Affordable housing is a major concern in a developing country like India. The increasing population is unable to cope with the space crunch in villages or cities. Moreover, the increased migration of the rural population to cities is increasing the number of slum dwellers. The outcome leads to frequent water shortages, power cuts, unhygienic conditions, and a decline in the overall living standards.
The Indian Government took the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana initiative in 2015 to provide affordable housing to the urban and rural population and build 20 million houses by 2022. All eligible beneficiaries’ avail of Home Loan subsidy. The reduced interest rates subsidy and instalment amount focuses on encouraging first-time homebuyers to avail themselves of the loan facility.
Linked schemes
Apart from making affordable Housing for All by 2022, the PMAY also aims at providing other services such as water, LPG cylinders, and electricity across all houses. Under these goals, the Government converged several schemes with this one.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
It is a government campaign launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. They aim to reduce the unhygienic conditions prevalent in most cities and villages. The objective is to facilitate open defecation and provide house-owned as well as community-owned toilets across the country.
Saubhagya Yojana
Also known as the Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, it is a project that aims to provide electricity across households. Under this scheme linked with the PMAY scheme, eligible houses identified under the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) avail free electricity connections.
Ujjwala Yojana
This is a government initiative launched in 2016. Women belonging to the Below Poverty Line segment of the society can avail LPG connections under this scheme. The total budget for the Ujjwala Yojana is Rs. 800 billion. The Government intends to use these funds by providing 50 million LPG connections to eligible beneficiaries.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
It is an exclusive financial inclusion program initiated by the Indian Government in 2014. It aims to make financial services such as pensions, remittances, Bank Accounts, credits, insurance, etc., affordable to the population between the ages of 20-65.
The key benefits include the requirement of minimum balance to open no-frills accounts, with an overdraft facility up to Rs. 10,000 after six months. The Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme is a components wherein the Central Government offers interest subsidies to eligible customers.
Eligibility criteria
Apply for a loan under CLSS to purchase or construct the property in select urban cities. One of the owners should be a female. EWS and LIG sections’ family income should not exceed Rs. 6 lakh per annum, Rs. 12 lakh per annum for MIG 1, and Rs. 18 lakh per annum for MIG 2 sections.
