As one of the most globally recognized, the Indian real estate sector is currently the second largest employer after agriculture with a potential to grow at 30% over the next decade. Divided into four sub-categories, housing, retail, hospitality and commercial, the sector is fuelled by demand from India’s corporate landscape for office spaces as well as urban and semi urban housing accommodations. Understanding the importance of the sector and its implications, The Economic Times brought ‘Housing Finance Summit’ in Delhi on August 23.

The theme of the event was ‘Towards Housing for All’, where eminent industry stalwarts, bureaucrats leaders discussed the emerging trends and dynamics in the housing finance industry. Dr. Nandita Chatterjee, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India commented, “Housing and real estate have strong multiplier effects on the overall economy owing to significant forward and backward linkages. Currently, the sector accounts for 11.39% of total output of the economy. Our focus will be primarily on Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Housing for All, which is based on four major components (Slum Redevelopment, Affordable Housing through Credit Linked Subsidy (CLS).”

The summit facilitated panel discussions on government policies and initiatives towards Inclusive Housing, Housing finance landscapes in a regulatory environment and development of a sustainable supply ecosystem.

Present at the event, Viveik Oberoi, Actor & National Brand Ambassador for Habitat For Humanity spoke about his initiatives based on affordable housing for needy people and shared his project expansion plans in order to provide housing at INR 7,59,000 in rural areas.

Commenting on the event, Deepak Lamba, President, Times Conferences Limited said, ” The Indian housing sector is important for the economic as well as industrial growth and over the years has made incredible progress. With financial institutions recognizing the potential of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana new campaigns for people in the low income groups have been launched through new and innovative home loan products. At Economic Times, our intention was to address the issues at hand and find solutions and initiatives to bridge the gap.”

With the housing sector’s contribution to the national GDP, the Indian real estate sector is poised to touch US$ 180 billion by 2020. With a strong national and international investor base, there has been a surge in the number of global developers penetrating the housing market within India.

Present at the event were stalwarts like Ajit Kumar Mittal, Executive Director, Indiabulls Housing Finance,  Sanjaya Gupta, MD, PNB Housing Finance, Rakesh Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Aditya Birla Finance, Vaithianathan Ramachandran, Managing Director, Tata Capital Housing Finance among others.