Indebted developers are cutting staff as they slow work on existing projects and postpone new ones until they clear a backlog of 700,000 unsold homes
Besides Budget, markets will be driven by global events and the outcome of assembly elections.
While office and mall properties enjoyed revival and saw some big PE deals, residential real estate was hit by double whammy - stagnating prices and demonetisation
How soon can India reach a point when there is no hidden underemployment and all who want work can find it at a fair wage and decent work conditions, asks Nitin Desai.
Deepak Parekh, chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), India's largest mortgage lender, says the exuberance in industry about the new government is justified but big ideas articulated by the prime minister need speedy implementation.
The overriding objective of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) must be adequate economic return, not financial return.
The agreement would divert China's attention and keep them busy in the Pacific theatre, probably resulting in a reduction in threat perception in our area of interest in the Indian Ocean, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Populations of cities are rising, more are coming in because cities continue to attract people for jobs and because of increased economic activity. One standard question would be: What is the government doing about this?
The forthcoming budget is an excellent opportunity for the Government to fulfill its promise of high economic growth.
'The current crisis is one of incomes, driven by poor job growth, agrarian distress and poor investment sentiment,' notes Harsh Pati Singhania, director, JK Organisation.
NDA government has shunned populism.
Many chief executives said they were talking to people at the top level in their organisations to find how their companies can help the flood victims.
'If they are not ready for a 10 to 20 year journey, they should not become entrepreneurs.'
'Your strike rate is very important when it comes to seat-sharing.'
S Naren, CIO of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, in an interview with Chandan Kishore Kant, says cyclicals will offer good value.
Because of India's weak fiscal position, the plethora of debt-burdened infrastructure companies and the poor asset quality of public sector banks, economic growth in 2015-16 may be limited to about six per cent, say Shankar Acharya.
'Washington is telegraphing here is its willingness to support a low-grade, limited use of force meant to send a strong message to Pakistan.' 'Perhaps something along the lines of the surgical strikes in 2016, or perhaps something a bit more -- but not much more.'
'If some measures are implemented quickly, they can help revive growth.'
'Truth be told, Amrita Singh and Saif Ali Khan's daughter has tons of filmi blood and it is what powers Kedarnath from start to finish,' says Sukanya Verma.
'Most of the agitations are staged by the Opposition to disturb the peace of the state.'
The present legislative framework on betting and gambling in India is sketchy, at best.
Low consumer demand, a slide in investments and troubles in the banking sector should prompt the government to recalibrate taxes and expenditure. It is also important to ramp up spending on health care and education, says CII president Sumit Mazumder.
Modi's party also wants to regulate property markets and tie investor money to specific projects to stop developers diverting cash elsewhere.
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Crony capitalism will of course generate investment and ensure profit for private capital, but it won't give employment or income to the people. If you can make money by selling coal or speculating in land, why produce electricity, why invest in research and development, why even set up factories, asks Praful Bidwai.
There is as yet no clarity on how the process of consulting with the RBI Governor, initiated under Section 7 of the RBI Act, would unfold in the coming days. The government is keen that its suggestions made in the public interest should be heeded by the central bank, says A K Bhattacharya.
'Unsurprisingly, the joint statement issued after Modi's visit contains a paragraph on terrorism.' 'It is on the usual lines that India would have with, say, Croatia.' 'The surprising part is that it shies away from getting into specifics,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The government has done extremely well.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party regime will have to make good on this election slogan to restore state-owned banks to health, says Rajiv Lall.
The JV, Voltbek Home Appliances, aims to take on LG, Samsung as well as home-grown players such as Godrej among others head on with a slew of products that hopes to combine the best of both worlds -- European technology and design, with Indian pricing and delivery.
In a conversation with Rediff.com's Indrani Roy veteran civil engineer Subhash Bhattacharya tries to ascertain the causes behind the collapse of the Vivekananda Setu, an under-construction flyover in Kolkata last Thursday.
Indian economy about to take-off
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-day visit to Britain has seen India and the UK agreeing on Rs 90,000 crore deals.
'At any given point in time, we expect only 25 per cent of our workforce will need to be in office.' 'And any given person will only be required to spend only 25 per cent of their time in office.'
'Every day, I give you some or the other reason.' 'But we should not do politics over the need to bring about change in society.' 'We should follow a collective responsibility and you will see that things will change,' says Narendra D Modi.
Each 'adarsh village' should have piped drinking water, connectivity to the main road, electricity supply to all households, library, telecom and broadband connectivity including CCTVs in public areas. Emphasis will also be on e-governance, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
'There is no difference between the earlier government and the present government.' 'They are all following the economic policy based on the Chicago School of thought.' 'This school of thought says the government should have very little role in governing the country and the majority of the work should be handed over to the private sector.' 'This has not succeeded in the US.' 'Yet, it is being tried here by people like Arvind Subramaniam, Arvind Panagariya, Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan.'
The new ordinance on land acquisition will allow land grabbers to deprive millions, destroy agriculture, horticulture, rivers, forests, tree cover and mangroves to extract minerals as well as ground water, without replenishment at a pace that will not leave anything for the next generation, warns activist Medha Patkar.
Common people expect the government to be aggressive and opt for growth related measures in the upcoming Budget.
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The year 2014 was one of the most challenging years for India. For two consecutive years our GDP growth was sub 5 per cent. Employment generation had declined, the revenue buoyancy was low and the country had become investment starved.
Consequences of China's efforts to stabilise its equity markets after three weeks of declines, which wiped out some 30 per cent of the value is far more importance to the world, says Clyde Russell.
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