Govt. of India to Set Up Micro Housing Corp.

The govt. has decided to set up a micro housing finance corporation in order to facilitate small-ticket home loans for the economically weaker sections of the society. The corporation, which could be set up under the finance ministry, will be permitted to take household savings as deposits. "We have set up a committee for promotion of a housing micro finance company which may be permitted to take household savings as deposits," said Housing Minister Kumari Selja. The committee is likely to be headed by the National Housing Bank CMD, S. Sridhar.
The move follows the recommendation of the Deepak Parekh committee on affordable housing for all, which had emphasised on the establishment of a micro-finance corporation. The NHB is already in talks with a Netherlands-based institute for housing studies, which is working on developing a micro-finance model for the housing sector, official sources said.