Letter to BS on distressed real estate and Indian economy

This refers to the recurring headlines in the national media on industry failures, stressed accounts, haircuts, buyouts and takeovers. With its daily drama, twists and turns, and addition of new players, the saga resembles a never-ending Indian television soap opera. The truth is, this phenomenon is not restricted to big industries only. Every day, I come across dozens of advertisements placed by banks, credit societies and non-banking financial companies in the newspapers proclaiming the symbolic and physical possession of hundreds of residential units belonging to the middle-class and lower middle-class sections. Even as a section of the media have joined hands with builders to woo buyers in new projects, the value of non-performing assets in the housing sector runs into thousands of crores of rupees, which has impacted not only financial institutions but also the real-estate sector as hundreds of residential units are up for sale through auctions. It is also a reflection of a widespread malaise in the Indian economy.

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Biju Cherian  Thane

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