Interest subvention hike on affordable home loans good:Gruh

The Cabinet has approved the launch of "housing for all 2022", which is aimed at providing affordable housing for the weaker sections in urban areas. The target is to provide 20 million houses over the next seven years. The scheme envisages partnership with public and private sectors to provide for central grant of average Rs 1 lakh per house under the slum rehabilitation programme. Interest subsidy of 6.5 percent is envisaged on loans availed up to a tenure of 15 years and up to Rs 6 lakh. Sudhin Choksey, MD, Gruh Finance, calls it a ‘very good government policy’. However, he says it is too early to work on the numbers as a clear roadmap from the Centre is still awaited. However, he says there will be a delay in the actual implementation of the scheme. The government will have to identify a nodal agency before the intermediaries get paid. He sees another 6-8 months for the scheme to fructify.