Startups warming up to affordable housing |
With Indian startups getting a stronghold in different sectors, India`s fast-growing affordable housing sector is seeing a startup boom with a new breed of entrepreneurs making their debut with innovative business models. Several players are coming into the space with funding from government agencies, private equity and corporates to cash on the opportunity. In the recent Budget announcement, the government has increased the deduction of interest on home loan by Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh to boost demand for affordable housing. Already, the GST rate is only 1 per cent for under-construction flats in the affordable housing category and the Centre provides interest subsidy to home buyers through a scheme. Some developers have went for the zero carbon homes, while some figured out how to utilise discarded material in a productive manner and create a business out of it. There are several technologies through which plastics can be used in building material and as fillers in concrete. Startups are expected to drive the next wave of innovation in the affordable housing sector but only a paltry number of developers have built housing that meets the government`s criteria for incentivised affordable housing in 2019. Of the total housing supply of 1,39,490 units in the top seven cities H1 2019, merely 39,840 units meet these criteria.
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