The government allowed online applications for affordable homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) from November 3, with an aim to ease the process and boost the number of applications.

• In a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on Wednesday between Amrit Abhijat, joint secretary, ministry of housing & urban poverty alleviation (HUPA) and Dinesh Tyagi, CEO, Common Services Centre e-Governance Services India Limited, ministry of electronics and information technology, about 60,000 common services centres (CSCs) located in urban areas will enable online submission of applications at Rs 25 per application.
• Digital India mission is transforming the country and collaboration with CSC SPV will help in bringing more urban poor under the ambit of PMAY(Urban) by addressing the difficulties associated in physical submission of applications to urban local bodies, for want of adequate help and guidance .
  Around 13.70 lakh urban poor were sanctioned affordable houses during 2005-14, while about 11 lakh houses have already been sanctioned during the last one year
• The Centre has recently approved construction of 84,500 more affordable houses under PMAY (Urban) in five states of West Bengal, Punjab, Jharkhand, Kerala and Manipur, taking the total approved affordable houses in the last one year of its launch to 10.95 lakh.
• The total investment approved in the last one year for the same is around Rs 62,740 crore, of which Centre will provide an assistance of Rs 16,289 crore.