Coronavirus impact: Naredco seeks $200 billion stimulus package from govt

Naredco president Niranjan Hiranandani calls for six-month suspension of insolvency law, wants stimulus package for all industries put together to be at least 10% of GDP

Realty body National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco) has sought a $200 billion stimulus package to revive the economy which has been reeling under the Covid-19 crisis.

Naredco president Niranjan Hiranandani pointed out that global investors are waiting for Indian stocks to fall in value so that they can take over listed companies at throwaway prices. “Hence in order to protect Indian companies, suspension of NCLT law for at least six months is imperative to salvage capital erosion” he said.

Estimating the losses to real estate at Rs 1 trillion, he suggested that the economic stimulus package for all industries across the economy should be at least 10 per cent of the country’s GDP. He said the real estate market will pick up in a couple of months but affordable housing will have prominence over the high-end segment.

Delays in ongoing projects are expected to range from three months to a year and half, depending upon the stage of the project and location. "Site labour will be a major issue, unless workers get back to routine work under Covid-19 guidelines and paid for the same, they will end up returning to their villages and shift to agriculture," said Hiranandani.

According to reports, 23 per cent of the migrant labour force is currently unemployed in the country. Taking a cue from the US, Hiranandani said during the depression in America, highways were constructed to employ men. He suggested the government should refocus through the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to see that this model is taken up in India to address unemployment.

He also sought a 50 per cent cut in the GST rate for a period of six months for all the sectors to bring back the demand side of the economy to the marketplace.