Implementation of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act is bringing a positive change to the realty sector, said Minister of State (I/C) of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday.

In this new era OF RERA, we are witnessing positive transformative changes in the industry, said the minister.

"As we are in the 2nd year of the implementation of RERA, I am happy to note all the States/UTs have notified Rules under RERA except for 6 North Eastern States and the state of West Bengal", he said.

The Minister was delivering the inaugural address at the 3rd regional workshop on 'RERA-a new era of transparency and accountability in Real Estate--2 years of implementation and Way Ahead' here today.

Puri informed the gathering that recently, a separate deliberation with all the north-eastern states was organized by his Ministry, wherein all the clarifications were given.

He hoped that RERA will be implemented in all the states of north eastern region very soon.

Stating that it was a proud moment for all of us that India has climbed another 23 points in the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business Index" to 77th place, becoming the top ranked country in South Asia for the first time, Puri pointed out that "the biggest gain was in construction permit, where India climbed from 181st ranks to 52nd place on the back of targeted government effort to remove hurdles."

"India reduced the number of procedures and time required to obtain a building permit by implementing an online system that has streamlined the process at the Municipality of New Delhi and Municipality of Greater Mumbai", he added.

Puri pointed out that till the year 2016, there was no regulator for real estate and construction sector, which is the largest employer after agriculture and housing. He said, in a landmark move, the central government, in the form of RERA, gave the real estate sector its first regulator w.e.f. from 1st May, 2016.

He highlighted that to bring uniformity, professionalism, and standardization in the real estate sector, RERA provides for mandatory registration of Agents and Projects. "So far 33,750 projects and 26,018 Agents have been registered pan India", he informed.

"Maharashtra has the highest number of project and agent registration. In Maharashtra, total 18,392 projects and 17,188 Agents have been registered", he pointed out.