Affordable Housing, as popularly defined by the realty experts, is the housing units affordable by that particular section of the society whose income lies below the median income of the total economy.
Ever since affordable housing came into picture and went on a rising trend since 2016, there have been a lot of ups and downs that it went through. However, it still managed to stay in the game and is now considered the game changer of not just the real estate industry but the Indian economy as well. Here are the reasons why:
A. Growing Population: Despite the Indian population growing at a very high rate - ( approximately around 2.1 percent each year, since 2015), it has managed to cater the housing needs of almost all kinds of groups - be it the lower income groups or the middle-income groups. Despite the surge and the changing trends of the real estate industry, it has managed to fulfill the demands of almost every section of the society.
B. Incentives: The Indian Government has also been supportive of this scheme and has shown it through its incentives offered in different ways. Be it the budget allocation provided for infrastructure, or the increment in the allocation for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme to Rs. 23,000 crore; Be it the Goods & Service Tax (GST) slashed down from 12 to 8 percent, or the introduction of tax-free bonds by the Housing and Urban Corporation, this sector has been supported as it was seen as a ray of hope to uplift the real estate industry.
C. Policies: With Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) opening up and paving the way for townships, built-up infrastructure and any construction development, the India government has also drafted policies like the public-private partnership that allows extension of around 2.50 lakhs of central assistance to every house built by the private builders on private lands. With the 2018-19 budget also having affordable housing on its list, it has managed to be the new face of a change of the economy.
D. Challenges: A lot of challenges were faced by this sector - like not having a clean and proper policy framework or a system to work with, having to meet targets that are too ambiguous in nature, too many financial problems to meet the latest infrastructure upgradation and many more, thus leading to an environment which isn’t healthy or inhabitable to survive in.
E. Availability: There also existed problems like little or no availability of land suitable for construction and building purposes, delayed approvals from the official departments, delayed work synchronization between developers, promoters, etc thus giving many challenges to pave the way for pulling down the development and scope of affordable housing.
Despite all the ups and downs, be it big or small, affordable housing has survived and gone through all, thriving high with success and facing all challenges with unique solutions, affordable housing can be known as the game changer of not just the real estate industry but also the Indian economy. With a high scope for the lower and middle sections of the society, this scheme aims to fulfill the housing needs of the Indian society at large. In the years to come, affordable housing has the ability to develop and build a nation that has housing for all - making the rural and urban population come at par.
Signature Global is one of the leading competitors in the real estate industry. It aims to promote the scheme of affordable housing through its projects which are built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. With perfect infrastructure and great architectural skills, it builds homes in the National Capital Region areas like Gurugram and other areas like Karnal.
Some of its projects are, namely:
1. Solera 2 Sector 107, Gurugram
2. The Millennia Sector 37D
3. The Roselia, Sector 95A, Gurugram
4. The Roselia2, Sector 95A, Gurugram
5. Grand Iva, Sector 103, Gurugram
6. Orchard Avenue, Sector 93, Gurugram
