Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tabled the Union Budget for 2017-18 in the Parliament in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Source: PTI Photo)Focusing on the housing in rural and urban sector, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that the government has proposed to construct 1 crore houses for the homeless by 2019. The PM Awas Yojana allocation has been raised to Rs 23,000 crore, from Rs 15,000 crore. The National Housing Bank will refinance individual housing loans of about Rs 20,000 crore in 2017-18. To promote affordable homes, the government also proposed to amend the Section 80-IBA, relaxing the condition of period of completion of the project for claiming deduction from the current three years to 5 years.
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Jaitley said, “We will complete 1,00,00,000 houses by 2019 for houseless and those living in kaccha houses. Affordable housing projects will be given infra status.”
The finance minister also said, “Mission Antyodaya will bring 1 crore households out of poverty and will make 50,000 Gram Panchayats poverty-free.”
Mission Antyodaya to bring 1 crore households out of poverty and to make 50,000 Gram Panchayats poverty-free: FM Jaitley
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 1, 2017
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Open defecation free villages are now being given priority for pipe to water supply.
With surplus liquidity created by demonetisation, he said the banks have already started reducing their lending rates, including those for housing. Interest subvention for housing loans has also been announced by the Prime Minister.
Stating that affordable housing is one of the thrust area of tax proposals, he said: “In my budget proposals last year, I had announced a scheme for profit-linked income tax exemption for promoters of affordable housing scheme which has received a very good response.”
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To make this scheme more attractive, Jaitley proposed certain changes in the scheme. “First of all, instead of built up area of 30 and 60 sq meter, the carpet area of 30 and 60 sq meter will be counted”.
(with inputs from PTI)
