During his Independence Day address at the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new scheme aimed at aiding urban residents currently dwelling in rented accommodations to construct their own homes.
PM Modi emphasized that this initiative would particularly benefit vulnerable sections of the urban population, such as those residing in slums, chawls, unapproved colonies, and rented houses.
The scheme is intended to provide relief through reduced interest rates and bank loans, ultimately enabling these families to save significant amounts of money.
While the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry spokesperson did not provide additional information regarding this announcement, the Ministry is currently overseeing the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) program, initiated in 2015.
This program has extended three of its four verticals, which include beneficiary-led construction, affordable housing partnerships, and in-situ slum redevelopment, until December 31, 2024.
However, the credit-linked subsidy scheme, which granted interest subsidies on home loans to beneficiaries, ceased extension beyond March 31, 2022.
As of the latest update, the PMAY-U portal revealed that approximately 1.18 crore houses had received approval, with 76.25 lakh of them being completed.
Out of the total expenditure of Rs 1.42 lakh crore, a significant portion, Rs 58,868 crore, was allocated to the interest subsidy under the credit-linked subsidy scheme.
The majority of these funds, amounting to Rs 45,984 crore, was directed towards housing for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low Income Group (LIG) categories.