All About Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana [PMAY –urban]

A substantial part of India’s population is still struggling with the fulfilment of three basic needs- food, clothing and shelter. While food and clothing are still accessible to many, shelter creates a huge gap that is now being tried to be bridged by the government. So, here’s everything that you wanted to know about the all-inclusive housing scheme of the Government of India that goes by the name of PMAY.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) was started on 25th June 2015 by our honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with a mission to provide housing for all in urban areas by the year 2022. The goal was set with a target of building around 2 crore affordable houses by 31st March 2022.

This scheme was continued by the Union Cabinet until 31st December 2024 for the completion of already approved houses till 31st March 2022. Around 122.69 lakh houses were sanctioned for the extended term of the scheme.

Under this, it offers a credit-linked subsidy scheme (CLSS). The government of India will provide an interest subsidy on housing loans for the purchase, construction, extension, or improvement of houses (including repurchase). The grant will be paid upfront on the loan.

The scheme makes the home loan affordable for beneficiaries as the subsidy under the credit-linked subsidy scheme of PMAY reduces the interest paid on the home loan up to 6.5% interest subsidy in EWS (Economically weaker section) or LIG (Lower income group), 4% in MIG-I and 3% in MIG-II (Middle-income group)category.

Characteristics of the Scheme:

1. Interest subsidy benefit of up to ₹2.67 lakh.
2. The interest subsidy will be available for a maximum loan tenure of 20 years or the loan tenure, whichever is lower.
3. There is no cap on the loan amount or the cost of the property.
4. PMAY (Grameen): The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Grameen), a scheme providing rural housing assistance, persevered through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the government announced approaching the ambitious goal of constructing 3 crore houses for eligible families in Budget 2024-25. Recognising the ongoing housing needs, the government plans to build an additional 2 crore houses in the next five years to accommodate the increasing number of families.
5. Over 70% of houses under the PMAY scheme would be given to women as sole or joint owners in rural areas for their empowerment. This was in collaboration with the Nari Shakti approach of the government.

There are four categories of the scheme where the customers falling under any one group will get the benefit. Below are the following categories:

1. EWS (Economically weaker section)
2. LIG (Lower-income group)
3. MIG 1 (Middle-income group 1)
4. MIG 2 (Middle-income group 2)

Availability and amount of interest subsidy are subject to meeting income criteria as per various categories under the scheme.

Eligibility:

• There should not be a pucca house of any beneficiary (including husband, wife, or minor/dependent children). 
• This should be the first house of the beneficiary.
• In the case of a married couple, either of the spouses or both together in joint ownership will be eligible for a single subsidy.
• Should not have availed central assistance under any housing scheme from the government of India.

Applicability:

• Under any category (EWS/LIG, MIG-1, MIG-2), a loan approved on or after 01/01/2017 (revised date) will be eligible to get the benefit of the scheme.

How to Apply:

 If you are eligible for the PMAY subsidy benefit, you broadly have the following options available:

• Online route - You can apply directly from the website of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana  - pmaymis.gov.in
• CSC centers - These are common service centers under the government that operates in most of the cities of India. They will charge a fee of rupees 25.
• Banking Channels - Housing loans from banks, housing finance companies and other such institutions for acquiring/constructing houses can assist you in applying for the scheme.

The Bottom Line

The deadline to apply as a beneficiary for this scheme is March 2021 (for MIG-I and MIG-II) and March 2022 (for EWS/LIG). So, apply timely and make the most of it. After all, ghar hai to sab hai.

To know about other government schemes, click here.