Affordable housing: Govt of India "shifts" focus from poor to middle classes, says foremost urban, housing expert

By A Representative
In a scathing critique of the Union budget 2017-18, India’s foremost urban development and housing expert Prof Amitabh Kundu has said that failure of the focus on affordable housing “worries him”. Pointing out that Arun Jaitley in his speech said this is “a major area of concern”, Kundu said, there is a failure to understand that “there are not many takers for loans” for affordable housing.
In an email alert to Counterview, Kundu said, “The poor are not coming forward to take the loan of Rs 3 lakh which the government has announced. They revised it from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh generally and for the low income groups from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 6 lakh, but still not many people from those sections are coming in.”
The poor, he said, “cannot repay even monthly installments for the Rs 3 lakh loan; even though they pay only 2% interest and the government pays 5% of the amount, the installment still comes to Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,000 per month. The poor, who have a monthly income of Rs 6,000 per household, can't pay Rs 2,000 for a housing loan.”
Hinting that the aim appears to appease the middle classes, Kundu further said, “Modi has announced housing loans up to Rs 9 lakh will get a subsidy of 4% now, and loans up to Rs 12 lakh will get a subsidy of 3%. So, now that you have hiked the loan to Rs 12 lakh, you find the middle class grabbing this opportunity.”
Pointing out that this suggests, whole logic appears to be “absurd” and the Government of India’s “focus has changed”, Kundu said, it has “shifted from the poor to the housing sector. A lot of houses that are lying vacant, the middle class will go and buy those.”
“They will get Rs 1 lakh subsidy for it”, underlined Kundu, adding, “The poor can't even pay the installments for Rs 3 lakh loan. So, all these announcements – no tax for builders until the project is completed, capital gains tax exemption – it is all for the middle class and the upper middle class…The thrust in the PMAY on the poor is now diluted.”
Kundu further said, an option now opened up for a person from the middle class is to build a house for Rs 30 lakh after taking a Rs 12 lakh loan, on which he will get this subsidy, as he is “not barred from getting this subsidy.” He added, “You are helping the middle class buy those houses. It is totally the housing sector lobby that has prevailed.”
Pointing towards the shortage in housing for poor, as of today, is 20 million, Kundu – who headed the Technical Advisory Committee on Housing Start up Index at the RBI and the Committee to Estimate Shortage of Affordable Housing and as the Committee to Estimate Shortage of Affordable Housing, Government of India – said, as chairman of the housing committee, he knew, as many as 11 million houses were lying vacant.
“So more than 50% of the shortage is already available”, he said, adding, “All you have to do is to make sure that the vacant houses are brought to the market. Instead of doing that, you are facilitating the building of more vacant houses.”

Pointing out that the Housing Shortage Committee had estimated a shortage of 95% houses for the economically weaker sections and low income groups, Kundu said, “You can't have only 5% of the total housing expenditure coming from the public sector and 95% from the private sector if the target is low income groups and economically weaker sections.”

Comments

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey* Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.

Covishield controversy: How India ignored a warning voice during the pandemic

Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD * It is a matter of pride for us that a person of Indian origin, presently Director of National Institute of Health, USA, is poised to take over one of the most powerful roles in public health. Professor Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian origin physician and a health economist, from Stanford University, USA, will be assuming the appointment of acting head of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA. Bhattacharya would be leading two apex institutions in the field of public health which not only shape American health policies but act as bellwether globally.

The 'glass cliff' at Galgotias: How a university’s AI crisis became a gendered blame game

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* “She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information.” These were the words used in the official press release by Galgotias University following the controversy at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. The statement came across as defensive, petty, and deeply insensitive.

Farewell to Saleem Samad: A life devoted to fearless journalism

By Nava Thakuria* Heartbreaking news arrived from Dhaka as the vibrant city lost one of its most active and committed citizens with the passing of journalist, author and progressive Bangladeshi national Saleem Samad. A gentleman who always had issues to discuss with anyone, anywhere and at any time, he passed away on 22 February 2026 while undergoing cancer treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was 74.

Growth without justice: The politics of wealth and the economics of hunger

By Vikas Meshram* In modern history, few periods have displayed such a grotesque and contradictory picture of wealth as the present. On one side, a handful of individuals accumulate in a single year more wealth than the annual income of entire nations. On the other, nearly every fourth person in the world goes to bed hungry or half-fed.

From ancient wisdom to modern nationhood: The Indian story

By Syed Osman Sher South of the Himalayas lies a triangular stretch of land, spreading about 2,000 miles in each direction—a world of rare magic. It has fired the imagination of wanderers, settlers, raiders, traders, conquerors, and colonizers. They entered this country bringing with them new ethnicities, cultures, customs, religions, and languages.

Thali, COVID and academic credibility: All about the 2020 'pseudoscientific' Galgotias paper

By Jag Jivan* The first page image of the paper "Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis" published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmaceuticals and Regulatory Affairs , Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2020), has gone viral on social media in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Chinese robot presented by the Galgotias University as its original product at the just-concluded AI summit in Delhi . The resurfacing of the 2020 publication, authored by Dharmendra Kumar , Galgotias University, has reignited debate over academic standards and scientific credibility.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

Conversion laws and national identity: A Jesuit response response to the Hindutva narrative

By Rajiv Shah A recent book, " Luminous Footprints: The Christian Impact on India ", authored by two Jesuit scholars, Dr. Lancy Lobo and Dr. Denzil Fernandes , seeks to counter the current dominant narrative on Indian Christians , which equates evangelisation with conversion, and education, health and the social services provided by Christians as meant to lure -- even force -- vulnerable sections into Christianity.

Search This Blog