Affordable Housing in Rajasthan

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ms Vasundhara Raje has recently launched a new scheme that aims to provide 20% cheaper homes to people from lower income group (LIG) and economically weaker sections (EWS). This is under the Rajasthan Housing for All project of the Rajasthan Housing Board that aims to build ten lakh homes by 2022 - 85% of which would be EWS and LIG. Under the scheme, 10% of land in both, government and private housing schemes would be reserved for LIG and EWS housing. In townships, developers would have to reserve 7% of the land for the same with the government offering a relaxation in the floor - area ratio conditions to private builders.

The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) had under the scheme announced and then scrapped a scheme called the JDA New Flat Scheme 2015. The scheme that invited applications for 621 flats - 337 in EWS category, 219 in LIG category and 65 in MIG category - was scrapped in between after finding irregularities with allottee applications. However, the JDA has recently announced reinvitation of applications for EWS, LIG and MIG (medium income group) allotments under the same scheme.

The JDA has invited online applications for these flats from November 4 to 18 and will upload the list of allottees on their website on December 11, 2015 after documents of all allottees have been verified on December 9, 2015. A lottery of these houses would then be drawn on December 16, 2015.

MHFC has sanctioned over 1000 loans for allottees buying at these schemes in Jaipur and other districts in the state like Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur etc. and looks forward to helping out even more allottees needing loans to buy houses under these schemes.

MHFC nominated for Financial Times 'Boldness in Business' Award

The beginning of this year has come with fantastic news for MHFC. We were recently given a 5 star impact rating by the world’s leading impact rating agency, GIIRS. Further, we had a full page story on our work and processes along with a customer story in the world’s leading business newspaper - the Financial Times, London.

We are now happy to share some more lovely news! MHFC has been nominated for the prestigious FT Arcelor Mittal ‘Boldness in Business’ award - which will be given out in London on March 19, 2015 (past nominees for the award include amazing companies like Google, Uber and Twitter).

While these are fantastic external recognitions and a strong endorsement of the work being done at MHFC in financial inclusion, we believe that even more exciting and promising this year is that on the supply side, we see several projects coming up - both in the private and public sector - which would mean increased activity at MHFC and greater opportunities to help many more financially excluded families get a home of their own.

MHFC on Facebook

Please do visit (and LIKE !) the new MHFC page on Facebook - link below

MHFC Facebook Page

the very small housing loan - article in Civil Society magazine

Madhu and MHFC in this month's issue of Civil society magazine

"The very small housing loan"

World Social Business Day - Pics

Worldwide Social Business Day

Summary of our discussion on 24 June 2010 here

recent coverage in mint

World Social Business Day

For the last year and a half, we have been involved in setting up Micro Housing Finance Corporation (www.mhfcindia.com) - a company that provides micro-mortgages to the urban lower income group especially those from the informal sector. Today we have given home loans to about 250 customers (amounting to about Rs. 10cr) from diverse professions - vegetable vendors, taxi-drivers, electricians, plumbers, office-peons, house maids, etc.

Though our product is quite different from that of microfinance, the underlying principle is the same – just because poor people do not have formal documentation, does not mean they are not credit-worthy. Prof Muhammad Yunus has been the father of microfinance – both intellectually and as a practitioner – he and his team gave the first few microfinance loans in Bangladesh over three decades ago. Today the ‘Grameen Bank’ has helped millions around the world rise out of poverty. More recently Prof Yunus has introduced a new concept of ‘Social Business’ – a for-profit business aimed at solving a social problem. It does not pay dividends or returns to its investors - the investors only get back their principal investment. He often says ‘The Charity dollar has only one life, the social business dollar has infinite lives’. He believes this is really the way forward in attracting more capital to solve social problems.


The Grameen Creative Lab has decided to celebrate Prof Yunus’ birthday – 28th June 2010, by doing an around-the-world digital conference to create more awareness about the concept of Social Business. The digital event will aim at the following


- Celebrating the Birthday of one of the most honorable persons worldwide

- Using the momentum of the publication of Prof. Yunus‘ new book “Building Social Business“ to spread the idea of social business around the world and initiate concrete action

- Worldwide consecutive celebrations of Prof. Yunus‘ 70th Birthday according to time zones

- Connection of and reporting on celebrations through internet and social media

- Social Business ideas will be given as birthday present to Prof. Yunus

- Connecting the international hubs of Social Business

- Invite people all over the world to participate and involve themselves



Prof Yunus has been a great source of inspiration for all of us at MHFC, and so we have volunteered to organize the Mumbai chapter of this digital event – this would involve a brainstorming session (not more than a couple of hours) on ideas for new social businesses which would then be compiled into a short presentation. This would then be sent to the Grameen Creative Lab on 28th June 2010.

I understand this is very short notice and everyone is really busy. It will be difficult to get everyone at the same place at the same time, but I think it will be great if we can spare a couple of hours some time next week to sit down and brainstorm on social problems and their potential solutions.

For your reference I am attaching some material on two Social Business pilots that are being implemented across the world (BASF Grameen – Bed nets and micronutrients to decrease the incidence of malaria and malnutrition in kids in Bangladesh, Grameen-Otto – a textile manufacturing company to provide employment to the poor and improve their living conditions). Social Business Pilots


Please let me know if you are interested in joining us for this event. We are still in the process of working out the logistics, and will let you know the date, time and the venue as soon as possible. In the meanwhile it would be great if you can start thinking on the lines of ‘The social problem I would like to solve’, ‘My idea for the next social business company’, or ‘Why Social Business inspires me’ and send your ideas across to us – this will help us have a more productive session when we meet.

Please feel free to forward this to your friends/colleagues – the more the merrier!