Affordable Housing is fast taking centre stage in the international as well as the national agenda in India. With housing recognized as a basic need, governments at every level are discussing ways and means to provide access to housing for its citizenry so as to increase their  productive capital. The importance of affordable housing is neatly captured in the following statement by the Affordable Housing Institute quoting Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor of the RBI, in 2007,  “…future national competitiveness and economic success will depend on the comparative efficiency of cities. Because housing is where jobs go to sleep at night, the quantity, quality, availability and affordability of housing becomes a key component in national economic competitiveness”.

The role and function of housing is multifaceted – housing choices impact access to infrastructure, employment, household wealth, health, education, poverty levels, maternal and child mortality, women participation in workforce, and many other wellbeing indicators. As India seeks to improve its living conditions on a large scale, access to affordable housing becomes the first major stumbling block for its citizens.

This article addresses first a diagnosis of the issue of affordable housing (AH) and sets the context for the panel discussion which follows on the state of the AH market in India and policy interventions required to make it better.