Piyush Goyal urges CREDAI to formalise its 14,000 members
Goyal says social security of labour crucial to real estate growth
Better construction techniques needed to combat pollution: Goyal
Recycling construction waste a fillip to circular economy, will help India
reach net zero target: Goyal
The real estate sector should look at a greater formalisation
that will help the industry grow faster. This was stated by Union Minister of
Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal during his keynote address at the 25th
Foundation Day of CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations
of India) in New Delhi today. He further urged the industry to engage the
labour in formal employment, giving them the social security benefits of
insurance (ESIC) and provident fund (EPFO). This will help in the number of
employees getting reflected in annual reports and in national statistics. If
social security, healthcare and post-retirement benefits are provided then the
employees will align with the industry’s goals of enhancing their quality of
work leading to better productivity and greater profits, he said.
Commerce and Industry Minister also appealed to
CREDAI to expedite formalisation of its 14,000 members. If everyone who works
for CREDAI will receive salary through digital payment and if it is ensured that
employees working in the ecosystem is a part of the national effort to meet the
needs of the people, CREDAI’s contribution to employment will get recognised
and rewarded, he said.
In his address, Goyal raised the issue of
environment pollution and urged CREDAI to consider setting up a team to study
ways to adopt better construction techniques in the metropolitan cities of
India. He further suggested the industry body to take this up as a mission and
report to the Government steps being taken in this direction. Adopting steel
and precast fabrication will speed up construction benefitting the entire
ecosystem. This can help in reducing AQI and pollution levels, he said.
Goyal lauded CREDAI for its contribution to
making India a powerhouse and also in its journey towards Viksit Bharat
and added that the industry has not only worked with brick and mortar to
collectively prepare the nation for the future but has worked to provide
opportunities and aspirations to the nation. Real estate contributes to the
economy and jobs, he said.
Emphasising the difficulty citizens faced
earlier in owning homes, Shri Goyal pointed out that a concerted effort has
been undertaken in the last ten years to clean up processes, promote Ease of
Doing Business and encourage businesses to expand. He also noted that bringing
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) into effect in 2017 was
a challenge, however, the regulations have enabled citizens to acquire homes
without dispute. The Minister further highlighted CREDAI’s commitment to rectify
the processes and pointed out that provisions like Goods and Services Tax
(GST), RERA Act and efforts to eliminate irregular transactions have resulted
in an organised growth of the real estate sector.
Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts
to clean up the banking system, Shri Goyal noted that non-performing assets
(NPAs) have decreased significantly and banks have strong credit portfolios
with strong balance sheets, maintaining healthy profit each year. It shows how
important the banking sector is for the real estate sector and for the economy
to gain momentum in meeting the aspirations of the nation. As income levels
rise, more people will take possession of their homes as they will be able to
afford cheaper loans at lower interest rates, he said.
Goyal also spoke about affordable rental housing
and announced that the Government would be engaging in discussions with the
industry body to find ways to provide affordable rental to the citizens,
besides working on the rehabilitations programme for slum dwellers. He said
that affordable rental housing if made available would be able to stop the
proliferation of slums in cities.
Goyal pointed out that aspects like parking lots and spaces
for entertainment families should be looked into when planning layouts. He
added that we need to recycle construction waste so that we move towards a
circular economy as to be a net zero nation we have to begin from net zero
localities and societies.
Encouraging the industry leaders and
participants to look for real estate opportunities abroad, Goyal said that
expanding the real estate footprint outside India will add to India’s exports
and infrastructure services. He also urged the industry to expand its sector
and the 250+ associate industries to make real estate a $1 trillion contributor
to the nation.