There is a premium on Luxury, and the price tag is `quality.’

In a country which has declared a 7.6% growth rate, driving a two trillion dollar economy with a young population at 72% below 32 years (making India the youngest country on the planet), the future as per Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, and the face behind #MakeInIndia, is bright.

Delivering the inaugural address at the CII-Sotheby’s `Global Luxury Realty Conclave,’ Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, discussed the impact of demonetisation on the economy and trends of India’s real estate industry. “As long as India is growing at a rapid pace and as the Indian economy keeps getting formalised with the process of demonetisation, I believe it will lead to, in the long run, lowering of the fiscal deficit, greater levels of government revenues vesting in areas like education and health. This will,  in the long run, enable us to reap benefits of demographic transition, which will enable us to create products which will enable us to lend at lower rates for longer terms. This will in turn enable us to invest in infrastructure projects at low rates of interest. The government’s focus in the coming years will be hugely on infrastructure and the objective will be to put resources into infrastructure and show that India is able to create world class infrastructure.” he told audiences comprising of stalwarts in the luxury vertical, who had come together from across the country and international markets.

Mr Kant further stressed that as infrastructure gets created in many of the cities, infrastructure will drive urbanisation and very high luxury homes in the years to come. “There is a great amount of excitement and brand awareness and also a great amount of demand for luxury products driven by the young population of India,” Mr Kant stressed. Also highlighting that luxury is not a new concept to the country, but relevant with an intrinsic historic association of India with luxury since the ‘Maharaja’ days – “India has been the home of luxury from our Maharaja days,” he elaborated. “In India, since time immemorial, Maharajas have thrived on luxury. India has seen some of the greatest master craftsmen and artisans across the world. Thus, in the cusp of change while India undergoes modernisation and progress and as the luxury market grows, we hope that India will retain the values of it is traditional heritage,” Mr Kant added.

Partnered by apex industry bodies like Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Price water house Coopers (PwC), the two-day event held at the Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi,  debated about the Luxury real estate sector with the top business minds in the industry. The mega conclave provided an International networking platform comprising of real estate industry experts, select international & domestic developers, tax advisories, HNIs, creative leaders, as well as luxury observers and innovators.

Covering an extensive range of topics of interest to the stakeholders such as ‘Impact of changing policies on Indian real estate’; ‘Evolving real-estate market and trends’; ‘Impact of international events on global real estate’, ‘Factors affecting Indians buying abroad’; ‘NRI potential across the world’, ‘Citizenship by investment’ and many more, illustrated speakers sourced from a talent pool of industry experts, moderated insightful discussions on trends and opportunities.

Some of the key speakers included Amit Burman, Vice Chairman, Dabur India Limited and Chairman, NISIR; Rajeev Talwar, CEO, DLF Limited; Uttam Dave, CEO, Amoravida – Luxurious Bungalows, Goa; Leigh Williamson, Vice President, Gulf Sotheby’s International Realty Dubai; Kevin Brown, Real Estate Partner, SIR, New York; Prerna Mehndiratta, Partner,  M&A Tax, PwC; Robin Paterson, Joint Chairman, UK, Sotheby’s International Realty; Paresh Maity, Artist;  Gaurav Bhatia, MD, Sotheby’s Auction India; Ms Raseel Gujaral, Founder Casa Paradox; Amit Gupta, Director, vis a vis many more.

 

Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry shared, “CII has collaborated with North India Sotheby’s International Realty to take an initiative to highlight the fast paced changes in global real estate industry, which is one of the most imperative sectors of the economy. Bringing together thought leaders, industry experts and real estate stakeholders from around the world, the conclave emphasized on Indian and International Luxury Real estate.”

Amit Goyal, CEO, North India Sotheby’s International Realty added, “We were delighted to host the first ever Global Luxury Realty Conclave 2017 in partnership with CII along with PwC & RICS as knowledge partners. The conclave showcased select luxury properties from India and overseas as well as bring industry thought leaders together on a common platform to discuss the varying trends in the luxury real estate sector. The attendees were  exposed to the latest trends including the impact of changing policies on Global Real Estate and the future potential of Indians buying abroad.”

Jamie McMullan, International Servicing Director EMEA Region, Sotheby’s International Realty also shared,  “The Conclave was a great platform to leverage Sotheby’s International Realty brand’s global presence and reach out to the wide Indian diaspora spread across the world. ”