14 with an initial outlay of ₹ 2000 crore to provide refinance assistance with a view to mitigating the bis central bankers ’ speeches housing shortage in urban areas. the uhf refinance scheme covers urban housing loans upto ₹ 10 lakhs ( where the annual household income of borrower is upto ₹ 4 lakhs and the unit cost is ₹ 16 lakhs or unit size is upto 60 m2 ). out of an allocation of ₹ 2000 crore under uhf, an amount of ₹ 890 crore has been deployed till date. special refinance scheme for urban low income housing ( lih scheme ) 30. the lih scheme has been designed with the objective of augmenting the flow of institutional housing finance to the low and moderate income segments in urban areas. the scheme provides refinance at fixed concessional rates for long tenures in respect of housing loans extended to target beneficiaries in urban areas. what more 31. there are several more things to ensure that the real estate and housing sectors grow at the desired pace and direction. first, to be effective and efficient, housing finance systems need to be supported by explicit legal institutions and instruments. these are not only necessary to acquire and transfer ownership rights in real estate, but also represent the foundation for the orderly functioning of mortgage lending. legal arrangements must also take into account the additional layers of complexity raised by the mobilization of collateral in the secondary mortgage market. 32. secondly, there is also a felt need for financial innovation with respect to the loan products. one such product could be savings induced home loan or a home loan deposit. the willing consumers may be induced to generate a savings balance by way of monthly or periodic deposits. this will enable creation of a track record for repayment of a future home loan product. once the customer reaches a threshold balance, the financial institutions can consider sanctioning of a housing loan. the balance in the account could act as collateral or the margin. the amount deposited every month would act as the base to assess the repayment capacity of the customer for the purpose of calculating the monthly repayment instalments. 33. thirdly, the credit risks originating in the housing sector, particularly low ticket housing segment, should also be internalized through proper insurance schemes for banks and other lenders. the various stakeholders should aim at timely completion of projects, delivery of houses / flats to target segments without cost escalations and with valid titles and all necessary clearances.

a pilot basis and on a small - scale to start with, relates to credit counselling. sometimes, people get into debt out of some ignorance or bad luck. they can be advised by some well - trained people how to get out of the problem with minimal distress, by renegotiating, rescheduling of liabilities, etc. such schemes exist in other countries and we have studied them. we are experimenting in this area in maharashtra in a small way. we intend to launch pilot projects in other regions also and the ap state government expressed strong interest in the program. so, in credit counselling also, andhra government may be the first in the country to formally sign - up for an initiative. with these words, let me thank you for giving me an opportunity to talk in my mother tongue, telugu for the first time in a public lecture as governor. perhaps this may be the first public lecture in telugu by any governor and i am happy and grateful to you for the privilege and opportunity. i wish the village and trust all the best. let me again congratulate shri yarlagadda ranganayakulu foundation for this excellent initiative. i wish them and families all the best in all their noble endeavours.