 "Credai conclave in Delhi from Dec 13")
Against the backdrop of its continuous efforts to influence the government to take up several reform measures and policy changes, real estate body, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (Credai), is holding a two-day national conference with a theme ‘Housing the game changer – Leading to double-digit GDP growth’ in New Delhi from December 13, 2013.
“The construction and real estate sector, which is the second-largest employer in India after agriculture, continues to be under pressure because of various regulatory issues. The conclave will deliberate on such concerns and present its thinking on the way forward,” C Sekhar Reddy, national president of Credai, told mediapersons here on Monday.
Stating that the majority of the sector’s growth was coming from residential development, he said the potential demand for real estate in India can only go northwards, given the current estimate of its population growth.
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Propelled by the rapid urbanisation, Reddy said, the urban population was poised to grow to 590 million by 2030 from the current 340 million in the next 15 years, which was expected to create 70% new jobs.
“In the next 15 years, we will witness an urban transformation the scale and speed of which has not happened anywhere in the world except in China This expected transformation will, if handled well, provide the means to turn around the economy from slowdown to rapid growth,” he said.
According to a report released by the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation in 2012, the existing urban housing shortage was estimated at 18.78 million, of which more than 95% comprised demand from economically-weaker section and low-income group (LIG).
“Given the existing housing shortage and the high multiplier-effect the housing and real estate sectors have on 300 different manufacturing industries, the government should pay attention to its concerns to facilitate potential growth,” Reddy said.