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Dear Readers

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year. God bless us all to work hard and perform our duties righteously and with dedication for the overall growth of “Bharat” and for the wellbeing of all so as to achieve the dream of becoming a USD 35 trillion economy by 2047 despite the restraint of multiple rules and regulations and influence of external factors.

All are manifestations of God. Almighty resides in all living beings. Listen to your own inner voice of consciousness which is the voice of God. In the new year, let us all resolve to strengthen our connect with that inner voice.

India’s GDP growth rate has been slowing down from 7.8% in the March quarter to 6.7% in the June quarter and further to 5.4% in the September quarter. The Reserve Bank of India’s foreign exchange reserves dropped from a record high of USD 704.9 billion in the final week of September to USD 644.4 billion for the week ended on 20 December. FM Nirmala Sitharaman termed the slowdown as a temporary blip. She assured a healthy economic growth ahead. The last 3 years’ GDP growth rate has been at an average of around 8.1%. This is outstanding as compared with the rest of the globe. Rise in volatility of some food items has been climate driven mainly for vegetables and fruits.

Gradual improvement in demand, consumption and investment will contribute to the growth and the economy as estimated to grow at around 6.6% in FY26 by the rating agency India Ratings and Research. India is the topmost recipient of remittances in 2024 with an estimated inflow of USD 129 bn. It is also notable that India is on the 10th rank globally on US trade deficit list. Private capex remains sluggish due to various reasons. The government is expected to set fiscal deficit target at 4.4 % of GDP for FY26. Marking a major shift in India’s trade, service exports overtook goods exports in November, with software services accounting for the largest share.

Import of cheap steel has been showing its impact on the domestic steel industry, stalling capacity expansion and therefore new employment opportunities. Government needs to take a decision on imposing a duty on imports. Steel prices may increase shortly, as the production will increase but at least the domestic industry will get a boost and new jobs will be created which, in turn, will stimulate demand. In the past also the steel industry has suffered great losses and some industries were sold by NCLT at rock bottom prices. With excess steel imports from China, local mills have also dropped their prices. Other South East Asian countries like South Korea, Vietnam and Japan are selling steel to India at low prices as well. Certain industries linked to the steel sector are also suffering due to the cheap imports. Meanwhile, iron ore continues to be a major export item from India.

As 2024 draws to a close, India has lost a great son Dr. Man Mohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India. He was immensely erudite, and at the same time a very humble, gentle, simple and a great human being. He was an eminent economist and has served the country as a Finance Minister as well. He rescued the country from one of the worst economic balances of the payment crisis and had managed to put the economy back on track. The country’s debt burden was reduced substantially under his able guidance. He was hugely instrumental in unleashing the potential of the private sector in multiple sectors. He was a man of vision and virtue. He was regarded as the Father of Economic Reforms. His life teaches how to deal with adversity. He used to meet industrialists, businessmen, commoners, or any section of the society when required and would guide them to find solutions to their hardships. He transformed the economic adversity into an opportunity for growth securing a future of prosperity for the Nation. We pay homage to Dr. Man Mohan Singh.

Cover Story: Real estate sector has been doing increasingly well due to increase in population, urbanization, NRI investments in the country, senior NRIs returning to the country, growing business opportunities in the cities, development of Tier II and Tier III cities. Prices are rising steeply because of limited availability of land and high building material costs. Housing is a basic need for human beings. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) is a flagship programme of the Government of India that aims to provide housing for all in rural areas. The scheme has been extended to construct an additional 2 crore houses in rural areas from FY 2024-25 to FY 2028-29. With investments of USD 1.5 trillion anticipated between 2020 and 2025 under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), India’s infrastructure sector is expected to grow rapidly.

Central and State governments, railways and public sector units have large pieces of land. These lands can be developed in collaboration with the private sectors to deal with the shortage of houses. Real estate sector is the second largest employment generator after agriculture and provides employment opportunities to the semi-skilled and unskilled work force greatly. The sector also contributes to the growth of industries like cement, steel, and other allied activities. The real estate sector is estimated to account for 7.3% of the economy and is projected to contribute about 13% to GDP by 2025. Recent projection by Statista, the German online platform specializing in data gathering and visualization, shows that the sector’s contribution could rise to 15.5 % by 2047, making it an even larger pillar of the Indian economy. There is an increase in demand for housing in big cities of Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi NCR along with semi urban areas.

Despite the recent growth the real estate sector remains uncertain about the future. The fear of economic downturns and fluctuations often lead to decreased property demand, stagnant property values and increased competition among real estate businesses.

According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s year-end address, 2025 would be a significant year for “Create in India” when India will be a major source of online content. 

Support from our leaders is a prerequisite for Indian entrepreneurs to flourish, especially when affected by external forces. India’s economic policy formulation must take into account improved social security mechanisms so that entrepreneurs can create more jobs. Businesses typically expand and invest more when a nation’s GDP expands more quickly, which raises demand for workers in a variety of industries. Lower tax rates can stimulate consumption and savings.