New Delhi: To speed up construction of houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the central ministry for urban development, housing and urban poverty alleviation to look at 3D construction technology in 25 major cities.

Modi was reviewing the progress of the housing mission during a PRAGATI meeting on Wednesday. PRAGATI is an initiative undertaken by the Prime Minister to track the progress of various schemes and functioning of the central government.

According to a few officials aware of developments in the meeting, the Prime Minister has asked the central ministry for urban development to organize a workshop with various stakeholders, including Indian and global companies associated with 3D construction, to promote this new technology. The officials did not want to be named.

Through 3D technology, the pace of construction can be increased as it is based on pre-programming. Currently, approximately 1.25 lakh houses under the urban housing mission are being built using pre-fabricated technologies.

The government believes that the use of 3D technology will not only speed up the process of construction but also reduce cost.

The central government launched Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in 2015 to ensure housing for all by 2022. So far the government has approved the construction of over 20 lakh houses spread across 4,700 cities and towns. The government has set a target to construct 200 million houses.

During the meeting, Modi also reviewed the progress of the Smart Cities Mission.

The Prime Minister also noted that the experience of “competition challenge" adopted under the Smart City Mission proved useful and other departments also need to consider adopting this challenge route, said one of the officials mentioned earlier.

The Smart Cities Mission, also launched in 2015, has set a target of developing 100 smart cities. These cities are selected through a city competition where they are judged on various parameters

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