India-US virtual trade talks, deal finalised before year end
By yash chouhan 2025-11-29 11:52:38
Virtual trade talks between India and US, deal to be finalized before the end of the year: Commerce Secretary
When Nandan Nilekani mentions you in a keynote, it means more than just a mention; it signals a shift in the conversation. In his speech at the Global Fintech Festival 2025, Nilekani explained, “We have trillions of dollars of assets locked up in real estate and gold. Tokenization and AI [artificial intelligence] are two big trends that will drive this shift. The idea is to incorporate compliance but unlock the potential of tokenized assets.”
This wasn't a passing mention. Nilekani highlighted Alt DRX as an example of how this vision is already coming true, citing its work as “bridging the gap between real-world assets and global investors through secure, fractional ownership” and as a model for the future digital economy, or “finternet,” in which India is at the forefront. He emphasized that Alt DRX is building precisely the kind of compliant, democratic infrastructure that he believes will shape India's next leap in digital finance.
Alt DRX's work in this space was recognized at the Global Fintech Festival 2025, where Alt DRX was awarded the Best Wealth Tech Solution of the Year.
This recognition set the stage for further discussion, when Dhruv Mohan of The Economic Times introduced the team behind one of India's fastest-growing digital real estate platforms.
The market is reshaping itself Co-founder and Chief Business Officer Avinash Rao believes India's housing market is at a turning point. "Every year, only about 300,000 homes are sold in the primary market. But the potential market is over 100 million buyers," he said. "Digital real estate will bridge this gap and allow people to participate in housing in new forms."
He added that what surprised him most was that location no longer hindered participation. "It's unheard of for someone in Delhi to buy a property in Hyderabad, but it's actually happening," Rao said. "This kind of diversification across the country will become commonplace in the next few years."
The integration of small ticket sizes as low as ₹10 per day through Alt DRX's Daily Savings Plan is a major step in this direction. Investors now regularly distribute holdings in metro cities like Mumbai, Goa, Kerala, and even in new markets like Ayodhya or Amravati.
Changing buyer behavior Returning to Rao's point, Dhruv asked whether digital properties are being treated more like financial instruments or traditional brick-and-mortar assets. Rao replied, "Real estate is a hedge compared to other asset classes. It's not volatile; it's long-term. About 25% of trades on our platform are secondary sales, which shows that people are seeing liquidity, but they still expect stable growth."
He shared an interesting point: "Our busiest time isn't during trading hours; it's around 7:30 p.m., when people come online to buy digital square feet." This pattern of behavior shows how real estate is becoming a part of everyday financial activity, not just a once-in-a-lifetime decision.
More importantly, Rao has seen customers using these digital units to build systematic portfolios. “Earlier, a home was a once-in-a-lifetime purchase. Now it's become something you can save for month after month. People are building real estate portfolios just like they do with stocks, which vary across regions and property types.”
Engineering for Everyday Investors Co-founder and CTO, Sachin Joshi, shed light on the philosophy guiding their product roadmap. “Disruption starts with making participation easy,” he said. “That's why we created a daily savings product starting at ₹10; it helps people take small steps into real estate investing.”
This simplicity matches technology. “We've fully integrated with UPI AutoPay,” Joshi added. “Users can set up daily investments in less than a minute. Today, hundreds of users invest automatically, buying and selling digital asset tokens on our platform every day.”
According to Joshi, the idea is to bring real estate into everyday savings habits. “We want every Indian to own at least one square foot of real estate, from now until many years to come.”
