World Bank nod for $100-million loan to NHB

Loan granted under concessional International Development Association window on a long-term basis for 25 years

The World Bank has approved a concessional loan of $ 100 million for the National Housing Bank (NHB) for the implementation of a low-income housing programme. The loan has been granted under the concessional International Development Association window on a long-term basis for 25 years.

The programme will support NHB in refinancing mortgage loans for people in the lower income segments, who need long-term mortgages at affordable rates. This borrowing will be guaranteed by the government.

The programme has been designed after a detailed study on the profile of the housing status of low income groups in the country, with special regard to the aspirational drive among vast populations in this segment and with due recognition of the informal nature of their income. With an emphasis on this aspect, NHB will engage more closely with the primary lenders to support them in lending to the lower income households including those in the informal sector, with due regard to stability and sustainability of the programme.

According to NHB, as the programme will be scaled up in future, it will have the potential to help a larger number of families in the lower income brackets to own a house of their own, and thereby improve home ownership in the country.

Prior to this, NHB had borrowed from the Asian Development Bank, erstwhile Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (Japan), KfW, the development bank of Germany and under the United States Agency for International Development housing guarantee programme.

NHB is also in discussion with Department for International Development of United Kingdom for promoting housing in the low income states.

Besides that, NHB has partnered with International Finance Corporation,  a member of the World Bank Group and others, in setting up India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation which has recently received the licence from the Reserve Bank of India to commence operations.