Global Housing Technology Challenge launched on Jan 14 to speed up affordable homes' construction

Jan 14,2019

 Global Housing Technology Challenge launched on Jan 14 to speed up affordable homes' construction
Around 68.5 lakh houses have been approved so far for construction under the PMAY (U)

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on January 14 launched the Global Housing Technology Challenge that aims to enable adoption of affordable techniques that cut the construction time to as little as three months instead of the conventional three years.

The idea is to select the most cost-effective technology to speed up construction of affordable housing and meet the target of building 1.2 crore houses by 2022. The initiative is under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U).

"Global Housing Technology Challenge-India will enable a paradigm shift in the country's construction sector," Ministry Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra has tweeted.

"It will address issues related to the housing shortage in a time-bound manner and focus on the need for emerging, cost-effective & speedy construction technologies," he said.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had in 2017 proposed to adopt the competition route to bring in the desired technology from across the globe involving all stakeholders like central/state governments, academic institutions, the private sector, technology certification and standardisation agencies and professional organisations.

“Global firms will be invited to India to demonstrate construction techniques for housing that are affordable and take minimum time – as less as three months instead of the conventional three years for construction," MoHUA Secretary DS Mishra had said then

“Use of technology in construction will help save working capital. The government may even consider incentives for states that embrace new technology in construction,” he had said.

Mishra had also said the techniques showcased by those who win the competition will be adopted in the upcoming housing projects of the government.

25 cities where the model can be rolled out on a pilot basis.

The PMAY (U), was launched by prime minister Narendra Modi in June 2015 to ensure Housing for all by 2022 through financial assistance. Around 68.5 lakh houses have been approved so far for construction under the PMAY (U).

The PMAY-U mission has four verticals – In-situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), Beneficiary-led Individual house construction or Enhancement (BLC), and Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS). Under the scheme, Economically Weaker Sections and Low Income Group beneficiaries can avail central assistance of up to Rs 2.67 lakh per house as provisioned under the different components of the scheme while benefits to Middle Income Group are restricted to CLSS only.