Astha

Land Bill Pro-Farmer, Pro-Growth: Industry Body

New Delhi: The Land Bill introduced in Parliament on Monday will create millions of jobs, meet the aspirations of farmers, and help spur growth in the economy, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said on Wednesday.

The industry body termed the Bill as a vital piece of legislation that will seek to bridge the economic divide and propel inclusive growth in the country.

"Industry and farmers should not be viewed as opponents when it comes to the land bill. Development needs equitable participation by industry and the farm community."

"Job creation through inclusive growth is the foundation on which development and growth reside and it is this spirit that embodies the new Land Bill," CII president Sumit Mazumder said.

"The land acquisition ordinance could not have come at a more opportune time when developmental infrastructure and industrial projects worth crores of rupees are delayed due to hurdles in land acquisition. This deprives millions of landless people of job opportunities and forces them to migrate to urban slums to look for livelihood," Mr Mazumder said.

The Land Bill is expected to benefit millions of rural migrants and help the country urbanise, CII said.

The government's move to maintain the compensation package at four-times the market value in rural areas and two-times in urban areas will go a long way in ensuring that the land owners and farmers are adequately compensated, the industry body said.

CII supports this provision as such land owners and farmers are important stakeholders in the developmental process, it added.

Housing Loans to Grow 22% This Fiscal Year: Icra

New Delhi: The Centre's focus on affordable housing for all could push overall home loan growth to 20-22 per cent this fiscal year, rating agency Icra said.

The segment has seen growth of 17 per cent in the first nine months of 2014-15.

"Government's focus on affordable housing, favourable regulations could push overall housing credit growth to 20-22 per cent FY16 onwards, which could lead to improved mortgage pe*******on from current levels of 8.2 per cent," the rating agency said in a report.

The housing finance market has crossed the Rs 10 lakh crore mark, as of December 31, 2014, it said.

Of this Rs 10 lakh crore housing loan book, Rs 6.3 lakh crore loans is with the banking sector and the balance Rs 3.7 lakh crore with housing finance companies (HFCs) and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

The report said investor sentiment for the housing sector has also improved as reflected by the recent capital infusions to the tune of Rs 1,780 crore in various housing finance companies (HFCs) in 2014-15, and they are expected to report gearing levels of 7.5-8 times by March 31, it said.

In Icra's estimates, HFCs will need external capital of around Rs 18,000-28,000 crore to grow at 20-22 per cent over the next 5 years, assuming an internal capital generation of 16 per cent while maintaining the capitalisation levels at current levels.

HFCs have been able to maintain an asset quality gross NPA percentage of 0.74 per cent as of December 31, 2014, it said.

Going forward, the report expects gross NPA percentage to remain range bound between 0.7 per cent and 1.1 per cent.

While the market continues to be dominated by the five large groups namely SBI Group, HDFC Group, LIC Housing Finance, ICICI Group and Axis Bank, accounting for 60 per cent of the total housing credit in India as of December 31, 2014, there has been an emergence of a number of new HFCs in niche segments like affordable housing.

This segment has been growing at a faster pace higher than 50 per cent for the nine months slowly gaining market share.

Real Estate Bill May Be Introduced in Next Parliamentary Session

Hyderabad: The government is considering introducing the Real Estate Development and Regulation Bill in the coming session of Parliament, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday.

"It is regulation and not strangulation. This is to see that the sector is run in a proper way and in the interest of consumers and real estate developers, mainly for the benefit of consumers. The intention is not to trouble the sector," Mr Naidu said here.

The Bill is being introduced against the backdrop of some real estate developers not fulfilling the promises made to consumers despite giving attractive advertisements, he said.

The Union Cabinet has approved the Bill and the ministry is thinking of moving it in the coming session of Parliament, Mr Naidu said.

He hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to take care of people affected in natural calamities.

The enhancement of compensation to the affected families and compensation to crop damages, loss of milch cattle, damaged houses and also for weavers and artisans are aimed at helping the helpless and needy, he said.

"This is as per the stated policy of NDA helping the helpless. Another pro-poor and pro-middle class initiative in this direction is opening of Mudra Bank to fund the unfunded," he said.

The push-cart vendors and small businessmen who were neglected so far will be benefited by the initiative, he said.

The Jan Dhan Yojana scheme, aiming to end financial untouchability through financial inclusion by opening 12.37 crore bank accounts is a major initiative, he said.

"All these show the inclusive politics of this government and its priority for uplifting the poor (Antyodaya)," he said.

Realty Bill May Force Developers to Speed Up Stuck Projects

New Delhi: With the government bringing in ongoing projects under the ambit of the proposed real estate law, developers are looking to speed up construction of existing housing units to escape any regulatory action, but funds may be a constraint.

The real estate market, particularly in Delhi-NCR, has been facing a huge delay of 6-7 years in project completions, which in turn has affected buyers' interest also.

The Union Cabinet last week approved amendments to the long-pending Real Estate Bill to bring under its ambit all ongoing projects, which would need to be registered with a proposed regulator after the new law comes into force.

Credai, the apex body for real estate developers, has opposed the decision to bring the ongoing projects under the proposed law, saying that provisions should be prospective and not retrospective.

"If given a choice developers would like to push ongoing projects so that the they do not get stuck in the registration process of the regulatory department. One must understand that to compress the delivery time, adequate fund would be required, besides robust technology," Credai (national) president Getamber Anand told PTI.

"The bottom line is that retrospective effect of the bill would definitely cause delay in ongoing projects if they get entangled in the regulatory process," he added.

Property consultant JLL India's chairman and country head, Anuj Puri, said that it would be difficult to bring ongoing projects under the purview of the new law.

"If it does, there will be a rush to secure completion certificates, wherever developers are in a position to do so, before the implementation of the Act," he added.

Mr Puri, however, said consumers would be benefited if the construction activities of those projects, which are nearing completion, speed up because of this provision.

"Overall, the real estate regulation is a good move to bring in more transparency and corporate governance in the real estate sector. This will no doubt protect consumers and also w**d away with unscrupulous developers," he said.

The amended bill, which is likely to be introduced soon in Parliament, also seeks to make it mandatory for all developers to keep minimum 50 per cent of funds collected from buyers in an escrow account to meet construction cost.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill aims to protect the interest of consumers, promote fair play in real estate transactions and ensure timely ex*****on of projects.

The Bill contains provisions of registration of realty projects and real estate agents with the proposed Real Estate Regulatory Authority.