Affordable housing: Grappling with the challenge of accessibility

Despite being one of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world, India is also home to one of the largest homeless populations in the world. According to the 2011 census, 1.77 million people are homeless in the country—of this, 127,809 are in the state of Maharashtra. It is safe to assume these numbers have changed over the past few years. But the fact remains that housing is a basic necessity for survival. And as the second most populous nation in the world, housing for all becomes all the more pertinent in India.  

Estimating a shortage of over 18 million homes and to address the need for affordable housing for the economically weaker sections of society, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in 2015. The government has set upon an ambitious target of developing 22 million affordable houses by 2024. This is one of the most important initiatives for spurring growth in real estate. 

To ensure the affordable housing scheme does not get derailed, Gurjot Bhatia, Managing Director, Project Management, CBRE India, Middle East and North Africa discuss; Arun Nanda, Chairman, Mahindra Lifespace Developers & Mahindra Holidays & Resorts; Ankur Gupta, President, Katerra discuss some key aspects that need to be examined.