India, Jan. 30 -- In many cities, land has effectively become a 'dead capital', the Economic Survey 2025-26 has revealed.

In economic jargon, dead capital is used for assets that no longer function as productive capital.

"These resources have been unable to contribute to economic activity due to a combination of restrictive land-use regulations, title insecurity, and fragmented markets, as well as speculative incentives that lead to low land recycling," the report tabled in Parliament on January 29, said.

The report observed that restrictive land-use regulations in the form of Development Control Regulations (DCR), such as low floor space index (FSI) or floor-area ratio (FAR), place a cap on the amount of built-up area per unit of land...