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SHIELD Initiative
Context:
The World Bank is in discussions with the Indian government to provide nearly $500 million in funding for the Sustainable Housing Integrated Efficient Living and Disaster-Resilience (SHIELD) initiative under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G).
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- The initiative aims to enhance climate adaptability and heat resilience in rural housing.
- The project will be implemented over five years under the PMAY-G framework.
PMAY-G Expansion (2024-29)
- Approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2023.
- Target: Construct 20 million additional houses in rural India.
- Budget: ₹23.06 trillion allocated for the program.
- First introduced in 2016, PMAY-G aims to:
- Improve access to affordable housing.
- Enhance living standards and support rural socio-economic development.
Objectives & Features
- Development of climate-adaptable and heat-resilient rural housing.
- Ensuring minimum standards in housing design to incorporate active and passive measures for mitigating heat.
- Learning from best practices in other countries to improve housing quality.
- Homes to be constructed will be heat- and climate-resilient, providing better protection for rural communities.
Rationale for the Initiative
- Rising heat stress in rural areas, especially during peak summers.
- Lack of access to air conditioning in many rural homes, making extreme temperatures more dangerous.
- Heatwave crisis in 2024: India recorded 536 heatwave days, the highest since 2010 (when there were 578).
- States like Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, and Odisha are already experiencing heatwaves with temperatures exceeding 40°C.
Government’s Future Plans
- Discussions have been ongoing for over a year, with the project now awaiting approval from the Ministry of Finance.
- Consideration of linking PMAY-G with the Pradhan Mantri Suryoday Yojana (Rooftop Solar Scheme) to enhance energy resilience.
World Bank’s Perspective
- Shift in focus from quantity (building more houses) to quality and comfort.
- Emphasis on thermal comfort and disaster resilience (earthquake- and flood-resistant housing).
- Collaboration with the government to improve housing safety and sustainability.
