Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament today said, “The people have given a unique opportunity to our government to take the country on the path of strong development and all-round prosperity”.

PM Awas Yojana

Speaking about the PM Awas Yojana, the Union Minister stated that three crore additional houses under the PM Awas Yojana in rural and urban areas in the country have been announced for which necessary allocations are being made in the Budget. She further said that under the PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0, housing needs of 1 crore urban poor and middle-class families will be addressed with an investment of ₹ 10 lakh crore. This will include central assistance of ₹ 2.2 lakh crore in the next 5 years. A provision of interest subsidy to facilitate loans at affordable rates is also envisaged, she added.

Rental housing

Speaking on rental housing, the Union Minister said “Rental housing with dormitory type accommodation for industrial workers will be facilitated in PPP mode with VGF support and commitment from anchor industries.” She further added that enabling policies and regulations for efficient and transparent rental housing markets with enhanced availability will also be put in place.

Cities as Growth Hubs

Smt. Niramala Sitharaman further said that the Union Government will work with States to facilitate development of ‘Cities as Growth Hubs’. “This will be achieved through economic and transit planning, and orderly development of peri-urban areas utilising town planning schemes”, the Union Minister added.

In her budget speech, Union Finance Minister further said that for creative brownfield redevelopment of existing cities with a transformative impact, the Government will formulate a framework for enabling policies, market-based mechanisms and regulation.

In her Union Budget speech, the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs announced that Transit Oriented Development plans for 14 large cities with a population above 30 lakh along with an implementation and financing strategy. 

Water supply and Sanitation

Speaking about water supply and sanitation, Union Finance Minister said that Union Government in partnership with the State Governments and Multilateral Development Banks will promote water supply, sewage treatment and solid waste management projects and services for 100 large cities through bankable projects. She also added that these projects will also envisage use of treated water for irrigation and filling up of tanks in nearby areas.  

Weekly ‘haats’

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman announced that Government envisions a scheme to support each year, over the next five years, the development of 100 weekly ‘haats’ or street food hubs in select cities to build on the success of PM SVANidhi Scheme in transforming the lives of street vendors.

Stamp duty

Union Finance Minister also emphasized that Union Government will encourage States which continue to charge high stamp duty to moderate the rates for all, and also consider further lowering duties for properties purchased by women.”This reform will be made an essential component of urban development schemes”, she added.

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