That helped India expand at a forecast-beating 7.6%, making it one of the world's fastest-growing major economies. It has been driven by rising incomes for many Indians, a severe housing shortage in big cities and strong population growth. Builders are bullish long-term with many saying the boom could last two to three years and some even more optimistic. "The housing market could continue to perform well for another three to four years," Sanjeev Jain, managing director at Parsvnath Developers, a leading real estate company, noting that India is in the initial stages of a housing growth cycle. The government is also trying to boost the availability of affordable housing by providing subsidies, which is encouraging construction in India's smaller towns and cities.

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Persons: Nifty, Sunil Sinha, Sanjeev Jain, Prashant Thakur, Jayesh Rathod, Narendra Modi's, Manoj Kumar, Nigam, Ira Dugal, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: DELHI, Fitch, Builders, Parsvnath Developers, Reuters, Graphics, Advisory, Prestige Estates, DLF, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: India, China, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, rocketed, Thane, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat