NRIs: A crucial
element
Non-resident Indians (NRIs) have played a crucial role in the development of the Indian
real estate market. Opening-up of the economy in 1991 offered them new opportunities.
Since 1994, NRIs have invested a sizeable amount, of which a big chunk has found its way
into the property market.
Participation by NRIs as investors in the past has infused a necessary element which
deprived the market completely in the pre-1991 period. Of late, the sector is trying to
get its acts together.
But it will take some time before things really start looking up. The Indian realty
business is still not very much organised and that makes things rather difficult for those
who are not much familiar with the intricacies involved. In the past two years, NRIs have
not shown enough interest in the market. Reason - The market has failed to offer the
transparency that the NRIs are looking out for. Nobody would like to invest in an
unsecured condition. In the wake of frequently changing laws, NRIs often fail to take
advantage of the emerging opportunities that the market offers of late.
NRIs need to keep themselves abreast with various details as regards the Foreign Exchange
Regulation Act, 1973 (FERA), Stamp Duty Act, Registration Act, and direct taxes, etc.
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