Venkaiah addresses plenary session of APMCHUD at Seoul

NEW DELHI: Union Urban Development and Housing Minister Venkaiah Naidu delivered an address at the plenary session of the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference of Housing and Urban Development (APMCHUD) in Seoul on November 5.

Naidu congratulated APMCHUD for emerging as a vibrant mechanism for collaboration among the Asia Pacific countries, in the field of housing and urban development, and also the medium to express their collective concerns, vision and views in the international fora. He also thanked APMCHUD for giving India the opportunity to host the sixth Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development in 2016.

Elaborating on the Indian Government’s initiatives in the field of housing and urban development, the minister indicated that India has been assessed to have a housing deficit of about 18.78 million units in urban areas, and more than 95 per cent of the same pertains to economically weaker sections and low income groups.  In this scenario, he said, the Government is evolving comprehensive strategies towards achieving the objective of `Housing for All’ by 2022, through active and beneficial involvement of a variety of stakeholders.

He further added that India has one of the largest urban systems in the world. Though accommodating slightly less than one third of the total population, the urban centres in India contribute a substantial part of the GDP with 63 per cent in 2007. It is expected to increase to 75 per cent in 2021, the minister informed.