₹15k-cr SWAMIH fund to help stalled projects

Experts said the fund will help middle-class families, who are juggling home loans and paying rent for alternative accommodation

- Soumya Chatterjee

NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced a ₹15,000 crore SWAMIH 2.0 fund as part of her budget speech to address the looming issue of stressed housing projects. The SWAMIH (special window for affordable and mid-income housing) fund was first introduced in the 2019 budget to provide priority debt financing for completing stressed, brownfield and Real Estate Regulatory Authority-registered residential projects falling in the affordable, mid-income housing category.

"Fifty thousand dwelling units in stressed housing projects have been completed, and keys handed over to homebuyers. Another 40,000 units will be completed in 2025, further helping middle-class families who were paying EMIs on loans taken for apartments, while also paying rent for their current dwellings," Sitharaman said.

An August 2024 PropEquity study said that around 508,000 housing units as part of 1981 projects are stalled across 42 cities.