The Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) successfully sought an extension till December 31, 2024, for continuing with new disbursals under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)- Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) for the poor and the underprivileged. This announcement came soon after the PMAY-Gramin scheme got extended till March 2024.
PMAY-CLSS subsidy extension
The NBFCs urged the housing ministry and its top officials to clarify on the extension of the CLSS scheme for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low-Income Group (LIG) by another two years. The extension of two years was sought to reach the target of housing for the poor, and also generate employment opportunities for the youth in rural areas. The PMAY subsidy previously had the last date as March 31, 2022; however, it has been extended till December 2024. The Centre also announced further assistance of over Rs 85,400 crore during the extension.
Prior to the extension, a senior official from a home financing company said that while the budget was allocated of Rs 55,000 crore, they halted providing PMAY benefits to LIG customers until the decision on the matter was pending.
PMAY-Gramin extension
The Cabinet had already approved the extension of PMAY-Gramin scheme beyond March 2021 to March 2024 to reach the target of providing 29.5 million rural homes. The extension only allows subsidies to the 15.575 million households remaining out of the total mark.
PMAY subsidy latest news (2023)
In a bid to complete the sanctioned houses and existing PMAY projects, the Finance Minister, during the Union Budget for the Financial Year (FY) 2023-24, allocated around Rs 79,000 crore. This allocation increases the earmarked amount for PMAY by about 66 percent. Of this fund, around Rs 54,000 crore is meant for PMAY-Gramin, and about Rs 25,000 crore is dedicated to PMAY-Urban.
This difference in fund allocation may be attributed to the surplus expenditure during FY 2022-23 towards the rural scheme. As per reports, the PMAY-Gramin incurred an expense of over Rs 48,000 crore against an allocated fund of Rs 20,000 crore in the last fiscal year. In the current FY, the 12 percent hike in funds compared to the previous year is likely to help with excess spending.
With the Centre’s active participation in making ‘Housing for All’ a success by approving necessary extensions and allocating funds, it is hoped that the ambitious scheme will help many realise the dream of a home successfully.
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