Minister highlights steps taken to control housing costs

12 Aug 2022 CW Team

The Union Government has taken measures to control the rising prices of construction materials of affordable housing, including those under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U), Minister of State for Housing & Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore said.

In the Union Budget 2021-22 and 2022-23, customs duty has been reduced uniformly to 7.5% on semis, flat and long products of non-alloy, alloy and stainless steels, he pointed out in the Rajya Sabha.

Export duty on iron ores/concentrates and iron ore pellets has been raised to 50% and 45% respectively. In addition, 15% export duty has been imposed on pig iron and several steel products.

Moreover, to give relief to the secondary and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) steel industry engaged in housing/construction, TMT bars below 8 mm have been exempted from the purview of the Quality Control Order, as these are primarily used for non-critical applications.

The government has also taken steps to increase availability of iron and steel which, inter-alia, includes Mining and Mineral Policy reforms to ensure enhanced production and availability of iron ore.

Moreover, the government has been taking various initiatives to control construction costs of affordable housing projects such as reduction in Goods and Service Tax (GST) on under-construction affordable housing projects from the existing 8% to 1% without Input Tax Credit (ITC) and in case of other housing projects, 5% from the existing 12% without ITC, increase in priority sector lending for affordable housing project from Rs 2.8 million to Rs 3.5 million in metros and from Rs 2 million to Rs 2.5 million in non-metros; and the setting up of affordable housing fund in National Housing Bank.

Real Estate

13 Jan 2026

ANAROCK Launches Project Management And Engineering Arm

ANAROCK has announced the strategic launch of its Project Management & Engineering Services (PMES) vertical, marking a major expansion of its real estate capabilities. The move positions the company as a comprehensive, one-stop solutions provider offering seamless project delivery from concept to completion. The PMES vertical has commenced operations with more than 500 professionals and 42 active client contracts. It is expected to generate over Rs 1.25 billion in revenue in FY 2026–27, contributing significantly to ANAROCK’s group-wide revenue target of Rs 11 billion. The company has out..

Dhalbhumgarh Airport Faces 150-km Rule Hurdle

The issue has resurfaced following a recent statement by Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, who said that under existing aviation policy, a new greenfield airport is generally not permitted within an aerial distance of 150 kilometres of an operational civilian airport. He added, however, that if a formal proposal is submitted, its impact on the existing airport can be examined and relaxations may be considered on a case-by-case basis. While the clarification has revived some hope for Dhalbhumgarh, it has also underlined the scale of the technical challenge facing the project. Unde..

Stakeholders Seek Parallel Ops For Vizag Airports

With road and metro rail links to Bhogapuram still several years away, stakeholders in north Andhra Pradesh have renewed demands to continue civil operations at INS Dega even after the commissioning of Bhogapuram International Airport. The new airport is expected to begin commercial operations from June. Officials said close to 80 per cent of the airport infrastructure at Bhogapuram, including the terminal building and internal approach roads, has already been completed. However, inadequate external connectivity remains a key concern. Making a case for parallel operations, Andhra Pradesh Air ..