statement from Dr Niranjan Hiranandani on webinar with union minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri – MoHUA

New Delhi, April 17, 2020: In the new paradigm that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about, the calibrated revival of economic activity post April 20 is something that all stakeholders in real estate will be monitoring closely. “As we work on measures from the real estate developers’ side, in terms of restarting work on construction sites, there is a need to counter balance measures on both, demand and supply side. A further reduction in home loan rates will act as stimulant when it comes to reviving demand,” said Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani.

He was moderating a webinar where Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India as also Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, the Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary, Government of India were present.

During the webinar, also discussed was the aspect of stress funds being a solution for real estate projects which are delayed or stalled. The suggestion was to facilitate last mile funding by ensuring that the lender does not get affected by any insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings against the developer. “This would go a long way in ensuring quicker action in such cases, enabling the project to get completed,” said Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani.

Giving legal sanction to digitization of real estate transactions end-to-end, the webinar suggested the need to enable the missing last step: making the first disbursement without physical presence and signature. “NAREDCO is working on ways to make this possible, and we hope that it gets sanction from authorities at the earliest,” said Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani.

Beyond the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Order which will allow construction to restart at sites, as also the liquidity enhancement measures which the RBI Governor announced earlier in the day, discussion during the webinar focused on ways to induce demand-driven consumption cycle in real estate by incentivizing home buyers, with further cut in interest rates.

“If this comes down to 6 per cent, along with the liquidity infusion, it will be ideal,” he pointed out. The time is right for the economy to witness measures that lead to both, gibing demand a boost, as also supply – these would be ideal to kick-start activities in real estate, it being the second largest generator of employment.

On the issue of ‘one-time rollover’ of debt, Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani pointed out that Rs. 6.9 lakh crore are parked by commercial banks with RBI under Reverse Repo. “This is an amount which can take care of existing debt rollover issues, there is an urgent need to bring this amount back into circulation,” he pointed out.

The Hon’ble Minister requested NAREDCO to send short notes on their suggestions to revive the industry, saying that he would discuss the same with concerned officials in the ministry and raise the same before concerned authorities.

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)