SWAMIH touches 50,000 mark as FM Sitharaman hands over keys to homebuyers

The primary objective for establishing 'Special Window' fund is to provide priority debt financing for completion of stalled housing projects that are in Affordable and Middle Income Housing sector

Special Window for Affordable and Middle Income Housing (SWAMIH) Fund achieved a major milestone on Monday by completing 50,000 homes since its inception in 2019, as finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman handed over keys to homebuyers from select projects in Mumbai. The fund is designed to provide last-mile funding for stressed housing projects.

 

The housing units handed over by Sitharaman belonged to Avant Hillways, Vision Heights and Shubham Trident. “With the vision and support of the Government of India, this fund has paved the way for the completion of numerous housing projects, ensuring that thousands of families can finally call these homes their own,” said Prem Prabhakar, MD and CEO of SBI Ventures Ltd in a press release.

   

"This milestone marks the completion of 50,000 homes, reaffirming SWAMIH's mission to provide relief to distressed homebuyers and revive stressed residential projects across the country," the statement further added.

 

What is SWAMIH?

 

Established in 2019, the fund is sponsored by the Ministry of Finance and is managed by SBICAP Ventures Ltd. (a State Bank Group company). It is the largest social impact fund for the real estate sector in India which addresses critical funding gaps for stressed and brownfield residential projects.

 

It is set up as a category-II AIF (Alternate Investment Fund) debt fund registered with Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India).

 

Objectives of SWAMIH

 

The primary objective for establishing the 'Special Window' fund is to provide priority debt financing for the completion of stalled housing projects that are in the Affordable and Middle Income Housing sector.

 

The fund is important not just because it completes the stalled project, but it also drives the overall credit growth in the housing sector, boosting access to home loans, and leading to a more inclusive economy, by helping the middle class segment.

 

When the scheme was launched in 2019, it was estimated that 90 per cent of the stalled projects were under the affordable and mid-income segment.

 

What is eligibility criteria for SWAMIH?

 

To fulfill the eligibility criteria, it is essential for the the real estate projects to be registered with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (Rera). Further the project must also fall under the ‘Affordable and Middle-Income Project’ category. It includes any housing project wherein housing units do not exceed 200 sqm.