Housing conditions impact a multitude of other well-being indicators like the individual’s access to infrastructure, employment, household wealth, health, education and women’s participation in the workforce. Therefore, it is important that decent and affordable housing is available widely.

The 2011 Census documented a shortfall of 18 million houses in urban India or 12.4 percent of the overall residential stock. Interestingly, however, the Government of India in 2017, documented 11 million vacant houses. Subsequently, the government introduced different schemes and policies in a bid to facilitate access to housing for low income communities. The eligibility criteria to determine the beneficiaries of its schemes underwent several revisions over the years. Recently, the government has used the term ‘affordable’ to describe certain types of housing projects or home loans that may be availed by individuals belonging to lower-income groups.