Big push for 'housing for all': Govt asks banks to cut paperwork for home loans

Minister of state for housing and urban affairs Kaushal Kishore on Wednesday asked banks to simplify the paperwork for providing home loans as this will help in achieving 'housing for all'.

At a national conference on 'Housing Finance in India - Issues and Solutions' organised by industry body Assocham, Kishore said bankers, builders and all the stakeholders in finance should cooperate and work together in fulfilling prime minister's vision to provide a home to every citizen in the country.

It would be a matter of honour for India if every poor of the country has his own house and is provided with basic facilities like roti, kapada and makaan, the minister said as per the Assocham statement.

However, Kishore said there is a need to simplify the processes to enable that.

Kishore told the bankers that steps should be taken to help people avail of the housing loan through easy paperwork.

"According to an estimate, there are about 1,36,000 bank branches across the country. If the applicants are able to get housing loans easily from these banks then the work of providing a house to all will also be easy," he said.

Pradeep Aggarwal, Chairman, National Council on Real Estate, Housing and Urban Development of Assocham, and Chairman of Signature Global, said that affordable housing projects have become an important pillar of the real estate sector.

In his theme address, D S Tripathi, Managing Director & CEO, Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd, said housing contributes to 7 percent of GDP in the economy.
Kollegal V Raghavendra, Executive Director, Punjab & Sind Bank, elaborated on the need to simplify the paperwork in various cases.

He further said that accessibility and affordability are key drivers of the housing sector's expansion.