CRISIL SME Tracker: For EPC players, affordable housing is a natural fit

This affords huge scope for developers - meeting the government's target of construction of 12 million units by 2022 requires construction of about three million units per year in urban areas

Recent regulatory measures promoting affordable housing, as part of the government’s mission of providing housing for all by 2022 — the 75th year of Independence — have paved the path for entry of engineering procurement and construction (EPC) companies into the segment. 

Recent years have seen a raft of government policies and programmes, supported by budgetary measures, to spur affordable housing. These include extension of the project completion period for claiming deduction of tax on profits from three to five years, grant of infrastructure status to affordable housing, and extension of the tenure of loans provided under the Credit-Linked Subsidy