Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) – How to Apply for PMAY?

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme was launched by the Government of India in 2015 in alignment with its ‘Housing for All (HFA)’ mission. This scheme was introduced with an objective to promote affordable housing across India. It aims to provide more than 2 crore concrete houses with sanitary facilities, water connection, and 24*7 power supply to eligible beneficiaries by 31 March 2022.

PMAY categories – PMAY G & PMAY U

PMAY scheme covers both urban and rural Indian residents. To cover both these parts, it is classified as:

1. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin/Rural (PMAY-G)
2. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U)

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G)

This part of the PMAY scheme aims to provide for the housing needs of the rural poor. PMAYG was earlier known as IAY (Indira Awaas Yojana). The scheme:

1. Provides financial assistance and pucca houses, including basic amenities like power supply, sanitation, etc. 
2. Covers families that do not have houses or are getting shelter in kutcha houses in rural areas. 
3. Does not cover Delhi and Chandigarh areas.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U)

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban is established to cover the housing requirements of the urban poor. With nearly 4,331 towns and cities under its purview, the scheme is divided into 3 phases:

1. Phase 1: Covered 100 cities in select states and UTs from April 2015 to March 2017
2. Phase 2: Covered 200 additional cities from April 2017 to March 2019
3. Phase 3: Is covering all remaining cities starting from April 2019 to March 2022

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation reserves the right to include additional cities in previous phases depending on any resource backed demand from states and union territories.

Did you know?

PMAY-U is almost nearing its target of ‘Housing for All’ in urban areas. With a deadline set for 2022, the scheme has sanctioned more than 88 lakh houses till date. Nearly 2.99 lakh houses have been sanctioned through 865 proposals across 10 states.

What are the main components of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna?

PMAY scheme addresses the housing needs of the urban poor such as slum dwellers through below-mentioned programs:

Affordable housing through Credit Linked Subsidy (CLSS) for the weaker sections:

This component of the PMAY scheme offers subsidies on home loan interest rates to eligible individuals. The below table shows the PMAY subsidy rates, maximum loan amount, and related information for LIG, EWS and MIG categories:

Rehabilitation of slum dwellers through private vendor collaboration: 

This category aims to make use of the potential offered by land areas used by slums. With an objective to bring slum dwellers under formal urban settlement, the scheme provides houses to eligible individuals and families. It offers a slum rehabilitation grant of approximately Rs. 1 lakh per house and covers building of all houses for eligible slum dwellers.

Affordable housing in association with public & private entities: 

This category lends financial assistance to EWS families up to Rs. 1.5 lakh. State and UTs can tie-up with government or private sector agencies to develop housing projects under this scheme.

Subsidy towards beneficiary-led house construction or enhancement: 

This component covers the housing requirements of EWS families who are unable to fetch the benefits under any of the above-mentioned components. The Central government offers financial assistance of up to Rs. 1.5 lakh to such families. This amount can be used for house construction or house improvement.

What are the features and benefits of PMAY?

Here are some of the noteworthy features and benefits of this scheme:

• Grant worth Rs.1 lakh per house for slum rehabilitation
• Rs. 1.5 lakh offered per house / dwelling unit towards affordable housing
• Interest rate subsidy on housing loans – up to 6.5% 
• Interest subsidy on PMAY home loans for lower of – loan tenure of 20 years or the loan tenure applied by the borrower
• The scheme encourages women as homeowners or co-applicants
• Scheme aims to mandatorily provide ground floor accommodation to senior citizens and differently abled
• Promotes mandatory use of sustainable and eco-friendly house construction materials
• House or flat quality is as set per the guidelines of National Building Code (NBC) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
• Mandatory building design approval prior to construction
• No upper limit on cost of property or home loan amount

Important timelines

• 31 March 2021 is the last date to apply for PMAY CLSS – MIG (I & II) Income Groups
• 31 March 2022 is the last date to apply for PMAY CLSS – EWS & LIG Income Groups

What are the eligibility criteria for PMAY?

The eligibility criteria for the scheme are as below:

Depending on an individual’s income level, he/she may come under either of the below categories:

1. EWS – Economically Weaker Sections 
2. LIG – Lower Income Group 
3. MIG – Middle Income Group

If a family’s annual income is above the income of Rs. 18 lakhs for the MIG segment, they will not be ineligible for benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

• The sale or property documents must contain a woman’s name either as sole proprietorship of the woman or joint ownership in which one of the owners should be female. If a family doesn’t have female members, this rule can be surpassed.
• This scheme is available only for new property purchase. An applicant should not be owning any pucca house at the time of application.
• The beneficiaries should not have taken any assistance or benefits from any other centre or state-sponsored housing schemes before applying for PMAY.
• The house or property to be purchased under PMAY should be a part of one of the cities, towns, villages or areas as mentioned in the Census 2011.
• Applicants must not have availed benefits from PMAY or any other credit-linked subsidy scheme before applying for PMAY.
• If the primary purpose for availing a home loan under this scheme is home renovation or home extension, the same should be completed within 36 months from the first loan instalment disbursement.

How to apply for PMAY

Here are the steps to be followed by new applicants to enroll in PMAY:

• For online PMAY applications, applicants can visit “https://pmaymis.gov.in/”. This is the official website of the PMAY scheme.
• Within the “Citizen Assessment” menu, go to “Benefit under other 3 components” option 
• Provide 12-digit Aadhaar number and name as per Aadhaar card
• After successful verification of Aadhaar number, the page will redirect you to the scheme application page
• Enter details, including personal information, income details, bank account details, etc
• Tick mark the “I am aware of…” option, enter Captcha and click on the “Save” button
• You will see a system generated application number which can be saved for future reference
• Download and take a print of the filled-in application form
• Furnish the form to your nearest Common Service Centers (CSC) or bank along with the necessary documents to complete the enrollment process

Conclusion

Home loan borrowers eligible for PMAY subsidy who have not availed it in a previously taken home loan can request for enrollment in the scheme. Upon application, the bank will review the request and submit it to the National Housing Bank (NHB). Post validation and checks, NHB disburses the amount to the lender who then credits it to the borrower’s home loan account and simultaneous adjustment is made in the loan.

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