Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna Urban created 1.7 crore jobs

A study conducted by the National Council of Applied Economics Research titled ‘Impact of Investment in the Housing Sector on GDP and Employment in the Indian Economy’ reported that after two years of its launch, the Prime Minister Awas Yojna Urban (PMAY-U) has employed close to 1.7 crore people so far. According to the study, for every Rs 1 lakh invested in the housing sector, 2.69 new jobs (2.65 informal and 0.4 formal) are created in the economy. With induced effect, the number of jobs would be 4.06 (3.95 informal and 0.11 formal). A total investment of Rs 1,10,753 crore involving about 21 lakh dwelling units has been approved by the government so far under PMAY-U. On this basis, the total employment generation of 4.5 crore with induced effect is envisaged at the national level. The study also stated that currently, out of the total dwelling units approved, about 8 lakh dwelling units are in various stages of completion/construction with an estimated investment of Rs 42,160 crore. Hence, employment of total 1.71 crore must have already been generated on this account. The government has set an ambitious target to construct as many as 12 lakh houses under the PMAY-U in 2017-18, although only 1.49 lakh houses were built under the scheme in 2016-17. The Centre has targeted construction of 26 lakh houses in 2018-19, 26 lakh in 2019-20, 30 lakh in 2020-21 and 29.80 lakh in 2021-22. Launched on June 25, 2015, the aim of PMAY is to address the gap in housing demand and supply in urban areas in respect to economically weaker sections, low and middle-income groups and meet the target of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022. The Central assistance approved for 21 lakh dwelling units is around 32,800 crore, of which around 10,000 crore has been released so far.