The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has benefitted millions of home buyers in India. Read on to know more about what the PMAY is and how it helps the first-time home buyers.
Buying a home requires a huge investment and it is undoubtedly one of the most important financial decisions you may take in your life. And, although many lenders in India offer home loans at a competitive interest rate, not many people are able to afford buying a permanent home. And, consequently they live in a slum. This is one of the significant reasons for the massive growth of slums across Indian cities.
So, with a view to eliminate the slums completely and provide a permanent housing unit to all citizens, the government of India launched the ‘Housing for All by 2022’ initiative in June 2015. Under the mission, the government of India aims to build more than two crore affordable permanent housing units in different parts of India both in rural and urban areas.
Also, to accomplish its mission, the government extended the benefits of its flagship scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojanato all sections of the society.
What is PMAY?
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is an ambitious affordable scheme launched by the government of India that aims to provide a housing unit to all Indian citizens and eliminate the slums. Apart from building new homes, under the CLSS (Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme), the government aims to provide monetary help through home loan interest subsidy and encourage the people to avail a home loan and become homeowners.
To extend the subsidy benefits of all, the government has collaborated with several banks and HFCs (Housing finance Companies). And, to ensure that every citizen gets maximum subsidy benefits, the government has divided the eligible beneficiaries into different categories based on the income group, namely – Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low-Income Group (LIG), and Middle-Income Group (MIG).
How PMAY helps first-time home buyers?
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana initiative is an excellent scheme that provides cost-effective housing solutions to all. It has been a blessing for millions of aspiring homeowners in India who don’t have the necessary financial means to fund the purchase of a new home.
One of the significant features of the scheme is to provide a loan subsidy up to Rs. 2.67 lakhs to all eligible beneficiaries. If you are applying for a home loan under the PMAY scheme, you can get the subsidy amount to purchase a new ready-to-move house or construct your own home.
Another significant way in which the PMAY scheme helps first-time home buyers is that it has not maximum limit on the loan amount you can borrow. However, the subsidy benefits you receive will be limited to the income group you belong. Also, the subsidy benefit is available only for 20 years.
While the PMAY scheme benefits all, it is particularly touted to be a women-friendly scheme as it encourages the women to be home owners. As per the scheme mandate, anyone who buys home and avails the PMAY home loan interest subsidy benefit must mandatory register the property in the name of a female family member either as a sole or a joint home owner. Additionally, during the allotment phase of the home constructed under the scheme, priority will be given to women applicants. Thus, it encourages the women to apply for a home loan and be home owners.
Lastly, all the housing units built under the PMAY scheme are mandated to have basic facilities like access to clean drinking water 24×7 electricity supply, gas connection, clean sanitation facilities etc.
Final Word
Thus, the PMAY scheme has helped the first-time home buyers by making home loans more affordable to them. So, if you are looking to buy a new home, you can apply for the PMAY benefits and get one step close to making your dream come true.