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
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