In September, 2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted an online housewarming ceremony or Griha Pravesh for 1.75 lakh houses, constructed under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY), at Madhya Pradesh. Congratulating the families, the PM said that the houses were constructed within 45-60 days during the pandemic, and highlighted that government schemes with the right intention invariably transformed into reality. Meanwhile, the state’s chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that out of the total target of 20.30 lakh houses for the rural part of the scheme (PMAY Gramin) for 2019-2020, 17 lakh houses had already been constructed in the state. For the urban component of the PMAY, 3.45 lakh - out of the target of 6 lakh - was also constructed. The CM further said that those who could not be a part of the PMAY list would be added as beneficiaries as part of the Awas Plus scheme under PMAY.

Understanding PMAY
The union government launched this scheme to provide affordable houses to Indian citizens. With the objective of housing for all, this scheme aims to construct around 20 million houses across the country. PMAY has two distinct schemes, namely, PMAY Urban (U) and PMAY Gramin (G). The PMAY U covers more than 4,331 towns and cities. By July, 2019 the urban component of the housing scheme had sanctioned 83.63 lakh houses, of which 26.08 lakh were completed, and 23.97 lakh were occupied. The PMAY G, on the other hand, was earlier called Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), and aims to provide pucca houses to the rural poor. The rural poor would be entitled to a 25 square metre pucca house, having basic amenities, like toilets. As per the scheme, the low-cost houses would be constructed after considering the geographical, climaticatic, social and cultural variables and also would be disaster-resilient. Under the PMAY G scheme, 17.2 million houses have been completed by September 2020. The scheme also generates employment - of up to 90 days for the rural workers - under the MNREGA Act, 2005.
Eligibility criteria for PMAY
For the rural component, the union government would use data from Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) to include the following beneficiaries in the PMAY list: SCs and STs, non-SC/ST and minorities under BPL, free bonded labourers and ex-servicemen/ retirees/ family-members of martyrs. To become eligible for the urban component of the PMAY list, one has to be from the following six categories: Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low Income Group (LIG), Middle Income group I and II, women from LIG and EWS category along with SCS/STs and OBCs. You must, however, keep in mind that individuals already owning houses/properties, certain specified assets and already registered under other state/union government-sponsored housing schemes are ineligible for both categories of the PMAY scheme.
What is Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS)?
The CLSS is a key component of the PMAY, and provides subsidies on interest rates to the eligible beneficiaries. As per the rules, the following subsidies are provided to different beneficiaries:
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Economically Weaker Section
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Low Income Group
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Middle Income Group I
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Middle Income Group II
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Annual household income
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Up to Rs. 3 Lakhs
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From Rs. 3,00,oo1 to Rs. 6 lakh
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From Rs. 6,00,001 to Rs. 12 lakh
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From Rs. 12,00,001 to Rs. 18 Lakhs
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Maximum home loan
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Up to Rs. 6 Lakhs
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Up to Rs. 6 Lakhs
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Up to Rs. 9 Lakhs
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Up to Rs. 12 Lakhs
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Interest subsidy
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6.5%
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6.5%
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4%
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3%
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Maximum interest subsidy amount
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Rs. 2,67, 280
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Rs. 2,67, 280
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Rs. 2,35,068
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Rs. 2,30,156
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Maximum loan tenure
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20 years
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20 years
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20 years
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20 years
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If you want to apply for a housing loan, you can now easily check the eligibility criteria through the PMAY Online Subsidy Calculator, available on Finserv MARKETS portal. This PMAY online calculating tool takes into account key variables such as your annual income, loan amount and repayment tenures to determine your eligibility for the scheme.
Also know about the PMAY Subsidy and PMAY eligibility calculator.
Other components of PMAY
Along with CLSS, the PMAY scheme also includes slum redevelopment scheme, Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) scheme and individual house construction/enhancement led by beneficiaries scheme. The AHP and individual house schemes provide for funds up to Rs. 1.5 Lakhs by the union government to EWS families.
How to apply for PMAY online?
You can make an online application at PMAY’s official website: pyamymis.gov.in . After selecting the citizen assessment option, enter your Aadhaar number. You will then be redirected to the PMAY application page, where you have to fill-in the requisite details. You can then save the application, and take a print out.