Govt plans new housing scheme for middle class

The government will bring in a new housing scheme for the middle class to buy or build homes, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday while presenting the Union interim budget for the 2024-25 financial year, without disclosing specifics.

- Soumya Chatterjee

As is customary, governments refrain from announcing any new schemes or a full Union budget for the following fiscal, choosing instead an interim budget before a general election that is due this summer. The full budget is likely to be announced in July after an administration secures the electoral mandate.

"Our government will launch a scheme to help deserving sections of the middle class living in rented houses, or slums, or chawls and unauthorised colonies to buy or build their own houses," the finance minister said.

Such an announcement was also made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi previously, who in his Independence Day speech last year said: "We are coming up with a new scheme that will benefit families that live in cities but in rented houses or slums, or chawls and unauthorised colonies. If they want to build their own houses, we will assist them with relief in interest rates and loans that will help them save lakhs," Modi said at the time.