People of the world’s largest democracy have given their mandate to the government for another term, thus clearing the path for Narendra Modi. While we have witnessed the implementation of key reforms during the first NDA regime, strengthening of the overall economy is what is expected with the continuance of those reforms. “Looking back, we realise that the two words that perhaps rightly sum up the contribution of the government are continuity and stability,” according to Ramesh Nair, CEO and Country Head, JLL India. These measures would directly impact the real estate market. Segments including residential, office and retail have emerged stronger as a result of the developments so far, as per JLL. The government introduced the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA), a landmark reform in 2016. It also introduced the much-needed Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017. These have managed to bring in the much-needed efficiency and transparency in the system, albeit the industry witnessed teething issues during the initial phases of their implementation. Applauding the government, here is what the real estate industry expects in the second term of the BJP-led NDA government... Babulal Varma, Managing Director, Omkar Realtors“The real estate sector welcomes the new government and expect that it will bring in newer reforms and policy for added transparency to get the sector back on fast track. Concerning Mumbai, the new government should immediately take a relook at the current GST structure for SRA and  redevelopment vertical, which accounts for close to 55-60 per cent of all development work being carried out.”Navin Makhija, Managing Director, The Wadhwa GroupThe government needs to continue its focus on Housing for All 2022. More focus is needed on completion of ongoing infrastructural projects, which will benefit the affordable housing clusters in areas like Panvel and MMR region.  Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder and Chairman, Signature Global India and Chairman, ASSOCHAM National Council on Real Estate, Housing and Urban Development“For the first time in many years, a government has shown inclination towards paying heed to the demands of the sector. GST and RERA are the two aspects that were ignored for quite a long time and by coming out with policies for it; as far GST is concerned, we feel that reduction in rates is lucrative for the buyers but input tax credit should be given to developers. The government has shown that it has good intentions to fulfill Modi’s vision Housing for All by 2020 and that it is not only a slogan.”Amit Modi, Director, ABA Corp and President (Elect), CREDAI (Western Uttar Pradesh)“Real estate is a labour and capital intensive sector that creates lakhs of economic opportunities and we look forward to contributing towards the government’s vision of providing quality housing to the citizens of India. At the same time, we believe that a stable and strong government will be able to deliver on long standing demands of the industry like industry status for real estate sector and transparent online single window clearance to further contribute towards to stability and progress of the sector and the economy.”Samir Jasuja, Founder and CEO, Prop Equity“With the NDA forming a strong and stable government at the Centre, we look forward to better policy reforms that in turn will generate higher GDP for India. We expect this to have a positive impact on the real estate sector. We are also optimistic that the new government will address the NBFC crisis, which will certainly further boost the market.”Pradeep Misra, CMD, Rudrabhishek Enterprises “Continuity of the incumbent NDA government will directly benefit the infrastructure sector. The on-going programme such as PMAY, Smart Cities Mission, etc have a longer gestation period. The continued focus on these projects will be crucial, in addition to the new programmes that the government will be introducing in the coming months. Many infrastructure initiatives in highways and waterways had already started showing results during the last five years. In the coming years, we can see its better yields. However, in the next term, the expectations from the government will be more on the policy reforms in the infrastructure and real estate sector. They have a direct impact on the employment and growth fronts.”Subodh Runwal, Director, Runwal Group “We are hopeful that in ease of doing business, related to construction permits and transparency, we will be in the top 10 in the world. I am hopeful that the government will make housing affordable in all major metros by reducing the taxes, premiums and GST levy by the government, and will also infuse liquidity into the banks and NBFCs dealing with the real estate sector.” Sanjay Dutt, Managing Director and CEO, Tata Realty and Infrastructure, and Tata Housing Development Company“The election result is good news for the real estate sector. We witnessed significant movement in the infrastructure and real estate sector along with the rise in GDP that resulted in job opportunities and confidence in the real estate sector. With the stability in the government, we expect investments to increase and private equity will play a larger role. The government is aware of the sector’s challenges and we expect some immediate relief and announcements.”Satish Magar, President, CREDAI CREDAI would like to wholeheartedly congratulate Narendra Modi and BJP for the resounding success in the 2019 general elections. As a leading industry body, we will continue to offer our unconditional and incessant support towards Prime Minister’s mission of Housing for All by 2022 to fulfill the dreams of a billion Indians of owning a home. With BJP voted back to power, we expect the housing industry to continue its revival and provide a strong platform to the Indian economy at this critical juncture.”Rohit Poddar, Managing Director, Poddar Housing and Development and Joint Secretary, NAREDCO West “The sector expects the new government to emphasise more on re-energising the reforms related to infrastructure investment, land acquisition reforms and speeding up the regulatory functions of the state. The sector had slowed down a bit since the sequential jolt of GST and demonetisation but the new GST regime for the sector was a big relief. We expect the government would take measures to expedite and streamline the environment clearances for the new projects, which is a two stage process and takes two to three years. A better clarity over the norms for infrastructure projects, which involve diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes is recommended. The sector hopes better stability in the regulatory norms without too many changes.”Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, National President, NAREDCO“We believe the new government works further for the structural reforms and steps that will boost real estate business and strengthen consumer sentiment towards Indian real estate. The strong and steady government should bring about stability with remedial actions without much delay to revive the shock of last quarter economic growth. The stable government reflects the faith reinforced by the aspirational India, which enhances the confidence index domestic as well as globally. The Indian real estate industry is hopeful that the government will redress and resolve the prolonged issue of liquidity crisis that the sector is facing currently. Moreover, rationalising the taxes by subsuming stamp duty under GST will grant a big relief to the home buyers. We highly recommend the National Housing Policy to boost rental housing in order to fulfill the ambitious target of Housing for All by creating surpluses. Furthermore, under the decisive leadership of the Prime Minister, the nation will be able to unleash workforce opportunities in the sector that will help the nation to continue as the world’s fastest growing economy.Ram Walase, Managing Director and CEO, VBHC“Strong majority for the NDA government is a great thing for the policy continuity and stability. Revival of NBFCs and core sectors, acceleration of housing growth and employment generation should be the priorities for the government”.Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India“With the second term, we expect the government to continue with its growth policies including the infrastructure development. We are sure that the government’s focus on the Housing for All policy will be paramount.”Parth Mehta, Managing Director, Paradigm Realty “The NDA-led government did stringent changes in their last tenure, which impacted the real estate market severely of which real estate is yet to recover overall. Recent GST implementation at 5 per cent with abolishment of input tax credit again was detrimental for developers as the cost side GST is still exorbitant and not yet lowered in tandem. Hence, the expectation in the new tenure is that the government will revise down input side GST rates to restore shrinking margins of developers, which took a hit due to increasing cost and lower pricing due to bleak business environment on back of high unemployment, NBFC crisis, GST ambiguity and RERA implementation driving investors out.”Tulsi Tanti, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Group “We look forward to the NAMO 2.0 government to deliver on its promises by spearheading the growth of agriculture sector, social sector and industry with dynamic policy changes, which will fuel overall economic growth, energy security, nation building and job creation. We are confident that the Modi government will ensure ease of living, ease of doing business and make India clean, green and safe country.” Prasoon Chauhan, CEO, ATS HomeKraft “A government with a strong majority would further cement policies helping the real estate sector, especially affordable housing, which has witnessed a revolution in the past two-three years. We expect the newly elected government to continue with existing policies and further provide a helping hand to affordable housing sector and achieve India’s vision for Housing for All by 2022.” ALSO READ:Power sector to government: Ease of private sector participation necessaryICRA: Capital support, finalisation of pending bills needed in port sector