India eyes $700-bn investments to boost infra in urban areas
Real estate sector to contribute $1 trillion by 2030 to the GDP
image for illustrative purpose
India is a $3 trillion economy and aggressively moving towards becoming a $10 trillion economy by 2030 and one of main constituents of this growth will be massive urbanisation happening in the country
Dubai: India needs around $700 billion of investment from 2021 to 2031 to boost its urban infrastructure services like Urban Mobility, Affordable Housing, Water Security, Clean India Mission and Smart Cities Mission, said Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary and Mission Director (Smart Cities Mission), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.
He along with other Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs officials - Dinesh Kapila, Economic Advisor (Housing) and Jaideep, OSD (Urban Transport) - was briefing the media on the sidelines of the inauguration of the 'Urban and Rural Development Week' at the India Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai.
The Ministry is showcasing its efforts being made in comprehensive urban development in India and exhibiting the multi-sectoral opportunities for the World during the 'Urban and Rural Development Week' in Dubai. The broad objective is to demonstrate India's innovative case studies and attract investments to India, fostering market access for other countries.
Kunal Kumar added, "India is a $3 trillion economy and aggressively moving towards becoming a $10 trillion economy by 2030 and one of main constituents of this growth will be massive urbanisation happening in the country. Rapidly urbanising India presents exciting investment opportunities for private sector in Indian cities to address several challenges which include improving quality of urban services such as water, sanitation, urban transport and planned development of land resources."
"Government of India, since 2014, has already invested $160 billion on creating and upgrading urban infrastructure and ensuring ease of living for the citizens. India's investment in the urban sector has jumped by over 600 per cent during 2014-2021 as compared to 2004-2014. Urban development is the key to India's growth because we need productive, liveable cities that ensure ease of doing business," he said.
Highlighting the opportunities in infrastructure, he added, "Government of India has created a National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for infrastructure projects worth $1.5 trillion to be completed in between 2020-25. Major focus of NIP is across energy (24 per cent), roads (18 per cent), urban (17 per cent) and railways (12 per cent). Each of these urban missions presents opportunities for global companies to invest and grow."
Speaking on the Smart Cities Mission, Kumar said that with total investments worth $28 billion, the Smart Cities Mission is realising the vision of 100 'smarter' Indian cities in addressing the challenges of increasing urbanization and ultimately the plan is to cover more than 4000 cities in the country.
Speaking on the opportunities in the real estate sector in India, Dinesh Kapila, Economic Advisor (Housing), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said, "The size of the housing sector is currently $200 billion in India, and it contributes around 7 per cent to the GDP. The contribution of the real estate sector to the Indian economy is likely to be around $1 trillion by 2030.
