A road cuts through what was once the edge of a city. A warehouse follows a factory, an office park, a housing project, a school and a retail centre. Over time, what was once peripheral becomes part of the city itself. This is how India’s next urban map is being drawn. From Sonipat and the Jewar airport corridor to Dwarka Expressway, Pune, Indore, Surat and Coimbatore, economic activity is moving beyond established metropolitan boundaries. New roads and rail links are shortening distances, factories are creating jobs, offices are following talent and housing is moving towards new centres of work. Behind this transformation sits an industry that is often described simply as real estate. Its role is much larger. Real estate already contributes around 6–8% of India’s GDP, supports more than 200 allied industries and, according to Piramal Realty, nearly 70 million jobs. Industry projections suggest its contribution to GDP could rise to 14–20% by 2047, as the Indian economy itself moves towards the $35–40 trillion range. The physical scale is already changing. Grade A office stock has crossed 800 million sq. ft, more than three times its 2010 level. Grade A industrial and warehousing stock crossed 250 million sq. ft in 2025. Together, office and industrial and warehousing stock could exceed 2 billion sq. ft by 2047. There is also a demographic shift behind the numbers. Nearly 600 million Indians could live in cities by 2036, while the urban population could approach 900 million by 2050. The question is no longer whether India will urbanise. It is whether the country can build fast enough, and well enough, to support the economy taking shape around that urbanisation.
FROM REAL ESTATE TO CITY-BUILDING
For Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global, the scale of India’s opportunity is already visible in the demand coming into its cities. Real estate, he points out, is already 7–8% of GDP and the country’s second largest employer after agriculture, with more than 200 allied industries linked to it. With close to 600 million Indians expected to live in cities by 2036, the fundamental issue is not whether there will be demand for homes. It is whether the industry can deliver them efficiently. “Demand is not the constraint. Delivery is,” Aggarwal says. That delivery challenge begins with how housing itself is planned. Land assembly, trunk infrastructure and construction, he argues, need to move together rather than one after another. Approval timelines that still stretch to two or three years in many states add to costs, while those costs ultimately reach the homebuyer. Capital is another part of the equation. Aggarwal believes a sector expected to triple in size cannot be built by a small group of large companies alone. Mid-sized developers also need access to capital, while predictable policy can do more for the industry than short-term subsidies. His view of growth extends beyond the established metros. The first layer is the metro periphery: the Southern Peripheral Road and Sohna belt, New Gurugram, Dwarka Expressway, the Jewar airport catchment, Bhiwadi and Neemrana. But an expressway alone does not make a city liveable. Water, sewage, reliable power, waste management, schools and hospitals determine whether a location can sustain long term growth. Regional transit such as the Delhi-Meerut RRTS, combined with stronger municipal planning, will be equally important.
Demand is not the constraint. Delivery is. Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Globa
THE SYSTEM BEHIND THE GROWTH
Amit Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Arkade Developers, approaches the opportunity from the systems that need to support this expansion. For Jain, real estate can become a foundational pillar of India’s growth because it connects employment, infrastructure, consumption and more than 200 allied industries. That requires structural changes. Digitised land records, faster approvals, stronger urban planning, technology adoption and sustainable construction can shorten project cycles and reduce costs. Digital single window systems, defined timelines and standardised regulations would add greater predictability. The financing ecosystem also needs to deepen. Jain points to REITs, InvITs, pension and insurance funds, municipal bonds and other institutional vehicles as important sources of long-term capital. The geography of growth is changing at the same time. Jain identifies Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Indore, Surat, Jaipur and Coimbatore, along with industrial and logistics corridors, as markets with potential to attract investment. But roads alone will not determine their success. Expressways, airports, metro and regional rail need to be supported by reliable power, water, digital connectivity and social amenities. The same infrastructure-led approach is opening opportunities in industrial and warehousing and data centres. Warehousing is benefiting from manufacturing, e-commerce and supply-chain expansion, while data centres are being driven by AI, cloud computing and India’s digital economy. Residential remains central, but senior living, co-living, hospitality and retail will increasingly reflect changing demographics and consumption.
WHEN THE PERIPHERY BECOMES THE CORE
The shift beyond established metros is already visible in the National Capital Region. Abhay Kumar Mishra, President & CEO, Jindal Realty, has seen that transition closely. For two decades, Gurugram and Noida dominated the NCR real estate story. The momentum is now moving north towards Sonipat. Jindal Realty’s Jindal Global City and Jindal Smart City sit within a larger infrastructure story involving the KMP Expressway, NH-44, UER-II and the planned Delhi-Panipat-Karnal Namo Bharat corridor. The lesson, Mishra says, is that connectivity can rapidly change the economic relevance of land. “When connectivity compresses distance to this extent, peripheral land can become core almost overnight.” The same pattern could emerge around Jewar and its new international airport, along the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor and in emerging belts such as Meerut and Panipat. But infrastructure has to lead development, not follow it. Mishra’s Tatvam project at Jindal Global City reflects this approach, with integrated, master-planned development built around connectivity rather than standalone construction. The opportunity extends into industrial and warehousing, which Mishra describes as the physical backbone of India’s manufacturing and e-commerce ambitions. Freight corridors, PLI-driven factories and quick-commerce hubs all create logistics demand. The Maruti Suzuki plant at Kharkhoda is already reshaping the local economic and real estate landscape. Data centres are another fast growing segment, driven by data localisation and AI-related computing demand. Senior living and co-living represent smaller markets, but address an ageing population and a young, mobile workforce.
Capital, speed and credibility. Abhay Kumar Mishra, President & CEO, Jindal Realty Mishra sees affordability, institutional capital, approvals, land titles and execution capacity as the major constraints to scaling the
THE BUYER IS CHANGING
The expansion of Indian cities is being accompanied by a change in what consumers expect from them. Sumeet Chunkhare, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Sobha Ltd, sees real estate becoming a major economic engine because its influence extends well beyond housing. Industry estimates cited by Chunkhare put the sector’s contribution at 7.3% of GDP, with the market potentially expanding from around Rs. 26.4 trillion in 2025 to Rs. 440.5 – Rs. 616.7 trillion by 2047. But scale will not be enough. Chunkhare points to digitised land records, GIS, Building Information Modelling, digital twins, platform based execution and AI-enabled tools as technologies that can improve transparency, execution certainty and capital efficiency. The customer is changing too. Design, amenities, sustainability, connectivity and quality of execution are increasingly part of the purchase decision. The urban market is expanding with that demand. The Economic Survey 2025–26 estimates cited by Chunkhare suggest that towns and cities could house around 600 million people, or 40% of India’s population, by 2036.
That growth will require more than roads. Public transport, air connectivity, power, water, digital infrastructure, healthcare, education and employment centres will all influence whether new urban areas mature successfully. For developers, the implication is a move towards integrated communities rather than isolated projects. There is also a cost challenge. Construction costs across India’s top seven housing markets rose 34% between 2021 and 2025, while residential capital values rose 59%.
Real estate’s role in India’s 2047 journey will not be defined simply by how much we build, but by how effectively we create productive, sustainable and aspirational urban environments. Sumeet Chunkhare, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Sobha Ltd.
At the premium end, Chunkhare sees luxury moving beyond the size of an apartment towards larger communities, open spaces, wellness, amenities, convenience and connectivity.
TIER II INDIA TAKES CENTRE STAGE
The growth story is moving beyond the biggest cities. Aparna Reddy, Executive Director, Aparna Enterprises Ltd, sees Tier II and Tier III India becoming increasingly important as airports, industrial corridors, metro networks and highways extend the country’s economic geography. She points to Indore, Vizag, Coimbatore, Lucknow and Guwahati as markets where infrastructure and economic activity can create new demand. For Reddy, the link between infrastructure and property is straightforward. Better roads, water systems, public transport and digital connectivity make it easier for businesses and households to move into a market. That creates opportunities well beyond traditional housing and offices. Warehousing and industrial parks are benefiting from manufacturing and e-commerce. Data centres are expanding with India’s digital economy. Senior living, co-living, retail and hospitality are gaining importance as lifestyles and demographics change. The sector’s ability to support these segments will also depend on the ecosystem behind construction. Reddy points to land bottlenecks, high compliance costs and fragmented regulations as barriers, while calling for greater innovation in building materials, including greener and more efficient products. For her, the larger requirement is coordination. Policy, industry and infrastructure have to move together if emerging cities are to become sustainable centres of economic activity.
Good infrastructure is the real unlock. When roads, water systems, public transport and digital connectivity improve, real estate naturally follows. Aparna Reddy, Executive Director, Aparna Enterprises Ltd
THE CITY, NOT JUST THE PROJECT
The development of a new corridor is ultimately about whether individual projects can become part of a functioning urban economy. Sandeep Agarwal, Executive Director Finance & Group CFO, Elan Group, believes that distinction will become increasingly important as India expands. Every period of economic growth requires physical infrastructure. The challenge now is to plan that infrastructure at the city and corridor level, rather than project by project. Dwarka Expressway offers one example. As connectivity progressed, the corridor recorded significant price appreciation, while developments such as Elan The Presidential and Elan The Emperor reflected growing developer confidence in the market.
The opportunity now is to plan growth at a city and corridor level rather than project by project. Sandeep Agarwal, Executive Director-Finance & Group CFO, Elan Group
Future growth centres are likely to emerge around the same combination of expressways, airports, mass transit, employment hubs and social infrastructure. Retail and hospitality will also play a larger role as cities become more consumption-led. Rising disposable incomes are supporting demand for dining, entertainment and experiences, turning these assets into part of the broader commercial and social fabric. The challenge, Agarwal argues, is keeping planning ahead of urbanisation. Land use, transport and infrastructure need to be aligned, while approval processes become simpler and more predictable. For developers, that means projects need to be planned in sync with surrounding markets rather than in isolation.
THE NEW INDIAN HOME
India’s economic expansion is changing not only where people live, but what they expect from their homes. Nitin Kumar Kansal, Chief Financial Officer, Max Estates Limited, sees the real estate opportunity as closely tied to rising incomes and urbanisation. The change is particularly visible in residential real estate, where premiumisation and the shift towards organised and branded developers are accelerating. Buyers increasingly expect quality, transparency, design and experience. Kansal cites the Knight Frank NAREDCO Vision 2047 report, which estimates that Indian real estate could reach approximately $5.8 trillion by 2047, with its share of the economy rising to around 15%. Growth, however, is increasingly
Customers now pay for quality, transparency, design and experience.. Nitin Kumar Kansal, Chief Financial Officer, Max Estates Limited
forming around economic activity rather than existing city boundaries. Within NCR, Kansal points to the Dwarka Expressway belt, Noida Greater Noida and the Yamuna Expressway corridor around the upcoming Jewar airport. These areas illustrate how infrastructure and employment can turn peripheral land into new economic centres. The same principle applies to Tier II and Tier III cities, provided they have genuine employment and consumption drivers. Infrastructure needs to extend beyond roads and rail. Power, water, digital connectivity, healthcare and schools will determine whether new centres develop into complete urban environments. Kansal also highlights senior and intergenerational living, a segment shaped by India’s ageing population and continued family orientation. His experience with Estate 361, which incorporates intergenerational living into a larger residential community, reflects a broader shift in what the home represents. The market is moving from a focus on square feet towards more specialised environments built around how people actually live.
THE PHYSICAL FRAMEWORK OF A $10 TRILLION INDIA
The transformation of Indian real estate is ultimately bigger than the property market itself. Abhijeet Maheshwari, Chief Executive Officer, Piramal Realty, sees the sector as an enabler of economic growth, rather than simply a beneficiary of it. Real estate already contributes
The opportunity is not just to build a larger real estate industry, but to build better cities that can sustain India’s growth for decades to come. Abhijeet Maheshwari, Chief Executive Officer, Piramal Realty
around 7.3% to GDP and supports nearly 70 million jobs. Its larger contribution, however, comes from creating the environments in which economic activity can take place. That means housing linked to transport, commercial development linked to employment, industrial and warehousing linked to manufacturing, data centres linked to digital services and retail and hospitality linked to consumption. It also means planning for demographic change through senior living and co-living. Maheshwari expects the next growth centres to emerge where infrastructure, employment and liveability converge. Established metropolitan regions will continue expanding through peripheral corridors, while Tier II and Tier III cities with stronger economic bases develop into independent centres of activity. The barriers are familiar: land, approvals, infrastructure capacity, financing, fragmented planning and climate resilience. Addressing them will require predictable regulation, stronger city-level governance and greater public-private collaboration. For Maheshwari, the objective is therefore not simply a larger real estate industry. It is a better urban economy.
