Observing that decline in levies, including stamp duties, make businesses fairer, ministry of housing and urban affairs secretary Manoj Joshi said on February 25 that the presence of women in a sector is a ‘barometer’ of how fair the business is.
"So, the more we do fair business, you would find more women coming in it,” he said at a real estate conference organised by NAREDCO-MAHI, the association's women wing.
Talking about the women's participation in the real estate sector, Joshi said that women’s presence in a business is a barometer of how fair is the business, adding that more women should get involved in the planning side as it would lend a human aspect to planning, making cities livable.
"We need more and more urban planning capacities to come in. This is an area women have got more scope. Although there is a major focus on roads, hospitals, and other physical infrastructure, the human aspect in planning is very less," he said.
"It's quite strange to see that women are not really there in the sector," he said.
As the real estate sector becomes cleaner, the secretary said more and more women would come to work in this industry. The secretary noted that there are already signs of the real estate sector getting cleaned up.
“Most of the apartments or those builders apartments people are buying, almost entire payment is in white," the secretary said.
Though this is not true in a lot of other cities in Delhi and around that's what is happening, he added.
He said that the decline in levies, including stamp duties, makes businesses fairer. "From the government side, our effort is the frame policies in such a way that there is less and less chance of doing wrong business."
The secretary said that the government has done a lot to have this sector cleaned up. "It doesn't really pay nowadays to play that game anymore, which people have been playing and the regulatory agencies and enforcement agencies come down quite heavily. I think that that has played a role," he said.
The secretary mentioned that gradual stamp duties are going down and rightfully they should go down much more. This is another factor that affects whether the businesses are done in a fair manner using white money or what is done in black.
He said there is a need to create employment opportunities in the smaller cities. “Whether it is a small or big cities, people should be able to reach offices from home within 15 minutes,” he added.
Addressing the convention through a video message, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Housing and Urban Development said that the emphasis on greater participation of women in the real estate sector is a welcome move.
He was of the view that the real estate sector has demonstrated resilience amid the pandemic and by empowering women in this space, the sector will be further strengthened.
NAREDCO MAHI, the women's wing of the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) organized its first convention on the theme 'Realty Women - The Transforming Catalyst to Real Estate Tentative Session Agenda.'
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, D. Thara, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), stressed on the need for women to bring about different and new dimensions into property development and architecture.
Emphasizing creating new opportunities for women and breaking traditions, she said, "It should be looked upon as to how we can break the way how the labour market operates. Why cannot a woman be a good mason? If a woman is made a subcontractor, it would make women workers from rural areas feel much safer."
Gautam Chatterjee, Founder Chairman, MahaRERA was of the view that although there is a lesser representation of women in the management of real estate companies, the sector is not dominated by men.
"There are several surveys that suggest that companies with a higher percentage of women in leadership roles perform better. He also stressed the need to faster adoption of technology in the real estate space.”
Naredco-MAHI President Tara Subramaniam said that as professionals, women in the real estate sector should think of modern and progressive ways for driving the sector towards growth.
Ananta S Raghuvanshi, the president-elect of NAREDCO MAHI, said that with the empowerment of women workers and entrepreneurs through MAHI's initiatives, there will be a trickle-down effect.
NAREDCO President Rajan Bandelkar said, "Women have taken a lead in transforming and spurring growth in several sectors, and real estate is set to benefit from their knowledge, insights, and industrious attitude."
Launched in September 2021, the women's wing of NAREDCO has outlined 10 'E's as its focus areas. These focus areas include education, equality, environment, empowerment, expansion, entrepreneurship, empathy, engagement, excellence, and ethics.
