In her last Budget announcement before the Lok Sabha elections for 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman outlined various housing schemes. The government plans to launch a housing scheme for the middle class, aiming to assist them in buying or building their own homes.
The schemes will be introduced to support slum dwellers and individuals living on rent, enabling them to purchase or construct their own houses.
"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," she said in her budget speech.
Sitharaman also announced the goal of providing 2 crore more houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna - Gramin. The Finance Minister stated that the government is close to achieving the target of 3 crore houses under the rural housing scheme, with an additional 2 crore to be constructed in the next five years.
The presentation of the interim Budget for 2024-25 was done in a paperless format, with Sitharaman using a digital tablet wrapped in a traditional 'bahi-khata' style pouch. This continues the Finance Minister's trend of presenting Budgets in a modern, digital format.
(With PTI inputs)
