I can buy a flat under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana?

You can use the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to purchase a flat. You need to fulfill some eligibility conditions for the same. The eligibility conditions for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are mentioned as below:

• Household income of the beneficiary should be between Rs. 6 lakhs to Rs. 18 lakhs inclusive of both the spouses.
• The beneficiary must not have a pucca house. That includes a pucca house in the beneficiary’s name or the name of direct kin.
• Anyone seeking the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana assistance must not have taken the benefit of any central assistance under any other housing scheme from the government.
• Beneficiaries should also not have availed any PMAY-CLSS subsidy from any of the Primary Lending Institutions (PLI).
• All the statutory towns included in the 2011 Census are covered under the PMAY.
• The parent home loan which is intended to be transferred from the existing lender must not have been taken on or after January 1st, 2017 for Middle Income Groups and June 17th, 2015 for Economically Weaker Sections/ Lower Income Groups. In addition to it, the beneficiary and his family must not have availed the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana 2017 subsidy from the current lender.
• Any construction or modification/extension work should be completed within three years from the date on which the first installment was disbursed.
• The house constructed or bought using the PMAY subsidy should be in the name of the female head of the family (for LIG/EWS only). It can also be jointly in the name of the male head of the family and his wife only if there is no female head in the family.
• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana 2017 subsidy is not valid for old constructions. The property intended to be bought should be new construction.

After you have checked your eligibility criteria, you can go ahead with your application.

However, the application process is not as easy as it sounds. You need to note the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana details before applying for financial assistance.

• Firstly, apply for a home loan from a primary financing institution and seek subsidy.
• Your eligibility will be evaluated, and the application will be forwarded to the Central Nodal Agency (CNA).
• If the application is approved, the CNA will disburse the subsidy amount to the lender. The subsidy will be credited to your account, which will reduce your total loan amount.
• For example, if your annual income is Rs 7 lakhs and your loan amount is Rs. 9 lakhs, then the subsidy will amount to Rs. 2.35 lakhs. After deduction of Rs. 2.35 lakhs, the loan will be reduced to Rs. 6.65 lakhs and you will pay the installments on lowered amounts only.
• If you have applied for a loan amount, which is higher than the maximum amount which is eligible for a subsidy, then the excess amount will be charged interest at the general rate.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana details are also available on the official site of Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.