| | APRIL 202319According to Statista's report, life sciences real estate is a new sector of interest among investors. What are the reasons for the growing interest?We recorded a paradigm shift in the life sciences real estate dynamic, a trend that we expect to accelerate. With India emerging as the world's largest COVID-19 vaccine production base, this sector is now high on the radar for both corporates and investors. Both global and domestic life sciences companies display a strong appetite for expansion in the corporate office segment. Most of the country's life sciences facilities are located in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune. In India, we expect new clusters to be formed in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and other locations adjacent to Tier-I cities in 2022. The life sciences industry in India has started to move up the value chain of R&D and innovation. Further, recent supply chain disruptions also attracted the interest of leading PE and VC players. The top investment opportunities in India would be the PPP route or asset development through Built-to-suit (BTS) properties. The life sciences industry continues to garner the interest of policymakers. States recently announced policies on life sciences that would attract investment, increase employment, and boost real estate demand. How has technology changed the function-ing of the real estate industry?The growing synergies between various technologies and real estate have accelerated. The key to this transformation is a large number of diverse data sets in addition to the `Big Data' aggregated at a hyper-personal level. Over the last few years, integrating new technologies has propelled productivity, enhanced stability, and ensured business continuity. The adoption of PropTech was further accelerated amid COVID-19 across commercial, residential, retail, and construction segments. These advancements are expected to have a long-term and far-reaching impact on the industry.Six disruptive technologies that are reshaping businesses worldwide and significantly impacting real estate are Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)/Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Virtual Reality (VR)/Augmented Reality (AR) and Blockchain. According to our assessment, we foresee how all RE stakeholders ­ developers, investors, occupiers, and employees ­ are currently being influenced/would be influenced in the future by these technologies across the life cycle of an office building.Could you draw a futuristic picture of how the real estate industry would turn out in the long run?India has been on a progressive path of growth for several years, and so has the real estate industry. The implementation of focused policy reforms and strategic infrastructure initiatives by the state/central government has resulted in consumer preference leaning towards suburbs / non-metro cities. As a result, tier II cities are gaining traction owing to their growing economic significance, infrastructure development, and improved connectivity. The entry and expansion of flex operators and the increasing footprint of industrial establishments evidence this. The various business clusters across tier-II cities now offer a mix of non-SEZ and SEZ establishments. Most tier II cities have also recorded a growing presence of industrial hubs and malls. Retailers and mall developers are looking to leverage the buying power of the increasing populace in these cities. Growing internet usage has whetted the appetite for quality products in these areas, thus giving a fillip to e-Commerce too. There has also been rising investor interest over recent years, with various plans announced by domestic and global firms to establish their footprints in these markets. As we move forward, Tier-II cities are poised to be the new growth vectors in India in the coming years - driven by their progress in the real estate landscape, work environment, quality of life, and sustainability. Moreover, these cities have large talent bases, and taking offices closer to talent holds the potential to be alternative centers of growth, fueling innovation and growth for office occupiers. Hence, it is increasingly critical for these cities to sustain the current pace of infrastructure development and strengthen skill development.The future of real estate will incorporate climatic, societal, and ethical issues as it moves into the limelight. Businesses are increasingly finding it imperative to develop forward-looking strategies that consider ESG principles. As a result, ESG is fast evolving and would be a key component of the real estate landscape.Over the years, we've focused on overseeing transformational change and delivering real estate services for major multinational corporates while embracing market-leading digital solutions to help drive success for clients, employees, and stakeholders. I believe Indian real estate's transformative journey is expected to continue, and we will be a part of it.
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