Those looking to avail of home loans under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (urban) (PMAY) scheme can now do so online as well. Borrowers can submit the online applications at a bank branch of office of a Housing Finance Company (HFC) closest to them. Applications will also be accepted at any of the 60,000 Common Service Centres (CSCs) in urban areas. The cost of the application is 25.
About Rs 230 crore has been disbursed under the PMAY by the National Housing Bank since the launch of the scheme, said Sriram Kalyanaraman, MD and CEO, NHB. “The target audience includes customer segments like soldiers, teachers, firemen, nurses, shop keepers, drivers and so on. We have popularised the scheme by holding workshops with the banks, HFCs, co-operative banks, finance companies and state level lead banks in districts all over the country. Now the facility to apply online is part of the digital initiative of the government,’’ he said.
While borrowers will still have to submit bank statements and income statements, they will not need to physically sign the application if applying online, says Rahul Sirohi, Director, AyeSign Digital, a company that makes digital signatures.
How it works is that once you go the bank branch /HFC office/CSC you have to just give your Aadhar number. There is no need to carry the card physically. Using the number it is possible to authenticate the borrower through biometrics-thumb print, iris or mobile One Time Password (OTP). Once the authentication is complete, the digital signature will be generated and the form can be submitted.
“The Aadhar number is the identifier. Clubbed with the thumbprint it is possible to authenticate the borrower,’’ says Sirohi.
The PMAY scheme offers an interest subsidy of 6.5% for home loans up to a maximum of Rs 6 lakh for families with income up to Rs 6 lakh, for those who have no pucca house anywhere in India. The subsidy is paid upfront at a discounted rate of 9% to reduce the EMI of the beneficiary. While there is no upper limit on the loan amount, the subsidy is given only up to Rs 6 lakh. “The lender may be ready to offer a higher amount by clubbing the family income and other sources of income. But the subsidy will not be available for amount more than Rs 6 lakh,’’ Kalyanaraman explained.
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Someone who takes a loan of Rs 6 lakh, will get a benefit of maximum Rs 2.2 lakh interest subsidy, he said. Home loan interest rates are available today in the range of 9.1-10%.
So far 150 banks and HFCs have signed with NHB for the scheme. Maharashtra and Gujarat have seen the highest offtake and together account for 60-65% of the loans given.
