Introduction
Housing in India has seen tumultuous changes since Independence. Over the last 75 years, the State’s view of housing has changed parallelly, and this Housing Policy Timeline is an attempt to understand and analyse the key policy shifts within this period. The timeline deals with the evolution of public policies on housing in India, and the consecutive Five-Year Plan wise allocation of funds towards housing schemes and policy initiatives. Across the timeline, the various schemes and policies initiated and institutions set up help in understanding the role of economic and political ideologies and priorities. They play an important role in shaping public policies and programs over the 12 Five-Year Plans and period beyond.
The Housing Policy Timeline for clarity, divides the housing policies and institutions into four periods that are broadly reflective of the key policy shifts. These periods post Independence are divided based on the political, economic, and social environments that form the contextual basis of the housing policies and programs formulated. For further clarity, the housing policy timeline is explained through two economic and politically driven time-phases: Pre-Reform phase and Post-Reform phase, each consisting of two periods under it.
The Pre-Reform phase covers Periods 1 and 2, namely ‘Housing as a Development Activity’ and ‘Housing as an Economic Activity’. This phase covers the 1st to 7th Five-Year Plans. The Post-Reform phase covers Periods 3 and 4, namely ‘Housing as a Market Good’ and ‘Housing as a Commodity’. This phase covers the 8th to 12th Five-Year Plans and beyond.
Part 1
The Pre-Reform phase covers Periods 1 and 2 of the Housing Policy Timeline with the State acting as a provider. The 1st to 7th Five-Year Plans under this cover the key policy shifts between 1951 to 1990. This phase was instrumental in recognising the problem of housing and saw the establishment of various institutions like the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC), along with policy initiatives and schemes like the Rent Control Act and the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY).
The complete Housing Policy Timeline can be accessed here.
The Overview of the Five-Year Plans can be accessed here.