Housing scheme in Budget to boost steel, cement, construction

New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) The boost to housing in the Interim Budget is another important proposal from the market perspective since this will benefit industries like cement, steel and all construction related segments, Geojit Financial Services' Chief Investment Strategist V.K. Vijayakumar said on Thursday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the Interim Budget, announced that the government will launch a scheme to help deserving sections of the middle class "living in rented houses, or slums, or chawls and unauthorised colonies" to buy or build their own houses.

"Despite the challenges due to the Covid, implementation of PM Awas Yojana (Grameen) continued and we are close to achieving the target of three crore houses. Two crore more houses will be taken up in the next five years to meet the requirement arising from increase in the number of families," she said.

Anarock Group Chairman Anuj Puri said that as anticipated, the Interim Budget made no big-bang announcements, but it continued its focus on infrastructure upgrades and building connectivity across the country. This will benefit real estate growth in not just the top cities but in Tier 2 & 3 cities across the country.

He said that the government scheme to help deserving sections of the middle class, living in rented houses or slums, or chawls and unauthorised colonies, to buy or build their own houses, is likely to free encroachment areas like slums for easier redevelopment.

Transit-oriented development in urban areas may give a boost to housing demand in cities and lead to rise in residential prices, he said.

Development of iconic tourist centres is likely to favourably impact the hospitality sector with hotels and restaurants across categories. Moreover, long-term loans are proposed to states for tourism.

Extending tax benefit to startups for another year may help the office real estate to rejuvenate, Puri said.

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