The term FDI stands for Foreign Direct Investment. It is an investment, which is in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. Generally, it includes mergers and acquisitions, building new facilities, reinvesting profits earned from overseas operations, and intra company loans.
From the official report of the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs indicates that the central government has decided to extend the foreign direct investment (FDI) to affordable rental housing projects, as it prepares to sign agreements with states within a month to start construction and added that all facilities available for the affordable housing projects will also be extended to the rental housing scheme respectively.
The Union Cabinet had approved this scheme in July for providing Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) to urban migrants and the poor, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY-Urban) scheme. Based on this initiative all government-funded housing projects will be converted into Affordable Rental Housing Complexes through concession agreements for 25 years, And also they will offer special incentives for private and public entities for developing housing complexes on their own land for 25 years.
The target of this scheme is more than 3,50,000 beneficiaries who form a large part of the workforce of manufacturing industries and service providers across sectors. The secretary of Union housing and urban affairs ministry, Mr. Durga Shanker Mishra answered during the online interaction that FDI is available for other affordable housing projects and it should be encouraged in rental housing as well. They are hardworking on getting affordable housing in the harmonized list of infrastructures so that loans are available at low rates.
The Affordable housing benefits will get transferred to the rental scheme as well and States will be allotted for permitting the permission to decide the use case of the land according to the master plan. The payment mechanism would be shifted to online mode and the people, those who want to buy homes will be given the facility for selection of homes in the city of their choice and they will be able to easily schedule the appointments to pay a visit at the houses according to themselves.
