Rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated on Wednesday that his ministry had allocated about 3.8 million houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) to 18 states in the current fiscal year, out of the 20 million new dwelling units that were proposed to be constructed over the next five years. He also mentioned that the ministry had released an initial amount of Rs 106 billion to start the construction of houses. Chouhan further stated that his ministry had spent a total of Rs 1 trillion so far this fiscal year, out of the budgeted Rs 1.84 trillion, to meet commitments under various schemes. He was briefing reporters in the capital about his ministry’s achievements. In August, the cabinet had approved Rs 3.06 trillion to build 30 million houses across the country over the next five years, with 20 million of those being constructed under the PMAY-G scheme. This was in addition to the 29.5 million rural houses that the government aimed to complete under the scheme this fiscal year, since its inception in 2016. Against these earlier commitments, 26.8 million houses had been built so far. Chouhan mentioned that a new survey would be conducted to identify more beneficiaries, as the PMAY-G eligibility criteria had been relaxed. He affirmed the government's commitment to providing a house for every poor person, with the help of the states, ensuring that no eligible beneficiary would be left out. The minister also highlighted that the number of Lakhpati Didi—female self-help group members earning at least Rs 1 lakh annually—had increased to 11.5 million from 10 million a few months ago. The July budget had aimed to triple this number to 30 million. The Lakhpati Didi scheme, implemented through self-help groups, aims to boost women’s earnings through various official interventions. Chouhan reported that, under the fourth phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), sanctions had been granted for the construction of 6,614 km of rural roads so far this fiscal year, with 3,380 km to be built in West Bengal alone. In September, the government had approved a Rs 701.25 billion package for PMGSY-IV, with the goal of building 62,500 km of rural roads by 2029 and connecting 25,000 rural habitations. The minister concluded by stating that, under the previous phase of the scheme in the Modi 3.0 regime, the construction of 9,013 km of rural roads had been sanctioned, with 7,058 km already completed.