06 - 2020

CREDAI Bengal Daily News Update | 26.06.20

Realtors offering incentives to labourers for uninterrupted

construction work

Gurgaon based M3M Group has been supporting 9,515 labor families and not only

extended economic but also psychological support to them.

To ensure uninterrupted construction work post lockdown, the developers are taking care of

families of labourers and even offering Rs. 2000 under referral scheme, if the labour gets a new

worker to enrol. Real estate developers, who are racing against time to complete the project, are

providing medical and sanitisation facilities also at the construction sites.

Gurgaon based M3M Group has been supporting 9,515 labor families and not only extended

economic but also psychological support to them.

“It was a challenge to deal with them psychologically to make them believe that nothing wrong

will happen despite the pandemic. These worker families are the worst hit in all aspects due to

this pandemic and we are supporting them as much as possible so that they remain here for their

safety,” said Payal Kanodia, Trustee, M3M Foundation.

Real estate developers are also taking steps to employ labourers who have returned from cities.

“We are providing quality labour accommodations with air cooled prefab structures. We have

also started refferal scheme for every labourer to earn Rs 2000 for getting a new labour to enrol.

Besides, recruiting agents are being sent to Rajasthan, Bihar and UP,” said Nayan Raheja of

Raheja Developers.

Currently, in collaboration with Iskon, M3M foundation is providing lunch to all the

construction workers at all M3M sites. Earlier, they had provided rice, pulses, vegetables, clean

drinking water, and milk for toddlers and growing children as well as soaps for personal use,

washing clothes, and hand washes.

According to Satish Magar, president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association

of India (CREDAI), retaining labourers was tough but developers are ensuring that they stay.

“The exodus of migration has definitely strained the realty sector. These tough times demand

alternatives to cope up with the shortage and move forward in development of our projects, as

construction work received a green flag from the authorities. One such strategy could be re-

skilling of existing laborers present locally, the re-skilling process must be planned out in such a

way that multi-tasking can be inculcated in the workers present at the construction sites,” said

Yash Miglani, MD, Migsuun Group. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online Economic Times ( online )

Date June 25, 2020

Link

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/property-/-

cstruction/realtors-offering-incentives-to-labourers-for-uninterrupted-construction-

work/articleshow/76627253.cms

India’s Real Estate Sector Isn’t Too Worried About Curbs On

Chinese Imports

Indian builders don’t expect to be affected by the government’s proposal to increase duties on

imports from China amid a deadly border standoff. The real estate sector, which contributes

nearly a

tenth to India’s gross domestic product, imports around 10% of its materials, most of which is

from China, according to Niranjan Hiranandani, national president of Naredco, a real estate

body.

Industrial associations’ demands will be considered.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online Bloomberg ( online )

Date June 25, 2020

Link https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/indias-real-estate-sector-%20isnt-too-

worried-about-curbs-on-chinese-imports

“Industrial associations’ demands will be considered”

Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami held discussions with heads of industrial

associations here on Thursday for more than an hour.

He later told reporters that representatives of MSMEs, big industries and others had

met him with various demands and he had promised them that the State government

would look into those.

“It was a very positive meeting that the heads of nearly 15 associations had with the

Chief Minister,” said R. Ramamurthy, president of Coimbatore District Small

Industries Association.

The Codissia president urged the Chief Minister to develop an industrial corridor

covering Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode districts.

While the Chief Minister explained the challenges related to land acquisition, he

assured that he will study the demand, Mr. Ramamurthy said.

T. Rajkumar, chairman of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, said several issues

were raised with the Chief Minister, including return of migrant workers and time to

pay electricity consumption charges.

Mr. Palaniswami explained that migrant workers in Tamil Nadu returned home in

about 250 trains.

If they want to return to Tamil Nadu, the workers should test for COVID in their

respective States. On the current consumption charges, he said he will consider, said

Mr. Rajkumar.

The micro units sought construction of a multi-storeyed industrial park.

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) asked

for formation of Greater Development Authority for Coimbatore.

Newspaper/Online The Hindu ( online )

Date June 25, 2020

Link https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/industrial-associations-

demands-will-be-considered/article31917825.ece

According to a press release, the Chief Minister said at the meeting that the State

government earmarked ₹200 crore to provide collateral free loan through Tamil Nadu

Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC) and so far, ₹125 crore were disbursed to

1,064 MSMEs.

The land acquisition process is on for expansion of Coimbatore International Airport.

Since Coimbatore is a major industrial area, the State government is taking up several

infrastructure works here.

__________________________________________________________________________________

PM to virtually participate in mega jobs event organised by Uttar

Pradesh government

The PM will also hold online interactions with beneficiaries from six districts that have

availed of the state's large scale program to provide employment and self employment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be virtually participating in a mega jobs event set to be

hosted by the UP government on Friday, in which the state government will be announcing jobs

to 1 crore persons including migrants as well as those already residing in UP, as well as execute

a second phase of granting loans to MSMEs.

The PM will also hold online interactions with beneficiaries from six districts that have availed

of the state's large scale program to provide employment and self employment.

This will be the second such participation by the PM after he did a virtual launch of the PM

Garib Kalyan Yojana in a village in Bihar last week.

Speaking to various departmental officials, ET has gathered that additional jobs created under

MGNREGA and unskilled jobs related to the real estate and construction sector will make for

more than half of the total 1 crore job announcement , along with those created by the PWD

department of the government. Secondly, those workers who have found employment in

MSMEs through the various MoUs that the state had signed with industry associations like

Indian Industries Association (IIA), Ficci as well as Naredco, will also be given job certificates.

An industry association representative ET spoke with, however, said these numbers are still

picking up.

People looking for self employment mainly in the agro-processing unit will also be given loans.

Last month, the UP government had distributed loans worth Rs 2,000 crore to close to 57,000

entrepreneurs.

National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) which had signed a MoU with the

government to provide 2.5 lakh jobs has agreed to employ 1 lakh workers from 63 districts

immediately at various construction sites, the real estate body said on Wednesday.

On the other hand, more than 57 lakh people had been employed under MGNREGA until ten

days back. The number however has come down to around 48 lakh, a government official said,

citing the advent of monsoons which has halted some asset construction work. A large part of

agricultural work is also being done through MGNREGA like desilting of canals, excavation of

ponds and levelling of agricultural land, with at least a 8-10% increase in area under cultivation

Newspaper/Online The Economic Times ( online )

Date June 25, 2020

Link

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pm-to-virtually-

participate-in-mega-jobs-event-being-organised-uttar-

pradesh/articleshow/76623527.cms

as well, a senior agriculture department official said.

Since the UP government had called for "departmental convergence" under the national rural

jobs scheme, the PWD department is augmenting work using MGNREGA funds, thus being

able to contribute more to the job creation process. A senior PWD department official told ET

that around 50,000 jobs have been created mostly in rural areas, making use of additional

MGNREGA funds. These include construction of village roads as well as shoulder lanes in

urban areas. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Half of 30 lakh workers who returned to UP are unskilled,

MNREGA the main avenue for jobs so far

As the Uttar Pradesh government nears the end of its massive exercise to profile the skills of

over 30 lakh migrant workers who have returned following the outbreak of the coronavirus

epidemic, analysis of the data has revealed the extent both of their contribution to the

economies of other states and the challenge before the UP government to provide them with

employment within the state.

Almost half of this labour pool is unskilled, and a significant percentage have got work under

MNREGA. To connect the skilled workers to

Industry, the state has formed a labour commission, and is developing a web portal with skills

data. ____________________________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online Indian Express ( online )

Date June 25, 2020

Link https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/uttar-pradesh-migrant-%20labourers-

mnrega-job-employment-coronavirus-6476830/

India’s home sales may plunge 81%

India’s lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19 has taken a heavy toll on the economy, and

one of the worst-hit sectors is real estate, the country’s second-largest employer after

agriculture.

Property consultancy firm Anarock reported that home sales during the April-June period will

plunge an estimated 81% because construction and marketing activities have been stalled due to

the lockdown, Press Trust of India reports.

After surveying seven major cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and

Kolkata), Anarock said in a report that only 12,740 units were sold during the three-month

period, as against 68,600 units in the year-ago quarter.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online Asia Times ( online )

Date June 25, 2020

Link https://asiatimes.com/2020/06/indias-home-sales-may-plunge-81-%20report/

5 things Modi government should do to revive real estate

Apart from reducing circle rates and increasing tax benefits for first-home buyers, here are the 5

things the government should further do to help the realty sector recover.

Given the current economic scenario in the country, which earlier was undergoing a slowdown

and now has been hit by the COVID -19 pandemic, both the government and the RBI have done

much to provide adequate support to the sector. From launching the Alternative Investment

Fund (AIF) to giving last-mile funding to stuck projects, to introducing various measures

offering succour to both developers and buyers, this proactive approach has been hailed by all,

across sectors.

However, the effects of these steps will only become clearer once we gain clarity of the degree

of damage the pandemic has inflicted. In the meanwhile, apart from reducing circle rates and

increasing tax benefits for first-home buyers, here are the 5 things the government should

further do to help the realty sector recover:

can go a long way in reviving the sector. “For a sector that plays such a vital and important role

in the nation building process and is considered as a key contributor to the growth of the

economy, it has been denied the status far too long. Another fact to be considered is the sector

offers employment to a sizable chunk of the population. This recognition will only help in

making the sector more organized, transparent and regulated. It will also enable developers to

cut capital cost and pass on the benefit to the buyers,” says Nimish Gupta, MD, RICS South

Asia.

2. Single-window clearance – The real estate sector is still facing a lot of struggle in terms of

liaisoning with multiple government agencies for project approvals. The single window

clearance for projects remains a distant dream – with too much of red tape causing unnecessary

delay. The to and fro done in order to procure various approvals, from land acquisition to

starting construction, impacts timelines of both project completion and delivery. It is high time

Newspaper/Online Financial Express ( online )

Date June 25, 2020

Link https://www.financialexpress.com/money/5-things-modi-government-should-do-to-

revive-real-estate/2003797/

that real estate is given a single window clearance facility to make the project implementation

faster and seamless. This will help the sector circumvent wastage of time, money and resources.

3. Alternative real estate modelling – The government should implement measures that

encourage developers to look at rentals or other operating mechanisms for a regular accrued

income, not just at capital sales approach. Alternative real estate asset modelling, from capital

sale purchase to rental housing models, should be boosted. Moreover, “the present prevailing

conditions of uncertainty have brought focus on rental housing. From the buyer’s perspective, it

makes sense to opt for rental accommodation rather than purchase a house. Even post COVID-

19, millennials will prefer to stay in rented spaces as the generation avoids being tied down and

seeks varied experiences. The government can also create mechanisms to aid developers in

utilizing vacant land parcels owned by it, through PPP,” informs Gupta.

4. Technology adoption – Technology can prove to be beneficial for the revival of the sector.

The pandemic forced the government to look at alternatives for minimizing the risk posed to the

economy and technology rose to tackle this challenge. Proptech, digital construction, precast

technology, 3D printing, prefabricated technology are all innovations that can be leveraged to

derive growth and prosperity for the sector in the ‘new normal’. The government has launched

the initiative ‘Digital India’ but this needs to work in tandem with policies designed to facilitate

technology exchange. Developers who promote the use of technology should also be given

attractive subsidies or tax exemptions.

5. Financial measures – Lack of liquidity is a huge challenge for developers. Lowering of

income tax can act as a boost to the sector as it will lead to reduction of financial burden on the

buyers and increase their disposable income. “The government can also look at a one-time roll

over of credit limit along with 50 per cent reduction in GST rates to bolster developers. The

liquidity crunch being faced by the sector can be alleviated by the release of tax refunds,

pending with the government. The abolition of stamp duty or its incorporation under GST will

also aid the sector towards this end,” says Gupta.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Government In Talks With RBI For One-Time Restructuring Of

Loans, Says Finance Minister

The government is in discussions with the Reserve Bank of India for a one-time restructuring of

loans as the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has strained finances of borrowers, Finance

Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. “We are definitely talking with RBI to see if one-time

restructuring can be offered also looking at characterization of a company as stressed, not

stressed...,” Sitharaman said at an industry interaction on Thursday. The Finance Minister’s

comments come after country’s top lenders approached the RBI seeking permission to

restructure stressed accounts without having to classify them as non performing assets. With

elevated bad loans, banks fear that large scale restructuring may become necessary due to the

fallout of Covid-19.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online Bloomberg ( online )

Date June 25, 2020

Link https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/govt-in-talks-with-rbi-for-%20one-

time-restructuring-of-loans-says-finance-minister