Recommendations to the government

REAL ESTATE

The real estate sector has recommended that the government should increase infrastructure spending in urban areas, give the sector infrastructure status and moderate high input costs.

"There is a need for the government to increase infrastructure spending with a view to unlocking the value of neglected and hidden land assets in suburban and peripheral districts," said Anuj Puri, chairman and country head, Jones Lang LaSalle India.

He further added that the government in the upcoming budget should also provide infrastructure status which will enable the sector to access debt lending at better interest rates and reduced collateral values. "Since the sector is not under the umbrella of any specific regulatory authority, financing has been an issue over a number of years of credit slowdown. The budget should enable a broader scope for external commercial borrowings for real estate and provide a general relaxation of financing norms," said another industry expert requesting anonymity.

TELECOM


The Telecom industry has recommended that the government should provide infrastructure status to the sector. "The key recommendations included the long awaited infrastructure status to be provided to the sector, along with a revision of the high levies and taxes on the industry, which amount to more than 30% of the revenues. The precarious financial state of the industry and the critical investment environment restricting its revival have also been sought to be addressed," said the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

According to the COAI, the sector is essentially providing public telecommunication services, which should be viewed as a critical infrastructure industry. Currently, the industry is not within the purview of the definition of infrastructure projects.

The COAI noted that infrastructure status will also help the sector get finances as banks have been reluctant to get fresh exposure in the industry due to uncertainties in the policies. "Despite long term viability of the telecom sector, banks and financial institutions do not want to take any fresh exposure, cutting down the funding options of the industry drastically due to the growing regulatory uncertainty in the sector," the body noted.