Latest news with #CentralSanctioningandMonitoringCommittee
India.com
2 days ago
- Business
- India.com
PMAY-U 2.0: Over 1.4 Lakh Urban Homes Approved With Focus On Women & Underprivileged
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved an additional 1.47 lakh pucca houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0 in 14 states and UTs as part of the Centre's 'Housing for All' policy, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday. The total houses approved are 1,46,582 across 14 states and UTs -- Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. With this approval, the total number of houses sanctioned under PMAY-U 2.0 is now 8.56 lakh, the statement said. The decision was taken during the fourth meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Srinivas Katikithala. The sanctioned houses will cater to the housing needs of the urban poor, helping them gain access to affordable and dignified pucca houses with basic amenities, the statement said. Addressing the meeting, Katikithala urged the states and UTs to emphasise aligning housing projects with infrastructure corridors to promote integrated urban development. "States/UTs should strategically plan and locate housing projects in areas that have enhanced connectivity, economic activity and better access to services," he said. The JS&MD, HFA apprised the Secretary about the status of implementation of PMAY-U 2.0 and said that the larger states, particularly metro cities, should bring proposals to the committee CSMC with a focus on affordable housing in partnership (AHP) vertical of the scheme under which group housing projects are constructed. Under the schemes, more than 120 lakh houses have been sanctioned, of which 93.81 lakh pucca houses have already been constructed and delivered to the beneficiaries. Aligning with the goal of 'Housing for All', the scheme was revamped and launched as PMAY-U 2.0 in September 2024. One crore additional urban families will receive financial support of up to Rs 2.50 lakh from the government to construct or purchase a pucca house in cities. Families belonging to the economically weaker sections, lower-income groups and middle-income groups who do not own a pucca house anywhere in the country are eligible for benefits under PMAY-U 2.0. Among the key highlights of the meeting is the focus on women's empowerment and building a more inclusive and equitable society. About 75,417 houses have been sanctioned for women alone, including single women and widows, reaffirming the government's commitment to empowering women with access to a safe and dignified living. Additionally, Uttar Pradesh has sanctioned 1,166 houses for senior citizens. Furthermore, 12 houses have been allotted to transgenders. Among the different underprivileged groups - 32,551 houses were allotted in the name of SC beneficiaries, 5,025 houses for ST beneficiaries, and 58,375 for the OBC. Eligible individuals can apply for the Scheme directly through or contact their ULB for assistance.
Mint
27-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
India eyes tie-ups for affordable housing research, plans dedicated research centre
New Delhi: Centre is looking to forge global partnerships in research and data analytics to strengthen its affordable housing strategy under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–urban (PMAY-U) and set up a dedicated research centre. Drawing from the experience of the first phase of the scheme the ministry of housing and urban affairs will focus on data compilation and statistical analysis to support interventions from the government for affordable housing and ensuring housing for all, said two people in the know of the developments. The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee for the flagship urban housing scheme, has approved the creation of a research centre for affordable housing as part of PMAY-Urban 2.0 and also suggested study of international experiences in countries like France, Singapore and the Netherlands and consultation with global players including UN Habitat, they said. "The committee observed that data compilation and statistical analysis to understand housing dynamics keeping in view the vision of 'Viksit Bharat 2047' is the need of the hour. It would support housing-related policy interactions at the central and state levels with relevant data and knowledge inputs for better understanding housing related issues especially in the area of affordable housing, according to the committee," said one of the two people mentioned above. The person added that the Centre is focusing on statistical analysis for better implementation of the PMAY (Urban) 2.0. "The committee also suggested consultations with stakeholders like UN-Habitat for cross learnings," the person added. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. UN-Habitat is the focal point for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system. Data analytics is considered key for demand analysis in urban planning and UN-Habitat has been a pioneer in the collection of urban indicators data. According to its website, in India, UN-Habitat is devising an integrated and demand-driven approach that combines refining urban planning and design frameworks, providing infrastructure upgrading policy and technical guidance, implementing pilot projects for learning-by-doing and mainstreaming innovations through testing technology solutions to transform India's urban landscape. UN-Habitat's Strategic Plan 2020-2025 emphasizes on increased and secure access to land and adequate and affordable housing. The focus on data analytics gains significance as India's housing for all goal which was initially targeted to be achieved by 2022, is yet to be achieved and the second phase of the PMAY Urban scheme is aimed at providing all-weather houses to people in urban areas including through affordable housing projects and rental housing programmes. The Union cabinet in August last year approved PMAY-U 2.0, under which financial assistance is provided to 10 million urban poor and middle-class families through state government and union territories to build, buy or rent a house at an affordable cost in urban areas in five years. As of 18 June, a total of 709,979 housing units have been sanctioned under PMAY-U 2.0. On 21 July, Mint reported that vacant affordable homes had prompted the Centre to propose a temporary halt on new projects in some cities and submission of new projects under the second phase in those cities. According to data provided by the ministry to Parliament in March, out of the 118 million houses sanctioned under PMAY, about 90 million have been completed and 87.5 million occupied.
The Hindu
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Central nod for projects to ramp up tourism in Varkala, Thalassery
In a boost to cultural and spiritual tourism in Kerala, the Centre has given administrative and financial sanction to the destination development projects submitted by the State government to promote Varkala and Thalassery under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme, having an outlay of ₹25 crore each. While Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram district has been included in the culture and heritage category, Thalassery in Kannur district comes under the spiritual tourism category, both as part of the Challenge Based Destination Development initiative under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme. These projects were cleared by the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) of the Union Ministry of Tourism, which went through the detailed project reports (DPRs) submitted by the State Tourism department. 'Both Varkala and Thalassery are historically, culturally and spiritually important places in Kerala's inclusive and eclectic social ecosystem. Both the places are also known for their natural beauty. Creating sustainable infrastructure, improving quality of services and enhancing the total ambience of these two destinations will further ramp up Kerala's position as a global tourism brand that promises a holistic experience for visitors,' Tourism Minister P.A Mohamed Riyas said. Tagged projects In its DPRs the Tourism department tagged the project concerning Varkala as 'Varkala—Dakshin Kashi in Kerala' and that of Thalassery as 'Thalassery-the Spiritual Nexus in Kerala.' The project for Varkala envisions major destination development interventions to ramp up facilities in a sustainable, inclusive and smart manner. These include development of eco-friendly infrastructure, heritage streets and beach promenade, sustainable waste management systems, tapping renewable energy, digitisation of services and marketing, skilling interventions for marketing and entrepreneurship development and leveraging MSMEs in marketing and branding. The destination management interventions in Thalassery will cover heritage streets and sites, local shrines including the famous Jagannatha temple, Thazhe Angadi Heritage Precinct revitalisation, the traditional martial art centre Ponniyam Kalari, Tourist Amenity centre at the Chirakku Kavu Bhagavathi temple and a Theyyam and cultural centre at Chokli with performance and exhibition spaces. Sustainable infrastructure development, digitisation and marketing and promotion initiatives will also be part of the project. Recently approved Recently, the Centre had approved two major destination development projects for Malampuzha garden and recreation park in Palakkad district and Alappuzha as a global water tourism hub under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme for a total amount of ₹169.05 crore.
