A train passes through slum area of Mumbai, a city that is too costly for the many poor people living there. The government now says affordable housing will receive infrastructure status. Rajanish Kakade / AP Photo
A train passes through slum area of Mumbai, a city that is too costly for the many poor people living there. The government now says affordable housing will receive infrastructure status. Rajanish KakShow more

India government moves to boost affordable housing



MUMBAI // In this city, there are many families that make the streets their home. Too poor to pay for accommodation in the overcrowded city, they eat, sleep and raise their children on the pavement.

Similar scenes are found across the country.

India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has promised to alleviate this situation, setting a target of “housing for all by 2022”. But more than a year after the scheme was launched, developers say that progress has been slow and much more needs to done to incentivise builders and get them on board if the ambitious goal is to be achieved.

“At the current pace at which it is being implemented by various state governments, the target of 20,000,000 homes seems far from being achieved by 2022,” says Snehdeep Aggarwal, the founder and chairman of Bhartiya Group, which is developing a township in Bangalore. “The vision has been framed by the central government but the onus of implementation lies on various state governments through public-and-private-partnership schemes.”

There are signs that India is striving to boost the scheme. In the announcement of the Union Budget on Wednesday, Arun Jaitley, India’s finance minister, revealed that affordable housing will receive infrastructure status, which would help developers secure financing more easily and at cheaper rates.

“The announcement of affordable housing being given infrastructure status is a welcome move and will act as a catalyst to meet the objectives of housing for all by 2022,” says Ravi Ahuja, the executive director at Colliers International India. “Credit offtake towards the affordable segment of housing will lead to creation of supply.”

He adds that housing for all has “not taken off” and is “a work in progress, but measures like this will only accelerate it. On an ongoing basis, we have seen the government taking positive measures for affordable housing.”

The budget outlined plans to build 10 million homes in rural India for the homeless and those living in makeshift housing and increased the scheme’s spending in rural areas from 150 billion rupees (Dh8.2bn) to 230bn rupees.

“Promoters of affordable housing projects will benefit from the following announcement that instead of the earlier timeline of completing their projects within three years, they now have a cushion of two additional years,” says Anuj Puri, the chairman and country head of JLL India.

In another step to boost the scheme, at the end of December, Mr Modi announced plans to make low-interest loans available to the poor in urban and rural areas. But developers agree that more measures are needed.

“Housing for all by 2022 is only possible if the government includes the private sector to develop these homes,” says Pratik Mehta, the managing director of Unishire, an Indian developer.

“First of all, the government should make it attractive or lucrative for private developers to get into the affordable housing space as margins are minuscule.” Complex approval processes often delay projects, which can make building affordable homes financially unviable.

“Lack of single-window clearance and also issues faced during the development of projects need to be looked into for successful implementation of affordable housing,” says Mr Mehta.

High land costs, availability of land and other challenges that developers face when trying secure land to build projects are commonly cited as factors holding back the development of more affordable housing in the country.

India’s property industry has faced a difficult period over the past few years as sales have slowed, while the government’s efforts to clamp down on black money by scrapping the two highest value banknotes in November have added to the sector’s woes.

“Housing for all is one of the most aggressive schemes of the Indian government,” says Vinay Prajapati, the founder of Propdial, a property management company.

“Particular focus should be given to related regulations. For instance, land cost is a major challenge for affordable housing. The built-up area per unit of land has to increase by allowing a higher floor-area ratio. But that will also mean additional infrastructure to manage the denser population with sufficient roads, electricity, water supply, schools and hospitals.”

He says that state governments across India need to play a role providing land for low-cost homes. Beyond that, more facilities need to be put in place for those living in extreme poverty, Mr Prajapati says. “What we also need is increased allocations for homeless shelters and social rental housing in urban areas for migrant workers and the poor.

“The government in the budget also indicated that it would redefine affordable housing, depending on the city the project was located in, to make allowance for property prices varying wildly across different parts of the country.

“This is very much required, as we expect the government to make a deliberate decision on defining affordable housing keeping in view the differentiation between tier one, two and three locations and cities across the Indian geographies.”

Experts say that a lack of motivation on the part of state governments remains a major hindrance to the target and this needs to be addressed for the scheme to really take off.

“State governments are not aggressive on the agenda on account of factors like lack of funds, limited bandwidth for execution, unavailability of developable land, red-tapism and political unwillingness,” says Mr Aggarwal.

“They need to partner with private developers, financial institutions, technology innovators under public-private partnership models for quick access to developable land, finances for land acquisition and development, developing and implementation of new and cost effective construction methodologies to make the housing for all 2022 a success.”

It is not only up to the authorities to make the plan work, however. The sector also needs to do its part to devise more affordable ways of building homes in India.

“The real estate industry collectively along with state and central government agencies need to work towards thinking out of the box solutions around space planning, design, construction methodologies like pre-fab, pre-cast,” says Mr Aggarwal. “These solutions will optimise and standardise construction and development costs, reduce time for construction and in turn pass the benefits of economies of scale to homebuyers and customers.”

He explains that if the demands of the industry can be met, developing affordable housing could become attractive to builders, including his own company, because “the market size is huge and no real estate player can overlook the opportunity”.

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Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain

Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain

Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines

Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals

Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final

UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia

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England

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AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus

Spain
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Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
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  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
  • Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
 
 
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

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Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

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Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

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Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

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Schedule:

Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)

Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)

Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four

Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai) 

Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)

Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)

Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 28: Final (Dubai)

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The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.

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Venue: Kuala Lumpur

Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September

Fixtures:

Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore

Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman

Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal

Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore

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Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi

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Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier

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Tips on buying property during a pandemic

Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.

While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.

While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar. 

Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.

Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities. 

Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong. 

Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.

Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket
How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.