Need For Housing | PMAY components | Eligibility Criteria | How To Apply | Documentation | Subsidy Eligibility | Benefits | FAQ

Not everyone can afford a home and the plight of such people is known to one and all. The government took several initiatives from time to time and it is important to do the needful. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is a very ambitious project that was launched by the Central Government. The underlying motive of this project is to ensure that everyone can have affordable homes and the mass could benefit from them.

One has to be mindful of the eligibility criteria, the procedure to choose, the steps to fill out an online application and more. Each of these details is going to assume gargantuan importance and so we are going to share some of the vital aspects that will help you get acquainted with the whole process.

The Need For Affordable Housing

Housing is one of the basic needs of the individual. In India, a lot of people still live under the poverty line. Even the lower middle class finds it hard to afford a home as property prices are on a rise. In such cases, it is important to ensure that you are aware of the details that can be of help. Back in 2015, the Government of India then introduced the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana which is a scheme to ensure that every resident gets their basic needs covered.

Under this scheme, it was announced that as many as 20 million affordable homes are to be built by 2022. But, owing to the spread of the pandemic, only 1.65 crore units were built by November. This is why the scheme will go on till 2024 and an order was issued to construct the remaining 1.56 crore houses.

There are two sub-sections under this scheme namely the PMAY Gramin and the PMAY urban. As you can see from the name, these sections govern the urban and rural sections accordingly.  

The Pradhan Mantra Awas Yojana Rural

The PMAY-G was earlier known as the Indira Awas Yojana. This method aims at offering affordable and accessible housing units to people who are eligible as beneficiaries in the rural regions of India. The scheme will not cover parts of Delhi and Chhattisgarh.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban

This scheme is primarily focused on the urban areas in India. It will focus on housing options in urban India.

The PMAY Components

If you want to register yourself under the housing scheme that was launched by the government, you need to submit your application under any of the four components present under PMAY.

home loan
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In-situ rehabilitation component

This deals with the slum dwellers who don’t have any pucca house to call their own. This group of people can choose to apply for their homes under this category.

The beneficiary-led construction

This scheme applies to those who have their land but need funds for the sake of constructing a residential unit or doing a major renovation.

Credit-linked subsidy scheme

This is a home loan scheme that has been granted to a specific section of society. It is done by analyzing the annual income of the people. Such people can choose to apply for a subsidy.

The affordable housing in partnership. This is meant for those who either don’t have any land or can’t seem to get a home loan. Such people can choose to apply for a home in this scheme.

Eligibility Criteria

If you want to learn the eligibility criteria to apply for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, here are the details you need to chalk out.

  • First of all, you need to belong to either the low-income group (LIG) or the economically weaker section (EWS) to be able to get a house under this scheme. Families with a net income of up to Rs. 3 lakhs per annum belong to the EWS while those with an annual income between Rs.3 to 6 lakhs will fall in the LIG category. If you belong to either of these, you need to make an affidavit and show your income proof, and then you can avail of the PMAY benefits.
  • Either you or any member of the family should not own a pucca house
  • Your family should comprise your spouse and unmarried children
  • If your household income is between Rs. 6 to 12 lakhs, you will fall under the medium income group. You will be able to avail of an interest subsidy on loan value up to Rs. 9 lakhs when you set out to buy a home.
  • If your household has a net earning of Rs. 12-18 lakhs per annum, you will fall under medium income group 2 of the scheme and you will be able to avail of benefits with regards to interest subsidy if you choose home loans of value upwards of Rs. 12 lakhs.
  • Those who belong to minority groups like SC/ST/OBC, will all belong to the minority class. Such people need to show their caste and income certificate and they will fall under the PMAY scheme.
  • The PMAY also has a woman scheme which gives preference to applicants if the female will be owning a home
  • All older and citizens who categorize as differently abled or physically challenged will have preference over the others and are going to get a better shot at getting floors at the ground level.

How To Apply For A Home?

If you adhere to the eligibility criteria stated above, you can choose to apply for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana application form. Here are the steps you need to follow.

  • Download the form
  • Click on the option that reads citizen assessment
  • Under this section, you need to choose the option that reads ‘Benefit under 3 components’
  • You will need to submit the Format – B applications if you belong to the LIG or the EWS category
  • When you are done, you can then track your status as and when you want
  • This will allow you to stay updated about the housing allotment and whether or not your application has been shortlisted.

The Documents Required

There are a lot of different documents that you need to submit when you are looking to buy a house under the PMAY scheme. Here, we are going to list the details for you.

  • The filled-in application form
  • An income certificate will come with a self-affidavit. This is only needed if your income is below the taxable limit
  • The unique identification card which can be the PAN or the Aadhar or the voter card or even the driving license
  • Certificate of house ownership from the revenue authority
  • The ID proof for your nationality
  • The caste certificate if you belong to SC/ST/OBC/Minority
  • The proof of your address
  • The income proof which can be the salary certificate or the original salary slip
  • The latest IT return or form 16 if applicable
  • Last 6 month’s bank statement
  • A brief note about the nature of business and the financial statement if you are self-employed
  • Affidavit from the beneficiary wherein it is clearly stated that family members don’t own any pucca house in any part of India

These are the different documents that you need to produce. Make sure that you have all of it ready with you or else it will thwart your chance of being able to afford a house.

The Self-Registration Process

If you will like to register yourself, you can head to the ministry’s website. You can also choose to avail of the rural application form from any service centre across the country.

Home Loan Subsidy Eligibility

Apart from offering affordable housing, the PMAY also has provisions for home loan subsidies to the class of people who have comparatively more income but not enough to be easily able to buy a house.

So, the main intention of CLSS was to lower the home loan EMI and thereby cut down the interest amount a little.

So, if want to avail yourself of the PMAY subsidy scheme, here are some of the eligibility criteria you need to bear in mind. 

  • Families with an annual income of up to Rs. 3 lakhs can apply for the CLSS scheme. 
  • Even those who fall under the low-income group, the middle-income group 1 and 2 can choose to avail of this subsidy scheme.
  • It is mandatory to ensure that the applicant’s family should not own any pucca house in any part of the country
  • For those who are married, either a single or a joint ownership deal is permitted. If you have joint ownership, you will be entitled to get just one subsidy
  • It is also important to ensure that the family of the applicant should not avail of any subsidy in any housing-related scheme in the past

These are the key criteria you need to bear in mind when you are looking to be sure that you can avail yourself of the best facilities.

The Benefits

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana comes with a bouquet of benefits for the beneficiaries. While the key point has to be the provision of affordable housing to ensure no one stays homeless, here are some of the other benefits that it has to offer.

The subsidy in home loan

All the beneficiaries of the PMAY scheme will be able to avail the benefit of interest subsidy on the home loan. The subsidy interest rate currently stands at 6.5 percent per annum if the housing loan comes with a tenure of 20 years

Pucca homes for all

The government aims at developing close to 2.95 crore houses spread all over India. This will also cover the rural areas in the county. These houses will be allotted to the different people who will fall under the scheme

Women and minorities

As a part of the scheme, the government has made female ownership compulsory in a few cases. Along with this, there are a few sections of people that are given the right preference. This includes widows, disabled, transgender, minorities, and even seniors.

For example, if you are disabled or a senior citizen, the odds are high that you will be offered ground-floor houses to ensure easy movement.

So, these are the different details you need to be mindful of. You have to be sure that you are paying heed to the specifics as it will allow you to make the most of this scheme.

With this scheme, the dream of many homeless people will be fulfilled as they will be able to finally have a house to call their own. Homelessness is one of the biggest problems in India and the government truly wanted to do something sake of helping such people.

With the right awareness and a systematic manner, people will be able to get the right homes and they might just be able to solve their problems. Those who are struggling with low income need the right means to get the work fine. Having a home solves a lot of problems. 

FAQ

What is the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana?

This is the new scheme launched by the Indian government with the key motive of offering affordable housing for all. This scheme was started back in 2015. The idea was to build 20 million houses to ensure there are no homeless people anywhere. There are a lot of eligibility criteria listed. One has to fulfil that for the sake of availing of the benefits.

Can you get a subsidy on a home loan too?

Yes, PMAY offers the option of a home loan subsidy as well. This allows people to cut down the net loan amount and lessen the EMI significantly

How can you apply for a home under the PMAY scheme?

You can choose to fill out the application form. Make sure you fill in all the documents and follow the steps. This will allow you to do the needful. You then need to track the application status.

What is the processing fee for home loans under the CLSS scheme?

There is no processing fee to pay if you are looking to avail of a home loan under this CLSS scheme.

Do you need to meet certain income criteria?

Yes, the government has slabs of annual income categorized under different heads. It will help you segregate as lower middle class, economically weaker segments and so on. Based on this, the right allotment will be done.

Is there an upper cap on the loan amount you can choose?

No, there is no such restriction in the scheme. However, there is a restriction on the amount of benefit you can avail of the subsidy. The subsidy will depend on the annual household income that you have and the category your application will fall under.

Do disabled people get a preference?

Yes, disabled and senior citizens will be able to get some preference. It is likely that they will get homes on the ground floor under the scheme. This will help them get better housing options.