Reshaping Inclusive Growth through Housing Ecosystem Approach

Moderator: Madhav Bellamkonda, CEO and National Director, World Vision India (in-person) Speakers:

• George K John, Executive Vice President (Business), ESAF Small Finance Bank (in-person)
• Gayathri Prashanth, GM New Initiatives, Healing Fields Foundation (virtual)
• Nirmita Chandrashekar, Program Manager, Selco Foundation (in-person)
• Dr. Stanley Joseph, General Secretary Skills for Progress India (in-person)
• Manoj Gulati, Managing Director, Water.org (virtual)
• Dhaval Monani, CEO, Future of Living Institute (virtual)
• A Shankar, COO, JLL India (virtual)

Making finance available to the poor who otherwise cannot avail loans was the point of discussion. The speakers deliberated on how the banks and financial institutions are aligned to the vision of what the state and central government schemes want to achieve. Addressing the question of how financial institutions see partnership in the housing ecosystem, the panel shared that there is a need to work on how we can collaborate to provide door to door service to the EWS (economically weaker sections) in India

1. Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Housing Ecosystem

Moderator: Justin Jebakumar, Director – Government Relations, Habitat for Humanity India (in-person) Speakers:

• Rajnish Nanda, General Manager Sales, Roca Bathrooms (in-person)
• Bhaskar Chatterjee, Secretary General – Indian Steel Association (virtual)
• Nirmita Chandrashekar, Program Manager, Selco Foundation (in-person)
• Nidhi Pundhir, Global Head – CSR, HCL Foundation (virtual)
• Bhushan Reddy, Senior Manager, United Way Andhra Pradesh (in-person)

CSR seems to be on the path of partnering with civil society organizations and the government in social transformation and long-term change. CSR funds are perhaps only a drop in the ocean of the funds available. CSR should not only be seen as funders, but someone who brings in technical know-how and the passion of volunteers, plus the networks which corporate boards can bring and the culture of fast pace outputs. Corporates can also be capacity building partners to the social sector.

2. Affordable Housing Finance: Making finance accessible to low-income families by partnering with strategic organizations

Moderator: Dr. Rajan Samuel, Managing Director, Habitat for Humanity India (in-person) Speakers:

• Mr. Shantanu Rege, COO, Mahindra Home Finance (virtual)
• Jayesh Shah, COO, Svatantra Micro Housing (virtual)
• George K John, Executive Vice President (Business), ESAF Small Finance Bank (in-person)
• Shaji Verghese, President – Housing Finance, Murugappa Group (virtual)

Microfinance is character-based lending. Housing microfinance is a cash flow-based lending. The challenge is to determine how much loan the person can get. It is important to define the business model. The challenges are significant and the gaps exist but the opportunities are huge. We need to enable families at the bottom of the pyramid to own a home. Since the segment is highly unbanked, loans are based on cashflow. A holistic solution can be achieved with the coming together of the private sector and multiple partners and players. We need as many banks and HFCs and NBFCs.

3. Innovative Housing Solutions and Technologies: Effective housing technologies to accelerate the housing for all plan of Andhra Pradesh Government

Moderator: Dr. Abhijeet Bhattacharya, HOD – Civil Engineering, IIT Tirupati (in-person) Speakers:

• Lew Schulman, Chairman of the Board, iBUILD Global, Inc (virtual)
• Vijay Swamidoss, Managing Director, Salmon Leap (virtual)
• Tharun Kumar, Co-founder and CEO, ECOSTP Technologies Private Limited (in-person)

• iBuild provides a digital platform for collaboration for all stakeholders from end-to-end value chain in the housing ecosystem. The app allows for monitoring in real time. Data in real time becomes essential to spot roadblocks. Especially when you are working with multiple partners and in rural areas. Even large-scale project monitoring to ascertain progress, materials, self-building becomes possible to track! iBuild can also help in managing lenders – to give them an entry point and to communicate with customers. iBuild also allows for large developers to work with homeowners where projects are homeowner led. iBuild organizes the market. It will be available to everyone!
• ECOSTP technology was explained. A waste management and water management system. With 70 installations in 14 states in India, ECOSTP measures its success based on the water it saves! The technology is gravity based and has an anaerobic system. Addressing United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 6 of ‘clean water and sanitation for all’, ECOSTP identifies trying to solve a big problem of waste in India.
• 3D monolithic modular precast technology introduced by Hommission received a platform to share its work and partnership with Habitat India. Levels of construction were well explained. It emphasized that technology can improve the quality of affordable housing in India. However breaking the price barrier is the question.

4. Role Of Research, Training And Capacity Building In Achieving Better Implementation Of Housing Schemes

Moderator: Suprita Tambe, Director - Resource Development Support, Habitat for Humanity India (in-person) Speakers:

• Dr. Nityadharan, Assistant Professor, IIT Tirupati (in-person)
• Aparna Das, Senior Technical Expert, GIZ (virtual)
• Ms. Anindita Mukherji, Senior Researcher, Centre for Policy Research (CPR) (in-person)
• Anju Manikoth, Urban Development Consultant (virtual)
• Lara Shankar Chandra, Director - Strategy and Coalitions, Habitat for Humanity India (virtual)

The panel shared that data, research, and evidence helps to guide programming and project implementation. The learnings and best practices have guided advocacy efforts and policy influencing efforts. It is evident that land and planning are especially important for housing. In addition, there needs to be a robust legislative and policy framework. Research puts back learning to improve systems and designs. We need to understand the roadblocks and bottlenecks. The process of working with state governments helps to collect volumes of data and to use this data to enrich the policies. Informed policy decisions and adaptation of schemes can overcome the huge housing requirement today.

Presentations

1. Cornerstone of Recovery - How Housing can Help Emerging Market Economies Rebound from Covid-19.

Dr. Marja Hoek-Smit, Director/Founder, International Housing Finance Program, Zell/Lurie Real Estate Centre, Wharton University of Pennsylvania (virtual).
Refinancing and subsidies to the housing sector are beneficial to expand the scale of housing! And thus expand the scale of who can access housing. National Housing Bank (NHB) in India is doing a good job with refinancing, thus enabling the mortgagers to move more down the market and going to scale with micro lending. Micro lenders need to be infused with capital. They need refinancing or more debt financing so they can go to scale with longer term loans. Studies can show that the risks are limited and micro financing for housing can be scaled!
“Housing is an extremely good investment for a government to make because of its economic characteristics. It adds to the GDP and solves a lot of social problems as well. Housing is a tool for economic and social recovery”, said Dr. Marja Hoek-Smit while applauding the Navaratnalu Pedalandariki Illu housing program.

2. Reflections On Building A More Responsive, Equitable, Community Focused And Sustainable Housing Ecosystem

Shri. Pradeep Narayanan, COO – Habitat for Humanity India (in-person)
Housing ecosystem includes: - Social welfare – WASH, housing, health, nutrition, and education. - Social protection – safety nets, labour markets, vulnerable groups, and climate change. - Social development – social capital, gender equity and community development. We need to plan integrated housing packages through a systems strengthening approach and multi stakeholder partnership approach. We need to reach the most vulnerable. We hope to do this through optimizing resources, tracking and monitoring, strengthening quality of care and coverage of systems, strengthening capacities and initiating and strengthening consortiums and coalitions.

Voices from the Field

In October 2014, Cyclone HudHud tore through the eastern coast of India leaving a trail of extreme devastation in its wake. Among the worst hit were the coastal towns and villages in the eastern state of Andhra Pradesh.
J. Gassanna, Pedda Bidda, Andhra Pradesh


For J Gassanna (44), Cyclone HudHud was nothing short of devastating. Gassanna lived with his wife Gangamma (36) and four children Usha Rani (22), Nagaraju (20), Ajith Kumar (18) and Anjali (16) in the village of Pedda Bidda.
The family of six lived in a mud house with a thatched roof that used to leak extensively during the monsoon. “During monsoon, when I used to be away from home, I used to wonder if I would come back to a house that was still standing,” says Gassanna remembering those days.
When Cyclone HudHud hit Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Gassanna and the family were devastated by the loss of their house and belongings. Habitat for Humanity India stepped in to help 448 individuals in Pedda Bidda through a holistic development project for the community. Habitat India supported 63 families in the village by helping each build a home. In addition to the homes, a multipurpose community center was also built, to be used for various activities and events in the village. Habitat India’s disaster response team trained the community to address local hazards, protect oneself during a disaster, how to use emergency contacts, early warning mechanisms, evacuation procedures, first aid and so on. The community also received Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) sessions on hygiene and good sanitation practices that encouraged the use of individual toilets, resulting in reduced open defecation and improved health. “Habitat introduced the concept of a toilet and better sanitation to us,” said Gassanna. Before the construction of household toilets, the family used to struggle by walking far distances to the field in order to relieve themselves.
Gassanna and his family were delighted when they moved into their new Habitat home in 2015.
Fathima Sheikh, Narasapuram, Andhra Pradesh


Fathima Sheikh (51) and her husband Shajhan Khan (52) live in the town of Narasapuram in West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh with their son Alisha (28). Her daughter Naziya Sultana (27) is married to Jeevan Rajkumar (30). They live in the nearby town of Machilipatnam.
The family’s income is meagre as they undertake prawn farming, which is seasonal. They always worried as they lived in a rented house and had no freedom.
In 2007, Habitat for Humanity India built a new home along with Fathima and her family. Recalling those days, Fathima remembers fondly how excited the family were to receive their new home!
“The best part was when we saw (late) Shri. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy Garu (Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and father of Shri Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy) when he came to conduct the home handover!” says Fathima. “I consider him as part of my own family, because he has done so much for us!” Fathima is especially filled with gratefulness as Alisha works under the state government’s employment scheme as a ward volunteer for three days of the week, bringing additional income to the family. The Chief Minister’s employment scheme has helped the family make ends meet, especially during COVID-19 when Shajhan could not go out to farm prawns.
“During COVID-19, I was filled with so much freedom because we have our own house,” says Fathima. “I enjoyed restful sleep and had no worries because I knew this house was our own, no matter what else happened.” Fathima is happy they also have a small plot of land outside their house where they can grow the roses that she loves. “My lifelong unfulfilled wish of owning a home was fulfilled because of Habitat India,” she says. “Everyone in the town keeps asking – when will Habitat come and build with us again?”