Free Covid vax for workers

New Delhi: AMID the ongoing second wave of Covid pandemic, the realty sector in India is in full-swing in spite of lockdown in various cities. As part of risk mitigation strategy, realty groups have announced Covid vaccine coverage for 2.5 crore people who are currently engaged in the construction workforce. Harsh Vardhan Patodia, the newly appointed president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (Credai), a realty apex body for private real estate developers, on Wednesday announced free Covid Vaccination drive for 2.5 crore construction workers at the sites of member developers across India. According to the group, the move aims to accelerate efforts on vaccination to the needy population and help in restraining the spread of Coronavirus. On his appointment as the president, Patodia said, "With the current challenges that the reality sector faces, we will focus on driving efforts to revive the real estate sector and provide a stimulus to boost the business environment. We will also strengthen our commitment to skill development, green buildings, and labour welfare".

Credai also announced setting up an incubation centre for tech start-ups for real estate space. As announced by the company, Credai Startup Angel Network and Incubation & Acceleration Centre' will aim to help and support tech start-ups in the real estate space by hand-holding them and providing them access to its members network for business development. Post lockdown, the realty sector experienced an upswing in the state of Maharashtra after the state government announced reduction in stamp duty from 5 per cent to 2 percent. As of April, 2021, Maharashtra has over 4.72 lakhs active covid cases, posing a threat to ongoing realty projects.