By Dedicated to providing housing for Indians in both rural and urban areas, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is a housing scheme where the beneficiary can get a home loan interest rate subsidy if he/she wishes to extend, construct or purchase a house. This credit-linked subsidy scheme is aimed at providing affordable housing for all by 2022. In case you are planning to buy a home, it is important to know the features and benefits of the PMAY scheme in order to boost your investment decision.
Features of PMAY
- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is categorised into two parts – Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin)
- To avail the benefit under this scheme, the beneficiary should not own a ‘pucca’ or concrete house.
- The beneficiary family would include husband, wife and unmarried sons and daughters.
- The applicant family would have to provide their Aadhaar number while applying for the home loan under this scheme to avoid duplication.
- The applicant can apply for a home loan under PMAY through any lending institution like banks, non-banking financial companies, rural banks, housing financing companies, etc.
- The subsidy available under this scheme is up to 6.50% of the loan amount for a tenure of up to 20 years.
- The benefit of the scheme can be availed across all urban areas in 4041 statutory towns in India.
- Under this scheme, the houses are being constructed using eco-friendly raw materials. Moreover, they are designed to withstand natural calamities.
- The interest subsidy is available for people belonging to categories of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Lower Income Group (LIG) and Middle Income Group (MIG – I & II).
The credit-linked subsidy scheme for the different categories is tabulated below –
| Category | Annual income | Rate of interest subsidy | Maximum loan amount | Carpet Area of the house |
| Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) | Rs 3 Lakh | 6.50% | Rs 6 lakh | 30 Sq. Mtr. |
| Lower Income Group(LIG) | Rs 3 lakh – 6 lakh | 6.50% | Rs 6 lakh | 60 Sq. Mtr. |
| Middle Income Group –I (MIG) | Rs 6 lakh – 12 lakh | 4% | Rs 9 lakh | 160 Sq. Mtr |
| Middle Income Group – II | Rs. 9 lakh – Rs 18 lakh | 3% | Rs 12 lakh | 200 Sq. Mtr. |
Benefits of PMAY
- Women empowerment
PMAY scheme aims to help women participate in the financial decision-making of the family. To avail this scheme, it is mandatory for a family to have a woman as the owner or co-owner of the house.
- Housing for all
The housing scheme is for people living in both rural and urban areas of the country. Moreover, there are preferential provisions for salaried women, disabled individuals, minorities like scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, widows, transgender people etc. In addition, if you are a senior citizen you can also expect to get ground floor accommodation under this scheme. PMAY also aims at accelerating slum rehabilitation by providing affordable housing and eco-friendly homes to first time home buyers.
PMAY is a positive approach of the Government to provide affordable housing for all. It will not only help people with low purchasing capacity to live with dignity in their own homes, but also contribute to slum rehabilitation. If you have been planning to buy a house, this could be the best time to do so under the PMAY scheme. Make sure to check your eligibility for PMAY and apply for a home loan today!
