Carpet area raised to make affordable housing more accessible
New Delhi, June 12: In a major boost to affordable housing, the government on Tuesday said it has raised the carpet area of houses eligible for subsidy under Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) by 33 per cent for the Middle-Income Group (MIG) segment.
"These enhancements will now enable more MIG customers to qualify for subsidy and avail the benefits provided under the ambitious flagship mission of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)," the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said in a statement.
The carpet area has been raised from "up to 120 square metre" to "up to 160 square metre" for MIG I, which comprise families with household income between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 12 lakh. For MIG II families, with annual income between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 18 lakh, it has been raised from "up to 150 square metre" to "up to 200 square metre".
For MIG I, the interest subsidy is four per cent, eligible housing loan amount is Rs 9 lakh and the upfront amount for subsidy is Rs 2,35,068. For MIG II, the interest subsidy is three per cent, eligible loan amount is Rs 12 lakh and the upfront amount for subsidy is Rs 2,30,156.
"This augurs well with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy to revise the housing loan limits for Priority Sector lending (PSL) eligibility," it said.
The RBI has decided to revise the housing loan limits for PSL eligibility from existing Rs 28 lakh to Rs 35 lakh in metropolitan centres, and from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh in other centres, provided the overall cost of the dwelling unit in metro and at other centres does not exceed Rs 45 lakh and Rs 30 lakh, respectively.
The MIG segment is an aspirational class which is upwardly mobile and the intent of the CLSS for MIG is to support the dream of every family of owning a house, the ministry said. The decision to increase the carpet area was done after inputs from various stakeholders.
One key issue was denial of CLSS benefit to potential beneficiaries as they were buying flats or constructing houses, where the carpet area exceeded the cap of either 120 square metre or 150 square metre, thus rendering them ineligible for the interest subsidy under MIG.
"The increased construction activity in housing sector has a cascading effect on core sectors like cement, steel, machinery and other allied sectors. More construction activity in the urban areas would result in creation of more jobs for both skilled and unskilled workers," it said.
The CLSS for MIG scheme has gained momentum in the last couple of quarters and the offtake has picked up significantly. As on June 11, 2018, an amount of Rs 736.79 crore has been disbursed to 35,204 beneficiaries belonging to the MIG category, said the ministry.
The number of CLSS beneficiaries for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Low-Income Group (LIG) is 133,213 and subsidy released for this segment is Rs 2,890.50 crore.
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Jhansi fire: Nurse's heroic efforts helped save over dozen babies
Lucknow/Jhansi (UP), Nov 17: Nurse Megha James was on duty when the fire broke out at the Jhansi hospital and she threw herself headlong into the rescue efforts, playing a hero's role by saving several babies.
Even when her salwar got burned, she refused to give up and was able to evacuate 14-15 babies with others' help.
"I had gone to take a syringe to give an injection to a child. When I came back, I saw that the (oxygen) concentrator had caught fire. I called the ward boy, who came with the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. But by then, the fire had spread," James said.
Ten babies perished in a fire that broke out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi Friday night.
Faced with an enormous blaze, James's mind worked with a frenetic speed, to the extent she cared little about burning herself.
"My chappal caught fire and I burned my foot. Then my salwar caught fire. I removed my salwar and discarded it. At that time, my mind was virtually not working," she told PTI Videos.
James just wore another salwar and went back to the rescue operation.
"There was a lot of smoke, and once the lights went out, we could not see anything. The entire staff brought out at least 14-15 children. There were 11 beds in the ward with 23-24 babies," she said.
Had the lights not gone out they could have saved more children, James said. "It all happened very suddenly. None of us had expected it."
Assistant Nursing Superintendent Nalini Sood praised James's valour and recounted bits from how the rescue operation was carried out.
"The hospital staff broke the glasses of the NICU ward to evacuate the babies. It was then Nurse Megha's salwar caught fire. Instead of caring for her safety, she stayed there to rescue the babies and handed them over to people outside," she said.
Sood said James is currently undergoing treatment at the same medical college. She said she did not know the extent of her burns.
"The rescued babies were shifted to a ward very close to the NICU ward… When I recall the scene, I feel like crying," she said.
Dr Anshul Jain, the head of the anaesthesiology department at the medical college, explained the standard rescue operation and claimed the hospital followed the protocol to the T.
"In the triage process during an ICU evacuation, the policy is to evacuate less-affected patients first. The rationale behind this approach is that patients requiring minimal support can be relocated quickly, enabling a larger number of evacuations to be completed in a shorter time.
"In contrast, patients on ventilators or requiring high oxygen support demand more time and resources for evacuation," he said.
"This principle was successfully implemented in Jhansi, playing a significant role in saving many lives," Jain said.
A newborn rescued from the fire died due to illness on Sunday, Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said.
