The central government will soon launch an interest subvention scheme on home loans, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday.

“We are in the process of finalising the details of a new home subvention scheme. As the Prime Minister has said that it will be a major scheme, which will provide some form of interest subvention. We will come with the final detail of the scheme very soon,” Puri told reporters at a media briefing here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had initially announced the scheme in his Independence Day speech on August 15. He had announced that his government was coming up with a new housing loan scheme that would benefit the underprivileged living in cities.

Pointing out that the economically disadvantaged who live in the cities face a lot of problems, PM Modi said the government will come up with a new scheme that will benefit those families who live in rented houses, slums or chawls and unauthorized colonies in cities.

“If they want to build their own houses, we will assist them with a relief in interest rates and loans from banks that will help them save lakhs of rupees,” PM Modi had said in his August 15 speech.

Meanwhile, at the press conference today, Puri also delved into rising global crude oil prices and its possible spillover on the retail side.

“The fact of the matter is that prices are rising up to 96 USD per barrel for crude, there are under recoveries now, both for petrol and diesel. I always speak to my OMC (oil marketing companies) friends. In the past when prices went up, India prices came down by 5 per cent. That was because of the decisive steps the prime minister took. India reduced excise duty on two occasions. All I can assure you is that I hope my friend in the producing countries will see the merit,” Puri said.

The union minister targeted non-BJP states, particularly the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government for keeping energy prices higher than par in BJP-ruled states.

“Why do non-BJP ruled states like West Bengal have a petrol price Rs 11.80 more higher than BJP-ruled states? That is the real question. We can’t have a situation where the central government reduces the excise and BJP-ruled states bring down the VAT and the non-BJP states do not take action on it,” Puri said.