Housing for all has been one of the most perennial problems for India. People from poor sections face a funds crunch while those having funds constantly face mismanagement and harassment from builders of their real estate projects. After launching affordable housing for the poor, the Modi government has embarked on a mission to fast-track the delivery of houses to independent homebuyers.
1.41 lakh houses to be completed by the Modi government:
Narendra Modi led Union government has approved a huge line of funding to an alternative investment fund (AIF) to complete erstwhile stuck housing projects in the country. In totality, Rs 22,972 crores have been allotted to make 243 projects see the light of the day.
Out of these 243 projects, 99 projects have been accorded a final approval, and a total of 9,743 crores will be invested in it. Similarly, preliminary approval to invest around 13,229 crores in 144 projects has been provided. Through this huge allotment, the completion of 1,41,045 houses will be fast-tracked across the country.
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Alternate investment fund and SWAMIH scheme:
According to the definition given by the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), AIF means any fund established or incorporated in India which is a privately pooled investment vehicle that collects funds from sophisticated investors for investing it in a defined investment policy for the benefit of its investors.
AIF to complete house projects is currently operating under Special Window for Affordable and Mid Income Housing (SWAMIH). In 2019, the Modi government came up with the SWAMIH scheme to finance the completion of stalled projects in order to ensure that the money already invested in the projects is not wasted and the consumers who pumped lifelong savings to purchase a house do not feel cheated.
SWAMIH is largely free from bureaucratic hurdles and does not fully depend on the government for funds:
Under the scheme, the government appointed a special purpose vehicle to generate funding (with initial capital provided by the government), and this body managed to raise 3.5 billion dollars till February 2021 to finance various stalled projects. Earlier the government had pledged a total of only Rs 10,000 crore for the purpose, but since incomplete housing is becoming a menace to people, it has decided to get fully involved in it.
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A total of 14 investors have invested in funds which include major players like LIC, HDFC, and State Bank of India (SBI). The Investment Manager of the Fund is SBICAP Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBI.
SWAMIH turning out to be a game-changer:
The scheme is witnessing a huge upsurge in its successful completion of housing projects. First, six months of 2021 witnessed a total of 1,500 projects completed under it. The target is to exponentially increase the completion rate under the scheme. In a tweet, the ministry of finance wrote, “It (SWAMIH) is currently on track to complete at least 10,000 homes every year in the next 3 to 4 years,”
Though Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, (RERA) has come off as a watershed moment in the history of Indian housing, it has also resulted in temporary trouble for erstwhile homebuyers who had already paid. Through the SWAMIH scheme, BJP led NDA government is making sure that no deserving homeowner has to suffer bureaucratic turmoil from crooked developers.