The Hindu Business Line : `4 m new jobs in housing sector by 2015'

A survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has found that the Bharat Nirman project is expected to generate over four million new jobs by 2015. The demand for dwelling units is likely to rise to 80 million for lower middle and low income groups at an estimated investment of $670 billion.

Assocham's estimates also reveal that the housing and real estate sector has the potential to grow at a rate of 14 per cent a year to double its contribution to the gross domestic product from the current level of less than one per cent.

The Assocham paper on real estate development estimates that the demand for dwelling units will grow to 90 million by 2020, which would require a minimum investment of $890 billion. Even now, this sector is considered as one of the major engines to propel national growth, with its current size of $14-15 billion. The housing and real estate sector is the second largest employer next only to the agriculture and textile sectors, said Mr M. K. Sanghi, President, Assocham, adding that easy financing and growth of multinationals and Indian companies in the IT, ITES, BPO and FMCG sectors would fuel the demand for housing in the next 10 to 15 years.

The chamber has suggested a multi-pronged strategy to the Government to ensure that the projected growth of housing and real estate in terms of dwelling units and investments is achieved. The strategy calls for the conferment of infrastructure status upon the housing sector to enable it to access low-cost institutional and long-term funds. This will pave the way for the housing sector to enjoy fiscal incentives, which are available to the infrastructure sector.

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