Affordable housing and housing finance. Limited housing supply adversely affects the living conditions of lower-income households, especially in large cities characterized by low building standards. The shortage of housing units in India is estimated at 18.7 million in urban areas and 43.7 million in rural areas.3 More than 90% of this deficit is estimated to be in the affordable housing segment. The Government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) initiative in 2015, with a target of building 20 million affordable homes for the urban poor, including the EWS and LIG categories, by 2022.5 To date, about 8.4 million homes have been authorized.6 Under the PMAY, the government offers interest rate subsidies of 3.0%–6.5%, depending on the loan amount and the income category of the borrower, and other measures to incentivize the supply of affordable housing.