Affordable housing is a critical need of the population and Centre is moving to ensure availability. President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday revealed that nearly two crore houses will be built in the villages under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana over the next three years while addressing the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. "Under this scheme, nearly two crore new houses will be built in the villages during the next three years," Kovind said. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has two parts -- PMAY (Gramin) and PMAY (Urban). Under the mission, the government aims to ensure 'Housing for All'. Here are highlights of the speech:

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1. Women are being given priority in the registration of houses being built under the PMAY in the rural areas.

2. Stress to be laid on the urban transport infrastructure to cater to present and future requirements.

3. While developing infrastructure, attention is also being given to address the challenges posed by pollution.

4. On National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), the President said, "The facility of 'One Nation, One Card' has been launched to realise the dream of seamless mobility." Dubbed as 'One Nation One Card', the inter-operable transport card would allow the holders to pay for their bus travel, toll taxes, parking charges, retail shopping and even withdraw money.

5. Government is developing a transport system, which is not only fast and safe, but also environment friendly.

"For this, special emphasis is given to public transport. The metro rail network is being expanded rapidly in several cities," he said.