Prasada inaugurates STQC Lab Automation Portal 'SATYA' (See 'Corp Brief') Indian Delegation visits Vietnam to Open New Opportunities in Silk, Sericulture & Handloom (See 'Corp Brief') Paswan releases Plastic Industry Status Report 2025 (See 'Corp Brief') Trade Mark - prior user rights override subsequent registration, particularly where adoption of deceptively similar subsequent trade mark, is not bona fide & is aimed at riding on existing goodwill of existing trade mark: HC (See 'Legal Desk') CCI registered 54 cases of anti-competitive practices in 2025 (See 'Corp Brief') National Institute of Ayurveda reaffirms role as global centre for education & patient care (See 'Corp Brief') Electronic Interlocking rolled out at 34 Railway Stations of N-E (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Objectives of enacting PMLA 2002, was attachment and confiscation of proceeds of crime which is quintessence so as to combat evil of money-laundering: SAFEMA (See 'Legal Desk') Khelo India Multipurpose Hall at SAI Sambhajinagar is addition to Olympic readiness: MoS (See 'Corp Brief') PM addresses community programme in Kuala Lumpur (See 'Corp Brief') A & C - mandate of arbitrators appointed unilaterally by one party, merits being terminated, where the other party explicitly refuses to waive applicability of Section 12(5) of the Act: HC (See 'Legal Desk') India-US Trade Agreement: Major boost for Textile Industry (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - In unavailability of adequate document/information and considering effect of limitation period, assigning of 'zero' value to trade receivables, without any due justification, is not appropriate: IBBI (See 'Legal Desk') India has signed MoUs with 23 countries for cooperation on Digital Public Infrastructure (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Once arbitral tribunal has adopted plausible & reasonable interpretation of facts and contractual terms, courts cannot re-appreciate evidence or sit in appeal over award: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Railways inspects All Bridges Twice a Year (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Permitting a civil suit to challenge an award confirmed by the Supreme Court would undermine the arbitral framework and public confidence in arbitration: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Over 1.25 lakh Livestock Farmers joined Virtual Awareness Program: MoS (See 'Corp Brief') A & C - Referral court not required to conduct detailed or contested inquiry & must limit itself to ascertaining whether underlying contract contains an arbitration clause covering disputes between the parties: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Pariksha Pe Charcha marks First-Ever multi-location nationwide engagement (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - If Noticee violated regulation 23(1) and 23(4) of LODR Regulations as alleged in SCN, Noticee is liable for payment of monetary penalty in terms of section 15HB of SEBI Act: SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') TRAI issues Telecommunication Services Interconnection Regulations, 2026 (See 'Corp Brief') Trade Marks - Procedural defects & inadvertent errors which are curable should not be permitted to defeat substantive rights, unless shown to be deliberate, mala fide, or prejudicial to opposite party: HC (See 'Legal Desk') The Securities Markets Code, 2025: Strengthened Enforcement, Weakened Accountability? (See 'CORP EINSICHT')

Print

India, WB ink for TN low-income groups housing projects

Published: Jun 30, 2020

By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JUNE 30, 2020: The Government of India, the Government of Tamil Nadu and the World Bank yesterday signed legal agreements to help low-income groups in the state of Tamil Nadu get access to affordable housing.

The legal agreements were signed for two projects - $200 million First Tamil Nadu Housing Sector Strengthening Programme and $50 million Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project - to strengthen the state's housing sector policies, institutions, and regulations.

The $200 million First Tamil Nadu Housing Sector Strengthening Programme supports the government's ongoing efforts to increase the availability of affordable housing by gradually shifting the role of the state from being the main provider to an enabler. It will also aim to unlock regulatory barriers and incentivise private sector participation in affordable housing for low-income families.

The loan agreements were signed by Mr Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of India and Mr Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director (India) on behalf of the World Bank. Whereas, the project agreements were signed by Mr Hitesh Kumar S. Makwana, Principal Resident Commissioner, on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu and Mr Junaid Kamal Ahmad on behalf of the World Bank.

Mr Khare said that providing safe and affordable housing is a key priority for the state of Tamil Nadu as identified in its vision document. He further said that w ith the allocation provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and the two projects from the World Bank, a large number of the urban poor in the state are expected to get access to better housing and, in the process, improve their living conditions.

Nearly half of Tamil Nadu's population is urban, and this is expected to increase to 63 percent by 2030. An estimated 6 million people are currently living in slums (representing 16.6 percent of the state's urban population).

Mr Ahmad said that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put urban households at an unprecedented risk of increased poverty, loss of human capital, assets and livelihoods. The impact will be most acute among the poor, particularly those living in overcrowded slums with limited access to basic services. The projects will support the state's vision of providing safe affordable housing with improved living conditions for the poor and vulnerable.

Concurrently, the Board also approved a $50 million Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project to support innovations in housing finance and strengthen housing sector institutions in the state. It will finance the newly created Tamil Nadu Shelter Fund (TNSF) - an innovation in housing finance in India - by providing an equity contribution of $35 million.

This initial support to TNSF will enable cross-subsidisation opportunities where higher returns from commercial and high-income developments will compensate for lower returns from affordable housing. This will make affordable housing commercially viable for potential investors. The project will also strengthen the capacity of key housing institutions including the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, the state's main provider of affordable housing; Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, the land use planning authority for the Chennai Metropolitan Area; and Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation Limited, the asset management company of TNSF.

Yoonhee Kim, Senior Urban Economist, World Bank and Task Team Leader for the Housing Sector Strengthening Programme said that the global experience shows that the public sector alone cannot address a growing housing demand, especially as countries undergo rapid urbanization. The public sector can play an important role in providing regulatory and market incentives to make affordable housing more attractive for the private sector.

Abhijit Sankar Ray, Senior Urban Specialist, World Bank and Task Team Leader for the Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project added both projects will complement each other and strengthen key institutions to transform the housing sector in Tamil Nadu.

The loans of $200 million and $50 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) have a maturity of 20 years including a grace period of 3.5 years.

TIOL CORP SEARCH

TIOL GROUP WEBSITES

taxindiaonline
taxindiainternational
tioltube
TKF
TIOLawards
A TIOL Website. Copyright © 2025 TIOLcorplaws.com All rights reserved.