Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday handed over possession to home buyers virtually as the Centre’s Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) completes its first residential project. The residential project – Rivali Park, located in suburban Mumbai, was the first housing project in India to have received funding under the SWAMIH Fund. The SWAMIH Fund was launched by Ms Sitharaman in November 2019.

 
On the occasion, the Finance Minister said, it is an important achievement since the SWAMIH Fund has worked its way through the difficult period of COVID-19 pandemic. She said that the Central Government had stepped in to provide funding to the stressed affordable and mid-income housing projects thereby giving relief to the home buyers who had invested their hard earned savings. Ms Sitharaman said, the Government believes that once these homes are constructed and completed, a large amount of capital locked up in these projects will be released.

 
She also said, it will provide employment to construction workers and provide impetus to the allied industries such as steel and cement. Further, it will also improve portfolios of Banks and Non-Banking Finance Companies, NBFCs and significantly improve the economic sentiment in the nation.

 
Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Durga Shankar Mishra said that the real estate industry is the second-largest employment generation sector in India and the Ministry has taken several steps in the last couple of years.