NRI Real Estate investment in India

Undeniably tremendous" is how the Investment in Indian real estate is termed. Government of India has recently allowed Non Resident Indians (NRIs) to invest upto 100% (FDI) in Housing and Real Estate Sector for development of serviced plots, construction of built-up residential premises and commercial premises including business centers and offices; development of townships, city and regional level urban infrastructure facilities including both roads and bridges; investment in manufacture of building materials; and investment in participatory ventures in development of serviced plots, construction of built-up residential premises and commercial premises including business centers and offices; and development of townships.

POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH Real Estate sector is considered as a great employment generator and could be instrumental in growth of cement, steel and other connected industries. A study reveals that for every one crore (10 million) rupees of investment in housing, nearly 290 industries in the building material sector get activated besides the core manufacturing sector constituting cement, steel and bricks. Therefore, investment in housing is capable of achieving a three-in-one solution of employment generation, economic development and human development. Real estate development in India is estimated to be in the region of USD 12 billion, growing at a pace of 30 per cent each year. Almost 80 per cent of real estate developed is residential space and the rest comprise office, shopping malls, hotels and hospitals. This double-digit growth is mainly attributed to the off-shoring business, including high-end technology consulting, call centres and programming houses.

Non Resident Indians (NRIs) are allowed to invest in the following areas in the Housing and Real Estate Sector under the Automatic Route of FDI:

i. Development of services plots and construction of built up residential premises.

ii. Investment in real estate covering construction of residential and commercial premises including business centers and offices.

iii. Development of townships.

iv. City and regional level urban infrastructure facilities, including both roads and bridges.

v. Investment in manufacture of building materials.

vi. Investment in participatory ventures in (i) to (v) above

vii. Investment in housing finance institutions.