Government to launch Global Housing Construction Technology Challenge under PMAY-U

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is going to launch Global Housing Construction Technology Challenge as part of technology sub-mission of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U). The challenge aims to accelerate PMAY-U’s target of providing ‘housing for all’ as the scheme is moving at pace far slower than its rural counterpart.

Global Housing Construction Technology Challenge

Through this global challenge, MoHUA will invite ideas for innovative technologies for mass housing projects that can help build houses faster, cheaper and of better quality with sustainable green materials.
The selected technologies will be tried and tested to be found suitable to geographical conditions of six different urban areas selected across the country with varying terrains such as hilly, plain, or earthquake-prone etc.
Four parameters in challenge are time, cost, quality, and sustainability. The winning technologies will be used to build 1,000 houses, multi-storey or otherwise, depending on area type, in each of these places. The technology will chosen in such a way that it is scalable so that it can be used to construct cheaper and faster mass housing in similar areas.

Significance

The global challenge will invite best innovative ideas from across globe for alternative technologies that go beyond brick-and-mortar building model used widely in Indian construction. The winning technologies, selected based on criteria laid down by a technical committee of MoHUA under this challenge, will be used to build mass houses in tie-up with states, for economically weaker sections and low-income groups under affordable housing project vertical of PMAY-U. Such houses will be constructed in varying geo-climatic zones across the country. The winning technologies will be used to construct houses within the next six to seven months, as against the one-year period required to finish such a project.

Background

Under PMAY-U, around 8 lakh houses have been constructed since its launch in June 25, 2015. It does not even account for 10% of revised MoHUA target of providing 1.2 crore houses by 2022. As against this, under rural component of the scheme, PMAY-Gramin, 48.26 lakh houses have been built, with pace almost on course of meeting target of 2.95 crore houses by 2022.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2018