Govt mulling relaxing ECB norms for low-cost housingOfficials from the finance ministry and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are likely to meet this week to consider relaxing norms for raising funds through the external commercial borrowing (ECB) window for low-cost housing sector. “We will meet RBI officials this week to consider easing the norms for raising funds through ECB route for low-cost housing sector,” a senior finance ministry official said. The meeting assumes significance as India’s current account deficit (CAD) widened to a record 6.7 percent of GDP in December quarter driven by heavy oil and gold imports and muted exports. ECB is an instrument to facilitate access to foreign money by Indian corporations and public sector undertakings. Amid high domestic interest rate regime in the country,India companies are increasingly availing ECB route,raising funds at lower cost from the overseas markets. Earlier,in December 2012,the RBI had allowed real estate developers and housing finance companies to raise up to $1 billion through ECBs in the last fiscal to promote low cost housing projects. According to the latest data available with RBI,ECBs of $2.1 billion were raised by Indian companies in February 2013,against $2.6 billion in the corresponding month the previous year. Currently,ECBs can be raised for investment such as import of capital goods,new projects,and modernisation or expansion of existing production units.RICS to address inconsistencies in property measurement ruleThe Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and 15 other global property organisations have joined hands to address the issue of inconsistencies in the methods of property measurement across the world. RICS,a global body for setting standards in property sector,convened the first meeting of the International Property Measurement Standards Coalition (IPMSC),at the World Bank in Washington. The meeting has been organised to launch an initiative aimed at developing a consistent international property measurement standard,RICS said in a statement. The coalition include International Monetary Fund (IMF),International Consortium of Real Estate Associations (ICREA),International Facility Management Association (IFMA),International Federation of Surveyors (FIG),International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC),among others. From India,Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) participated in the meeting. “To remove these inconsistencies across countries in measurement practices and to create and implement uniform measurement code,RICS has taken the initiative to bring some important organisations from across the world to discuss its implementation,” RICS South Asia Managing Director Sachin Sandhir said.