Mumbai, Maharashtra, India:  The maiden Budget Speech by the Hon’ble Finance Minister is more a road-map for the future, the F.M. mentioned a ‘ten year vision with a five year target’ to reach various goals, including becoming a 5 Trillion dollar economy.
 
Infrastructure continued to receive due attention; ‘ease of living’ remained the main target. The crisis facing NBFCs has received the Hon’ble F.M.’s attention, bringing the RBI as the regulatory authority for NBFCs as also Home Finance are among the comprehensive steps being initiated.
 
The budget proposes to revise labour codes to minimise disputes, further simplify the GST process as also give a push to Digital India. The tax benefit for affordable homes being enhanced by Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 3.5 lakh is positive; the reduction in time for completion of houses from 314 days in 2015 to 114 days in 2017 mentioned by her brings in the possibility of achieving the target of Housing for All by 2022.
 
Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani is Founder & MD, Hiranandani Group. His new venture is Hiranandani Communities. He is President (Nation), National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), which works under the aegis of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Government of India.