PM assesses preparations towards “Housing For All”

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
26-November, 2018 17:37 IST
“Paisa – Portal for Affordable Credit & Interest Subvention Access”, Launched Under Day-NULM

All 35 States / UTS & All Scheduled Commercial Banks, RRBS/Cooperative Banks Likely to be on Board Paisa Portal by Year End

A centralized electronic platform for processing interest subvention on bank loans to beneficiaries under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) named “PAiSA – Portal for Affordable Credit and Interest Subvention Access”, was launched here today. The web platform has been designed and developed by Allahabad Bank which is the Nodal bank. Launching the portal, Sh Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said , “PAiSA is yet another effort by the government to connect directly with the beneficiaries, ensuring that there is greater transparency and efficiency in delivery of services. DBT of subvention on monthly basis under DAY-NULM will give the necessary financial support to small entrepreneurs in a timely manner”.

The portal was launched during the course of a day long National Workshop on Municipal Finance and Urban Planning organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and provided a platform to identify key areas of concern regarding municipal finance and urban planning, and exploring the options available to resolve them by inviting senior officials / experts to shed light on best practices. More than 300 delegates comprising officers from the States, Urban Local Bodies, Town Planning Offices across the country and Banks participated in the workshop.

All 35 states / UTs & all scheduled commercial banks, RRBs and Cooperative Banks are expected to be on board the PAiSA portal the year end.



RJ/KGS

NITI Aayog
26-November, 2018 16:38 IST
NITI Aayog Organises Capacity Building Programme for Urban Water Management

Organised in collaboration with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise & TF International

NITI Aayog organized todaythe Second Phase of Urban Management Programme on ‘Water Recycling and Reuse’.in collaboration with the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise & TF Internationalat India Habitat Centre in the capital today. CEO, NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant,Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation,ParameswaranIyer, along with High Commissioner of Singapore to India Lim ThuanKuan, CEO, Singapore Cooperation Enterprise, Kong WyMun, and CE of Temasek Foundation International,Benedict Cheong were present on this occasion.

Highlighting the importance of this capacity building programme on management of water,particularly its recycling & reuse, as crucial for future urban planning and policy, Amitabh Kant said that attaining high rates of economic growth for India will directly be a function of the sustainable use of water. He mentioned that NITI’s Composite Water Management Index, launched earlier this year, is a step toward increasing awareness and promoting best practises in water management throughout the country.

Delivering the Inaugural Address, ParameswaranIyer hailed the workshop as timely and spoke of the need for effective cooperation between the centre and state in water management. He emphasised need for all stakeholders to take ownership of water as a natural resource to ensure sustainable use of water. He emphasised the need to take steps to address solid and liquid waste management in 4000 Census Towns and peri-urban areas.

In order to develop recycled water as part of sustainable and diverse water portfolio, NITI Aayog has enteredinto a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise - Temasek Foundation International to launch the Second Phase of Urban Management Programme on ‘Water Recycling and Reuse’.

Eight States/UTs -Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Puducherry and West Bengalwere selected for the capacity building workshops through a Challenge Method. The participants of the workshops included the senior officials from Municipal and parastatal bodies of these eight States/UTs.

The programme launch was also attended by senior officials from the Central and State Governments, and representatives from the academia and think-tanks. The programme launch also showcased the best practices in the urban water sector in India besides discussing the challenges.

The capacity building programme featured experience sharing by consultants from Singapore, who were associated in the successful transformation of the urban waterscape over the last four decades. The broader capacity building engagement with SCE also includes a series of interactive workshops, advisory sessions and an expository visit to Singapore.

Background:

India is experiencing rapid urbanisation. The urban population has gone up from 29 crore in 2001 to 37.7 crore in 2011. Due to rapid urbanisation, water demand in urban areas is increasing rapidly.The water situation in metropolitan cities is particularly exacerbating, where the people in such cities face acute water shortage. Changing climate and its impact on temporal and spatial variability of rainfall, is a further deterrent to timely and sufficient availability of water resources.

In this backdrop, concerted efforts have been made by the Government of India to implement rainwater harnessing schemes for groundwater improvement, however, there is an urgent need for water portfolio diversification through introducing alternate sustainable water sources.

The recycle and reuse of water presents itself as a potential solution for ensuring assured water supply in the Cities, on a sustainable basis. Recycling and reuse has been widely practised in Singapore, where every drop of water is recycled for reuse. Such an approach not only reduces pressure on other water sources, but also offers a sustainable solution for water resources management.

While the AMRUT scheme drives the cities to undertake water supplies on a business model, yet the water source augmentation remains a challenge for ensuring assured water supply through the future. Nearly 30% of urban water supply and 70% of rural water supply in the country comes from groundwater, which is depleting day by day.

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AKT/VJ/SBP

 

[GHALIB]

See some nice construction projects coming up in India

These houses are given for 2 lakh rupees while cost of construction is 7.6 lakh. This scheme is only for poor people they have to pay 2 lakh in five years.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
28-November, 2018 15:47 IST
Cumulative No of Houses sanctioned under PMAY(U) now more than 65 Lakhs

2,05,442 houses sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(Urban) in the 40th CSMC Maharashtra gets 1,16,042 Houses, Karnataka– 31,657, Bihar-26,880, Tamil Nadu – 15,529 and Jammu & Kashmir – 15,334

The cumulative number of houses sanctioned under PMAY(U) now is 65,04,037. The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has approved the construction of another 2,05,442 more affordable houses for the benefit of urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). The approval was given in the 40th meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee held here today.

Maharashtra has been sanctioned 1,16,042 houses while the sanction for Karnataka is 31,657 affordable houses. The number of houses sanctioned for Bihar is 26,880, while Tamil Nadu has been sanctioned 15,529 houses and Jammu & Kashmir 15,334 houses.

A total of 392 projects with a project cost of Rs 7,391 crore with central assistance of Rs 3,082 crore has been approved in the meeting held under the Chairmanship of Sh Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The approvals under the Beneficiary led construction(BLC) vertical is 85,227 while it is 1,20,215 under Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP)vertical.



RJ/KGS

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Power
29-November, 2018 15:13 IST
“8 States achieve 100% household electrification under Saubhagya; total 15 States now have 100 % household electrification”, announces the Power Minister

“Nation expected to achieve 100% household electrification by 31st December, 2018” says the Minister

“8 States have achieved 100% saturation in household electrification under Saubhagya namely Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Bihar, J&K, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana and West Bengal. Thus total 15 States in the countrynow have 100 % household electrification.” said Shri RK Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and Renewable Energy. Shri Singh was speaking to media after the ‘Review, Planning & Monitoring (RPM) Meeting with States and State Power Utilities’ here today.

Saubhagya – ‘Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana’ was launched in September, 2017 with the objective to provide access to electricity to all the remaining households in the country.The Minister informed that as many as 2.1 crore connections have been released under Saubhagya so far.

“Many more State like Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh etc. are left with small number of un-electrified households and expected to achieve saturation any time.” said the Minister adding that with the present pace of electrification, Nation is expected to achieve 100% saturation in the country by 31st December, 2018.

The Minister further said, “Achievement of 100% household electrification in the country would be a major milestone in the direction to achieve 24x7 power for all. The Government is committed to ensure 24x7 access to electricity for all by 31st March 2019.”

In order to ensure that no un-electrified household is left in the States which have already achieved 100% household electrification, they have been requested to take up campaign to publicise the achievement all across the areas, so that anyone left out for any reasons may avail electricity connection under Saubhagya.

Award Scheme under Saubhagya:

For creating healthy competition amongst various DISCOMs/Power Departments of States, an award scheme has been instituted with awards of more than Rs 300crore to be won by States/Discoms. The first DISCOM/Power Departments to complete 100% household electrification will be felicitated with cash award of Rs. 50 Lakh for the employees and Rs.100 crore grant to be spent for distribution infrastructure. For the purpose of award, States have been divided into 3 categories and award would be given in each of these categories.

The States completing 100% household electrification by 31st Dec. 2018 will also receive additional grant of 15% of the project cost (5% for special category States) sanctioned under Saubhagya.

Benefits to the Citizen:



Electricity in households has brought new light in their lives. Electrification has direct positive impact on the quality of all aspects of daily life, especially to the women and children.

With deeper penetration of electricity network, significant improvement is expected in delivery of other essential services like education, health, communication etc. and thereby more opportunities for economic activities leading to employment generation, increase in income and poverty alleviation.



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