MIPIM's the most-anticipated session has explored new investment opportunities for India - the second most populated country in the world-and experts have discussed key strategies for foreign investors to transform the country in human-metric level. 

Titled 'Building India: how is the second most populated country in the world being transformed?', the discussion focuses on the changes that have taken place in the Indian real estate sector over the past couple of years. How is India slowly and steadily being transformed by government regulatory changes, increased foreign investment flows, regularisation of the business, smart cities initiative, emergence of luxury homes, and sustainable development?

Left to right: Faye Dsouza, Girish Grover, Farook Mahmood, Guy Perry

Moderated by Faye Dsouza, Senior Editor - Magicbricks Now, Times Networks, the session featured other speakers including Guy Perry, President / Senior Advisor, Essel Group, Farook Mahmood, FRICS, TRC.-Chairman & Managing Director, Silverline Group, Girish Grover-CEO, Turnit Capital. 

As it is well-known, India's population is steadily rising and needed more homes and recovery of the existing housings to provide better quality of life. India is the ideal market to invest to the country because there are many levels of improvements, new houses, amenities and infrastructural problems that need to be recovered, which are waiting for foreign investors for ameliorations.

''Smart-homes concept may be the key factor for the country but what are the right metrics of smart city  valid for India?,'' said Guy Perry, President / Senior Advisor, Essel Group. ''You can not bring every innovation or technological development from West to this country because it is important to understand how they are living or cooking in their houses, so we need to create living patterns,'' he added.

The session also asked that why don't foreign market invest to India? and what  needs to be fixed right now? Girish Grover stated that ''I think the problem is the execution of the projects in India.''

Left to right: Faye Dsouza, Girish Grover, Farook Mahmood, Guy Perry

The experts also noted that slums are still the issue for India. India's slum population is expected to rise to 104 million in 2017, had noted Times of India in 2013. It is an issue because a large number of Indian population still lives in slum areas and these cities are Delhi and Mumbai in India.

The talk highlighted that India is still lacking basic infrastructural problems -many houses don't have electricity, sanitation, drinking water supply, or transportation in the many cities-Faye Dsouza asked that ''how do you provide low-cost housing for Indian community?''

The cost of construction per home is $10-11.000, noted the experts. ''We see prefabrication construction houses and people live in these boxes but they don't work mostly. We should understand beforehand how they are living, cooking in their local houses,'' said Guy Perry.

''We're trying to balance these two human-metric factors and construction of new houses,'' he added. ''In order to regulate effective real estate sector for a country, you need to understand fundamentals of this country, region or city.''

''So, think infrastructure, rethink transportation and other functions.''

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