Parliament: MP Satnam Sandhu raises issue of affordable housing for young adults, first-time homebuyers, working professionals
Raises Issue of Affordable Housing for Young Adults, First-Time Homebuyers & Working Professionals in Parliament
Over 97.30 Lakh Homes Already Delivered in Urban Areas Under PMAY-U : Union Housing & Urban Affairs Minister Tokhan Sahu
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, March 18, 2026: The Union government has sanctioned over 1.25 Crore houses, including 13.67 under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana -Urban (PMAY-U) for eligible urban beneficiaries including youth and working professionals across the country.
Of these, the work has already started on 1.16 Crore houses and 97.30 lakh houses have been completed or delivered to the beneficiaries including young adults, first-time homebuyer and, working professionals, the Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Tokhan Sahu informed the Parliament in reply to a question asked by Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Satnam Singh Sandhu.
In his question, MP Satnam Singh Sandhu had asked the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) about the steps taken to ensure affordable housing for young adults, particularly first-time homebuyers.
He had also asked about existing housing schemes catering specifically to youth and young working professionals, measures taken to promote financial independence among youth through credit access and rental housing models and youth-focused housing policy is under consideration of the Union government.
In his reply, the Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Tokhan Sahu said based on the project proposals submitted by States and Union Territories (UTs), so far the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has sanctioned over 1.25 Crore across the country under PMAY-U which include 13.67 lakh houses sanctioned under PMAY-U 2.0.
The Union Minister said the work has already started on 116.57 lakh sanctioned houses and 97.30 lakh of these houses have been completed or delivered to the beneficiaries as of 2 March 2026.
The Union Minster said Tokhan Sahu said since ‘Land’ and ‘Colonization’ are State subjects, schemes related to housing for their citizens including young adults, first-time homebuyers, working professionals etc. are implemented by States and UTs.
He, however, said Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs supplements the efforts of States and UTs by providing Central Assistance under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U) since 25 June 2015 to provide all weather pucca houses with basic civic amenities to eligible urban beneficiaries including youth and working professionals across the country.
“Based on the learnings from the experiences of implementation of PMAY-U, MoHUA has revamped the scheme and launched PMAY-U 2.0 ‘Housing for All’ Mission with effect from 1 September 2024 for implementation in urban areas across the country to construct, purchase and rent a house by 1 crore additional eligible beneficiaries at affordable cost in next five years. This scheme is being implemented through four verticals including Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), Affordable Rental Housing (ARH) and Interest Subsidy Scheme (ISS),” he said.
The Union Minister said under ISS vertical all eligible beneficiaries including young adults and working professionals having annual household income up to Rs 9 lakh can avail 4 % interest subsidy up to Rs 1.8 lakh for the housing loan up to Rs 25 lakh with the house value up to ₹35 lakh.
He said in addition to the above scheme, MoHUA has launched Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) as a sub-scheme of PMAY-U in July 2020 to provide affordable rental accommodation to urban migrants, students and young professionals, thereby expanding housing options beyond home ownership.
“Based on the learnings of ARHCs, a dedicated vertical of Affordable Rental Housing (ARH) has been provisioned under PMAY-U 2.0. The basic purpose of the ARH vertical is to promote construction of affordable rental housing close to the workplaces of the intended beneficiaries. By promoting housing near employment hubs and workplaces, the scheme aims to reduce travel time and expenses, improve productivity and quality of life and create more inclusive and sustainable urban communities,” the Union Minister Sahu added.
Meanhwhile, MP Satnam Singh Sandhu said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a commitment to ensure Housing for All and he has delivered this promise on the ground by sanctioning over 1.25 Crore houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana since 2015 with an overall investment of Rs 8.74 lakh crore to drive urban housing development. Of this, the Central Government has committed Rs 2.09 lakh crore in assistance and already been released Rs 1,77,179 crore to States, Union Territories, and Central Nodal Agencies to support the construction and delivery of houses,”.
“As equal priority is being given by the government for rural areas, Union government has also sanctioned 3.90 crore houses with basic amenities in rural areas. Of these houses, 2.98 crore houses have been completed and delivered to beneficiaries. Under PMAY-G 2.0, over Rs 4.02 lakh crore has been transferred directly to beneficiaries via Awaas Soft DBT to ensure transparency,” he added.