Post on 17-Sep-2018
DBS Communities
Learning and Responding to optimally “Design Build Serve”
1000 daysJuly 2009-June 2012
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By 2020, DBS Communities will have built 50,000
liveable and affordable homes, and will have grown and
expanded into a large social enterprise where people who
join as customers transform their lives and become partners
in the movement, and mentor newcomers.
Contents
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
Preface 01
Executive Summary 05
DBS Communities: An Overview 08
2009: DBS – Starting the Journey 09
Potential DBS Customers – A Snapshot 22
The DBS Business Strategy 27
2010: Piloting, Learning and Responding to Needs 28
The Design Charette 29
DBS Pilot Project – Umang Lambha, Ahmedabad 35
Credit Camps 45
Housing Facilitation Centre - Griha Pravesh 49
2011: Progress and Learning 61
Umang Narol 62
Adalaj Campus and ASHRAM 66
Lambha Customer Profiling - The Findings 71
2012: Partnerships and Management Systems 77
Umang Sachin, Surat 78
Setting a Benchmark for DBS Umang Projects 80
Key Lessons after 1000 days 83
Beyond June 2012: Way Forward and Future Plans 94
The Core Team 98
Our Partners & Associates 107
Media Coverage 108
Acknowledgements 110
Notes and Abbreviations 111
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DBS aims to establish an efficient, viable and
transparent system for the large-scale mass-production of
houses that are affordable and financed through savings and
credit systems that are accessible to the bottom half of the
socio-economic pyramid.
PrefaceAs an architect, I have
long been interested
in developing
affordable housing for
the lower income
groups in India, where
the need for affordable
housing is immense.
In pursuit of this
interest, I had experimented with this market
with a low cost housing development called
Nandan Nagar in 2004. Although the Nandan
Nagar pilot was not a success, it provided
invaluable learning and insights that convinced
me that affordable housing was a significant
niche business area.
After a hiatus of three
years, my passion for
delivering affordable
houses intensified
when I read CK
Prahalad's “Fortune at
the Bottom of the 1Pyramid”. Specifically,
I was enthused by
Prahalad's argument that the economically
lower sections of society are a large market in
emerging economies and their needs could be
met through innovative business models that
have to be low margin – high volume. The
enthusiasm led to my decision to focus on this
niche market systematically. I asked B.R.
Balachandran, an architect and planner who
shared my passion and with whom I had been
discussing my desire of working for this niche
market, to partner with me in this endeavour. I
also requested Dinesh Jain, a chartered
accountant, to join us. In 2009, we launched DBS
Affordable Home Strategy Limited.
The first step was to articulate our vision, mission,
objectives and approach. We were clear that to
reach our potential customers, we needed to build
affordable houses and tackle the hindrances that
low-income families face in purchasing houses in
the formal market. We realised that we needed
expertise in community development and
interaction. We therefore decided to partner with
Saath - an NGO with 20 years of experience
working with the urban poor, and asked its co-
founder, Rajendra Joshi to join our core team,
which at the time included senior researcher -
Sowmya Haran, architects - Vineet Chadha and
Anjum Gupta, Chief Executive Officer - Manish
Pancholi, Vice-President Finance - Sudershan
Iyenger and Management Consultant - Ravi Iyer.
The Team believed strongly in learning from experts,
practitioners and businesses, and in getting a better
understanding of the issues related to affordable
housing and its customers. Thus, with the general
objective of getting our strategy endorsed, we
conducted a Design Charette in January 2010. The
Charette provided important insights and reiterated
understanding that affordable housing would work
when issues of design, livelihoods and housing
finance were addressed pro-actively as part of our
business model. This contributed to the formalising
of the core of our approach and business strategy.
With clarity about our approach and articulation of
our business strategy, we were ready to launch a
pilot project. “Umang Lambha” was launched in
Ahmedabad in May 2010. The response to the
project was overwhelming with almost 300 houses
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 01
invited Mr Sakti Prasad Ghosh who has been
associated with the housing sector in India at
the highest policy levels, to join our Board of
Directors. Further, to enhance design, quality
and standardisation, DBS has collaborated with
Mr Nimish Patel (architect, urban designer) and
Ms Parul Zaveri (architect) of Panika who have
since 1979, worked on architectural, planning,
conservation, renovation and interior projects of
varied scales. A dedicated affordable housing
division in Panika will work on the DBS projects.
In this journey of 1,000 days since DBS
Communities was established, I believe we
have laid a strong foundation by taking a
holistic approach that benefits all stakeholders,
and have progressed substantially towards
addressing our objectives. Our business
approach of a virtuous cycle of research,
practice and reflection continues to provide rich
experiences that enrich our understanding
booked within a week. The experience confirmed
that there is a huge demand for affordable housing.
In March 2011 we launched a second project -
Umang Narol in Ahmedabad, and in February 2012,
we ventured out of Ahmedabad to launch Umang
Sachin in Surat. With each project, we
experimented with a different implementation
model. For Umang Lambha, DBS bought the land
and undertook the construction work, for Umang
Narol, we partnered with a landowner and took
responsibility for project construction and
marketing, and for Umang Sachin, we partnered
with landowners who are responsible for
construction while DBS is responsible for marketing
and customer management. For each project, we
have been ably supported by housing finance
companies, such as Micro Housing Finance
Corporation Ltd, GRUH Finance and Muthoot
Finance that are venturing into the affordable
housing space and providing loans to the formal
and informal sectors.
In looking for good practices in the affordable
housing sector in India, we realised the need for
research and considerable advocacy with policy
makers and practitioners. We therefore established
a separate entity - Academy for Sustainable Habitat
Research and Management (ASHRAM) for this
purpose. In addition, DBS and Saath established a
housing facilitation center called Griha Pravesh that
works with builders and housing finance agencies
to increase awareness about and access to
housing finance and affordable housing.
In order to better understand the big picture in
affordable housing and to establish the highest
standards of governance and accountability, we
DBS Communities believes in
accountability and transparency in
all its actions. For effective and
efficient use of all its resources, DBS
is in the process of operationalizing
an enterprise resource planning
system that will integrate internal
and external management
information across the entire
organization and facilitate the flow
of information between all functions
of DBS Communities.
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02 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
about affordable housing. We have a dynamic
and dedicated team that is doing its best to
Design and Build affordable houses to Serve
our customers.
DBS Communities has taken this opportunity of
sharing its experiences, observations and
lessons learnt in the pursuit of enabling low
income families experience the 'joy' of owning a
house. This includes an overview of the
processes and the efforts, events and activities
that have gone into planning, designing and
initiating Umang Lambha, Umang Narol and
Umang Sachin, as well as the need for
handholding / supporting people in getting their
paperwork together and in their interactions with
housing finance institutions.
In October 2012, our first customers will start
occupying the houses that DBS Communities
has built. I am confident that apart from owning
their individual houses, these customers will
show us where we have been right and where
we need to improve our services.
We expect to continue the process of learning
and responding to new lessons, insights and
challenges as we work towards achieving scale
and volume, and thereby impact not only the
lives of those who purchase houses built by
DBS Communities but also those who want to
cater to the niche market. This includes people
involved in policy-making, financing housing
and infrastructure projects, in strategic planning
and in supporting communities.
Sanjay Shah
June 2012
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 03
Affordable home developers must continue to innovate to
be able to provide small homes at the most competitive price.
It is clear that there is a much larger market waiting to be
tapped. Ideally housing for this segment in the city of
Ahmedabad should be kept under Rs.7,00,000. Incrementally
of the housing unit can be explored in terms of interior
finishes. The more austere the finishing's, the greater will be
the affordability and the greater the access to formal mortgage-
able asset creation.
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04 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
In Gujarat, there is saying that “If start-ups
survive the first 1000 days, they will survive
through” complemented by the belief that “the
test of future success of a business is its
survival in the first 1000 days”. DBS Affordable
Home Strategy Limited, also known as DBS
Communities, which has been launched with
the dream of revolutionizing the housing
industry within a decade, crossed this
milestone of 1000 days in May 2012. The DBS
Team is confident that the lessons learnt and
actions taken over the past 1000 days have
contributed substantially to strengthening the
organisation and the processes, systems and
approaches for increasing the supply and
access to affordable housing. This Report
provides a glimpse of the dreamers, their
dream and the actions taken over 1000 days by
DBS Communities and its partners to works
towards accomplishment of the dream.
The aim of this chronologically organised report
is to document and share with the reader, the
efforts, events and activities that have gone into
planning, designing, initiating and marketing
three DBS housing projects, as well as the
experiences, lessons and actions taken to meet
newly identified needs. Each step of the
process from articulating the DBS Communities'
business strategy to the introduction of
innovative processes and practices provides
significant lessons for housing finance
institutions, developers, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders
interested in the affordable housing eco-
system. The chronological organisation of the
report draws attention to the flexibility and
customer responsive approach of the DBS
Team and its partners. It emphasizes the DBS
Communities' approach of learning from and
responding to the context with appropriate
strategies and actions.
The report provides the reader with insights and
information about: a) The Vision, Mission and
Business strategy of DBS Communities; b) An
anecdotal study of two potential customers, a
snapshot study 100 potential customers and a
study of 360 Umang Lambha customers; c) Three
Umang projects launched and under construction;
d) the financing issues identified from the
perspective of developers, housing finance
institutions and home buyers, and e) the facilitating
actions taken by DBS Communities to bridge the
gap between requirements for loan sanctions,
documentation and margin money available with
Umang customers. The process and experiences
have also provided insights into the needs and
characteristics of potential customers and about
factors that hinder or support affordable housing.
The Preface by Sanjay Shah provides a glimpse of
his involvement in the affordable housing market
and his focus on providing value-additions to the
customers rather than a minimal house. These
Executive Summary
Each step of the process from
articulating the DBS Communities'
business strategy to the introduction of
innovative processes and practices
provides significant lessons for housing
finance institutions, developers, non-
governmental organisations and other
stakeholders interested in the affordable
housing eco-system.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 05
experiences helped Sanjay in developing his
approach and in strategizing and planning for
affordable housing schemes. He provides an
overview of the events and activities of the 1000
days.
At the end of 2008 when Sanjay Shah, B R
Balachandran and Dinesh Jain decided to set-up a
new organisation for building affordable housing,
they were convinced that they should go slow, and
work-out a full model before 'launching a project
and starting construction'. This section emphasises
the strong belief amongst the Core DBS Team that
a market based solution is possible and that any
element of subsidy would be detrimental if a robust
real estate market were to develop for the identified
customer group. Gradually, many of the ideas that
were discussed at the time were written out.
In 2009, DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
was incorporated with the objective of meeting the
need of affordable housing for families earning
between Rs.8,000 to Rs.20,000 per month. The
three core elements for providing affordable
housing were identified as: i) Design and
production of housing, that is, right sizing and right
pricing of homes; ii) Housing micro-finance, that
is, enable access of customers to finance for
housing; and iii) Community development
through health, education and livelihood
interventions. The emphasis on community
development highlights the Team's conviction in
getting the required expertise through
collaborations and platforms such as the 5Design Charette .
In January 2010, DBS organised a Design 5Charette where the direction, processes and
activities that the Team planned to introduce
were presented. Although the DBS strategy and
approach were largely endorsed, DBS was
cautioned by housing finance companies and
Ashoka Foundation about setting-up a housing
finance company. The key concern was the
likelihood of a conflict of interest and the
possibility of lapses in due-diligence in the
pursuit of processing loans quickly for more
customers. The issues identified at the Design
Charette were addressed by DBS while
planning its pilot project in Lambha under DBS's
‘Umang’ banner.
The launch of Umang Lambha was a significant
step for DBS Communities and it put in
intensive efforts to publicise the scheme
amongst potential customers. The response of
customers confirmed that there is a huge
demand for affordable housing. It also revealed
that while most people in the target group
aspired for larger houses, they could only afford
one or two room houses, while those who could
afford the three-room apartments were from
higher income groups. DBS Communities
therefore decided to confine itself to
With the experiences and lessons
learnt in strategizing, initiating
partnerships, and launching joint
venture projects with different
implementation arrangements, DBS
Communities has taken significant
actions that have resulted in value
additions for its customers.
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06 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
constructing one and two rooms houses.
At the launch of Umang Lambha and in the
following weeks, DBS and its partner Saath
identified the need for a platform for more
intensive interaction between potential
customers and financing entities, and for
innovative processes to guide customers,
assess their affordability and process the loans.
It also highlighted financing problems because
of slow and irregular cash-flow from people
booking and purchasing the apartments. These
observations and experiences led to the
decision for organising Credit Camps, and for
setting-up an autonomous and dedicated
single-window facilitating entity - Griha Pravesh.
DBS Communities has been working closely
with housing finance companies such as MHFC
and HFFC to refine arrangements at the launch
of projects, organise Credit Camps and support
potential customers. The outcomes of the
Credit Camps and the facilitating support
through Griha Pravesh reveal the value-
additions and good practices that have been
introduced by DBS Communities.
DBS launched Umang Narol in March 2011 –
ten months after the launch of Umang Lambha
and Umang Sachin in Surat in February 2012.
The experiences after the launch of Umang
Lambha, especially problems faced because of
irregular cash-flow led to DBS adopting a
collaborative approach for these projects. Both
projects are being implemented in partnership
with the landowners on a profit-sharing basis.
DBS has retained the responsibilities for the
design, planning and marketing of both
projects and for construction of Umang Narol.
Its partner RJD Buildcon is constructing Umang
Sachin. The outcomes and lessons from these
collaborative approaches will influence future
partnerships for Umang projects, and influence
others involved in the affordable housing eco-
system.
During this period of 1000 days, DBS has
conducted a short anecdotal study, a snapshot
study of 100 families that represent potential DBS
customers, and a survey of 360 customers who
have booked apartments in Umang Lambha and
Umang Narol. These studies were undertaken to
better understand the needs, affordability and
aspirations of the DBS target group, and the
findings provide interesting insights about the
customers of affordable housing. Subsequently, the
DBS Team has been closely observing the
emerging needs, analysing the studies and survey
findings and is incorporating the lessons learnt on a
continuous basis. Several organisations too have
shown keen interest in the DBS strategy, approach,
and processes for enhancing access to affordable
housing.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 07
EFFORT EVENT OBSERVATION RESPONSE
2009
ŸEvolve & refine DBS Business s Strategy
ŸTo have required expertise in DBS
ŸCreate a brand identity
ŸDBS Affordable Home Strategy Ltd. incorporated
ŸBrand name ‘Umang’ decided
ŸCollaboration with Saath
ŸNeed for expertise
ŸNeed to understand way of life of potential customers
ŸSnapshot study
ŸAnecdotal study of families of Dilipbhai & Tulsiben
ŸExpansion of Core Team
2010
ŸImplement pilot to test concepts, ideas & approaches
ŸTeam strengthened
ŸPartnership with landowners for Umang Narol
ŸGriha Pravesh incorporated
ŸLaunch of pilot Umang Lambha in Ahmedabad
ŸDesign Charette
ŸNeed for a housing facilitation centre
ŸAlternative development & revenue model
ŸGriha Pravesh & Parivaar Pragati Seminars
ŸCredit Camps
ŸClose cooperation with housing finance entities
2011
ŸGreater efficiency in project design & management
ŸGreater efficiency in resource planning & management
ŸASHRAM Campus inauguration
ŸLaunch of Umang Narol in Ahmedabad
ŸNeed to understand way of life of potential customers
ŸExpand association with experts
ŸConduct research on 360 Umang customers
ŸAchieve value-additions for customers
2012(Up to May)
ŸStrengthen management systems
ŸDocument developments of 1000 days
ŸLaunch of Umang Sachin at Surat
ŸGriha Pravesh expands collaboration with developers
ŸContinue tracking customers and their progress
ŸBenchmark for Umang projects required
ŸDesign Manual
ŸDBS Team expansion & collaborations with experts
WayForward
ŸAchieve greater transparency & financial & resource efficiency
ŸIncreased interaction with entities involved in affordable housing eco-system
ŸLaunch of Umang projects in other cities
ŸOrganise & participate in events for sharing experiences & lessons
ŸGrowth in demand for affordable housing
ŸHave a sustainable revenue model
ŸMore collaborations
ŸStrengthen staff capacities
ŸAdvocacy for policy & regulatory reforms that can catalyse the market
DBS Communities:
An Overview
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08 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
2009
DBS: Starting the Journey…
We expect to continue the
process of learning and
responding to new lessons and
insights as we work towards
achieving scale and volume, and
thereby impact not only the lives
of those who purchase houses
built by DBS Communities but
also those who want to cater to
the niche market at the bottom of
the socio-economic pyramid.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 09
Three individuals who were independently
experimenting with alternative solutions in their
areas of work, came together in late 2008. Their on-
going dialogues, ideas and a desire for innovation
were catalysed by C.K. Prahalad’s path-breaking
book - The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid
(2005). The three people were:
l Mr Sanjay Shah as a Real Estate Developer
brought in fifteen years of experience as a
builder in Ahmedabad, Dubai and Morocco, and
experiences of innovative cost control, pricing
and effective quality management systems. He
also brought in his vision and capabilities as a
strategist who believes in the viability of a market
based approach to community housing.
l Mr B.R. Balachandran as an architect, planner
and strategist with nearly two decades of
professional experience, brought in his
understanding of the urban housing process
with its multiple dimensions, and a focus on
systems and processes that enable affordability
for the target customers of DBS.
l Mr Dinesh Jain as a Chartered Accountant
brought in over two decades of experience in
corporate finance, of conceptualizing new
enterprises and guiding them to their full
operation, and expertise in building large and
robust financial management systems.
During initial discussions, these individuals agreed
that development of affordable housing for low
income groups could not be mixed-up with other
real estate development initiatives.
Subsequently, the passion, drive and a strong
belief in the viability of affordable, good quality
and market based housing solutions for low-
income families led to the incorporation of DBS
Affordable Home Strategy Limited on 7 July
2009. The focus on designing and building
affordable houses for families who do not have
access to the formal real estate market because
of their economic situation is reflected in the
name of the enterprise – that is, DESIGN,
BUILD and SERVE – DBS.
As the Team addressed key issues involved in
successfully enabling people in the informal
sector purchase a house, it identified the need
for focussing on the communities and people
for whom the houses and housing projects were
to be built. The Mission and Vision of DBS
Communities are therefore built on the inherent
strengths of a community based approach.
This led to a study led by Balachandran and
Sowmya Haran. The two families that were
studied were of Dilipbhai – an office assistant
employed in the private sector, and Tulsiben – a
vegetable vendor. The aim was to get a better
understanding of the need and affordability of
families living in rental and own accommodation
in informal settlements; this was our first
concept level presentation, namely, “A House
for Dilipbhai” and “A House for Tulsiben”.
The Beginning
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10 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
“A House for Tulsiben”
Tulsiben, who is only 28, lives with her family in a
144 sq.ft. house in Behrampura. Tulsiben owns the
house but has no documentation for it. She has a
water connection in the house but shares a toilet
with other families. She also has an illegal electricity
connection for which she pays Rs.150 per month.
Tulsiben and her husband are vegetable vendors
who also make and sell kites seasonally. She owns
a handcart/ lari, which they use for vending
vegetables.
Tulsiben wants to buy a house costing up to
Rs.2,00,000 for which she cannot mobilize any
down payment but for which she is willing to pay a
monthly instalment of Rs.3,000. At the market rate
of Rs.1,250 per sq.ft., she can buy a house of about
160 sq.ft. However, the smallest legal house will
start at Rs.3,50,000 or Rs.4,00,000, and houses of
around 160 sq.ft. are available only in slums or
illegal layouts.
“A House for Dilipbhai”
One of the persons' whose way of life was
studied was Dilipbhai - an Office Assistant who
earns Rs.4000 per month. Dilipbhai rents a
house of 120 sq.ft. where he lives with his wife
and two children. He pays the house owner a
monthly rent of Rs.1500 and Rs.30 per month
for the water. Dilipbhai's family shares a
common water tap and toilet with the house
owner's family.
Dilipbhai wants to buy his own house for which
he can pay a monthly instalment (EMI) of
Rs.2000. In addition, he can mobilise some
down payment.
At Rs.1250 per sq.ft., Dilipbhai can buy about
200 sq.ft. of built-up area. However, houses of
200 sq.ft. are available only in slums or illegal
layouts, and hence Dilipbhai has no choice but
to live in an informal settlement.
Thus, if Dilipbhai purchased a 150 sq.ft. house
for Rs.200,000, and was supported through
community development initiatives to start
saving money regularly, repay the housing loan,
upgrade his skills, and improve his income, at
the end of three years, he will be able to take an
additional loan and move to a house of about
300 sq.ft. area.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 11
The DBS Mission and Vision evolved to
incorporate the dreams of the initiators and got
articulated as follows:
Vision
By 2020, DBS Communities will have built
50,000 liveable and affordable homes, and will
have grown and expanded into a large social
enterprise where people who join as customers
transform their lives and become partners in the
movement, and mentor newcomers.
We visualize that our enterprise will be
acknowledged as the market leader and
pioneer in effective approaches to community
housing and produce 10,000 houses every
year. Our customers are our brand
ambassadors having created great lives for
themselves in the environment we nurtured.
We visualize that hundreds of real estate
companies/ organizations will be offering
liveable and affordable housing solutions for all
income groups across cities in India. DBS has
influenced radical reforms in housing policy and
housing market operations in India.
Mission
To establish an efficient, viable and transparent
system for mass production of houses, which are
affordable and financed through savings and credit
systems, and are accessible to the bottom half of
the social and economic pyramid.
Governance
DBS Communities believes in accountability and
transparency in all its actions. The DBS Board of
Directors, which comprises the CMD – Mr Sanjay
Shah, two independent Directors and four Directors,
meets at least every quarter to review progress and
take strategic decisions.
DBS also believes in effective and efficient use of all
its resources, and is in the process of
operationalizing an enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system to integrate internal and external
management information across the entire
organization. The ERP covers finance/ accounting,
construction, sales, marketing, planning, material
purchasing, inventory control etc. The aim is to have
a central repository for all information and facilitate
the flow of information between all functions of DBS
Communities.
Evolving the
Vision and Mission
DBS aims to establish an efficient,
viable and transparent system for the
large-scale mass-production of houses
that are affordable and financed
through savings and credit systems
that are accessible to the bottom half
of the socio-economic pyramid.
12 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
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Developing
the Business
DBS aims to establish an efficient, viable and
transparent system for the large-scale mass-
production of houses that are affordable and
financed through savings and credit systems that
are accessible to the bottom half of the socio-
economic pyramid.
The community housing projects that DBS
Communities wants to develop are targeted for
families primarily earning up to Rs.20,000 per
month. People in this segment of the urban housing
market find it difficult to purchase houses that are
constructed by mainstream real estate developers.
They are therefore largely resigned to living in
rented and/ or illegal housing. Their situation
deprives them of the opportunity to build legitimate
assets or wealth and they continue being trapped in
a vicious cycle of poverty and illegality.
As professionals and practitioners who had limited
experience in the affordable housing market and of
its potential customers, the DBS Core Team
decided to have a committed team of practitioners,
professionals, experts and advisers from related
sectors. The Team was gradually expanded to
include more like-minded individuals who
represented different sectors, and shared the
same passion and similar objectives - some as
part of the Management Team. With the
experiences and knowledge of practitioners on
the DBS Team, the business concept evolved
further to address multiple concerns and
issues.
DBS commenced its initial operations from 14
August 2009 with a staff architect whose first
task was to research local, national and
international efforts, models and experiments
for supplying affordable housing. The objective
was to understand the diverse issues, contexts
and paths taken to increase access to
affordable housing and to have knowledge
about innovative approaches and processes
that others have attempted.
In addition, Sowmya Haran – an architect and
urban planner, and architects Vineet Chadha
and Anjum Gupta joined the DBS Team.
Sowmya took responsibility for research and
documentation while Vineet and Anjum started
exploring and identifying appropriate design
options for one, two and three room
apartments.
In 2009, DBS procured 1.5 acres of land in
Ambapur near Adalaj for developing a campus
to accommodate the DBS Corporate Office and
other documentation, conference and training
facilities.
By 2020, DBS Communities will have
built 50,000 liveable and affordable
homes, and will have grown and
expanded into a large social
enterprise where people who join as
customers transform their lives and
become partners in the movement,
and mentor newcomers.
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 13
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
"Umang”:
Deciding on a Brand Name
In an environment where the Government is
aggressively promoting construction of 'basic'
houses for slum dwellers and the poor under
various schemes, the DBS Team decided on
creating a unique image for the houses it
builds. The aim was to establish the significant
and differentiated presence of DBS in the
market – both for the customers and the
investors/ financing institutions. The DBS Team
therefore decided to create a 'brand' identity
that highlighted the management's strategic
focus and choices, quality, features and design
of the apartments, and the added value in terms
of community development initiatives. Since, the
long-term aim is to have customers who are
satisfied with physical and operational functionality,
quality, and performance of the schemes of DBS
Communities, the Team decided on using the name
“UMANG” - meaning Happiness. The name
“Umang” draws attention to the emotional aspect
and satisfaction customers would experience once
they moved into DBS constructed housing projects.
The Team decided to create a 'brand'
identity for DBS projects that
highlighted the management's
strategic focus and choices,
Subsequently, the Team decided on
using the name “UMANG” -
meaning HAPPINESS or JOY
14 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
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Thinking about
a Pilot Project
As the business strategy and approach were being
evolved, it was apparent to the Core Team that it
had to demonstrate its commitment and the viability
of its business approach to people whose support
and collaboration were required.
Some team members felt strongly that they needed
to implement a project to test their initial concepts,
ideas and approaches. This required the purchase
of land in a location that would be attractive for
people for whom the project was to be developed.
DBS identified a plot, which was reasonably priced
at Lambha in Ahmedabad. The plot is located along
the Ghodasar Canal and next to the Lambha - Narol
Highway (NH 8) in a developing residential area
within the boundary of Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (Pin Code 382440). The site is close to
Aslali Circle/ cross-roads on the 200 feet Ring
Road. It is 3 kilometres from Narol crossing and the
BRTS route, and is easily accessible by city buses,
auto-rickshaws, shuttle services and inter-city
buses. It is also in close proximity of market places,
temples, schools and hospitals.
DBS bought this land (Original Plot) with money
borrowed on interest, with the expectation that
they would plan, develop and sell the
apartments, and repay the loan amount within
an 'average construction period'. The locality
was then mapped by Sowmya Haran and her
team of architects and planners.
Once the plot at Lambha was mapped, a
committed team of architects headed by Vineet
Chadha and Anjum Gupta started developing
the design options. By late 2009, a Concept
Plan for Umang Lambha and a presentation
were prepared for further discussion and
development. The Team presented the concept
plan to some practitioners (architects, planners,
urban designers) for their inputs. The
discussions revealed that although design,
construction, financing and customer issues
were significant elements for the DBS Team and
of the business strategy, it would be useful to
get a deeper understanding of who the potential
customers' were in terms of their existing
economic and spatial situation, their aspirations
and capacity for purchasing a house.
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 15
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
Comparing Dilipbhai's House with Middle-Income Rental Accommodation
Dilipbhai’s House Private House
120 sq. ft. 3000 sq. ft.
Rent Rs.1,500 Own House Rent Rs.25,000
No individual toilet or water connection Has a water connection but Three toilets and plenty of water
shares a toilet with other families
Monthly cost per sq. ft. = Rs.12.50 N/A Monthly cost per sq. ft. = Rs.8.33
Tulsiben’s House
144 sq. ft.
Mr. Jayantilal Hansraj Darji
Flat No. G-109, Umang Narol.
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16 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
Anecdotal Study
Findings
The anecdotal study showed that the priorities
of potential DBS customers were:
i) An affordable house with drainage and
regular water supply,
ii) Easy to pay monthly instalments, and
iii) An easy and uncomplicated loan.
Bearing in mind the needs for an affordable
house and a loan that the families can
comfortably take, the DBS Communities' vision
for their future is:
l The families purchase a 150 sq.ft. house for
Rs.2,00,000,
l A community development agency helps
the families save, repay monthly loan
instalments regularly and also upgrade their
skills and improve their income, and
l In three years, the families take an additional
loan and move into a 300 sq.ft. house.
Considering the need to build houses that are
affordable for people earning up to Rs.20,000
per month, DBS Communities had to confront
the following issues:
l High land and property prices in the market;
l The sizes of houses being sold in the
market are too large for paying capacity of
people earning up to Rs.20,000 per month;
l The lack of credit worthiness of people in
the informal sector in terms of income proof
etc. for the formal approval of loans from
nationalised banks and housing finance
institutions, and
l The limited access of potential customers to
Micro-Finance Institutions.
Therefore, to construct affordable housing, DBS
identified the need to:
I) Build high density housing with a mix of unit
sizes and type,
ii) Reduce the share of land value in the price of
built-up area,
iii) Design efficient and at the same time
comfortable houses,
iv) Collaborate with housing finance companies
that offer loan products for people with low
incomes and in the informal sector, and
v) Support the customers in enhancing their
credit worthiness through improved access to
health and education services, skills upgrading
and participation in savings and credit groups.
In addition, to enable customers to purchase the
houses, DBS Communities needs to collaborate
with housing finance companies that offer loan
products for people in the informal sector, and
support the customers in enhancing their credit
worthiness through improved access to health and
education services, skills upgrading and
participation in savings and credit groups.
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DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 17
Paths for meeting community needs
An AffordableHouse
A ComfortableLoan
High Land and Property Prices
House sizes too large for paying capacity
Lack of Credit Worthiness in terms of pay slips etc.
Limited or no access to Micro-Finance Institutions
• High density housing
• Reduce share of land value in price of built-up area
• Design efficient and liveable house
• Access to Micro Housing Finance Institution
• Community Development Programs for enhancing
credit worthiness
Need Factors to be addressed Means for enabling access to affordable housing
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Strengthening the Team
and Customer Focus
As the DBS Strategy was getting refined, the
need for having someone who had worked
closely with potential DBS customers, and
understood their context and needs was felt
very strongly. The aim was to have someone
represent the context and requirements of
potential customers' at every stage during
internal debates and decision-making. DBS
Communities therefore invited Rajendra Joshi, a
social entrepreneur and the founder and
Managing Trustee of Saath - an NGO working
for the urban poor to join the DBS Board of
Directors. Rajendra, who has introduced some
market-oriented strategies in development and
social interventions to improve the life of the
urban poor, accepted the offer in November
2009. He brought in the required focus on
community development and partnership with
Saath Charitable Trust, which has a wide
outreach to potential customers.
As the DBS discussed the issue further, the
Team members agreed that Saath would assist
potential clients in getting frequently required
services through an on-site Urban Resource 2Centre , improve their livelihood means and
ensure a long and lasting relationship.
One of the first activities undertaken with Saath
was the Snapshot Study of potential DBS
customers.
The snapshot study revealed that
just the construction of affordable
houses would not meet the needs of
the families. It was essential also to
support them for related and inter-
linked needs such as for getting
access to housing finance and
margin money, and for overall and
gradual improvement in the quality
of their lives through community
development initiatives.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 19
Call center worker
Municipal corporation employee
Foremen/ supervisor
Factory worker
Supermarket employee
Liftman
Security personnel
Driver
Pedal rickshaw driver
Auto-rickshaw driver
Beauty parlor workers
Stitching
Embroidery
Patchwork
Kite making
Sweeper
Farm worker
Casual laborer
Manual laborer
NGO worker
Anganwadi workers
Children's maid
Self-help group worker
Health worker
Pan/ cigarette stall
Small business
Mithai/ sweets/ confectionary shop
Milk vendor
Provision store
Vendor selling snacks
Henna vendor
Fruit vendor
Cloth/ clothes vendor
Clothes ironing
Restaurant
Cook
Household chores/ cleaning
Home manager
Hospital worker/ helper
Air conditioner repairing etc.
Cycle repairing
Garage work
Scrap vendors
Building/ construction work
Electrician
Fabricator
Metal worker/ rolling
Painter/ painting work
Pipe repairing
Plumber
Welder
Potter
Wood vendor
Wood polish work
Carpenter/ upholsterer
Furniture maker/ carpenter
Diamond worker
Tuition/ Teacher
Professor
The occupations of people who were surveyed included those listed below.
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Potential DBS Customers
- A Snapshot
the micro-finance group (40). It included people
living in Allah Nagar, Behrampura, Dani Limbda,
Jamalpur, Juhapura, Om Nagar, Santosh Nagar,
Sarkhej, Shah-e-Alam, Shakti Nagar, Someshwar
Nagar, Swami Narayan Nagar, Vanjara Vas, and
Vasna areas.
The survey methodology included structured
interviews and observations. Observation formats
were developed to capture the architectural quality
of the living spaces and the neighbourhood context.
The key findings from this Snapshot Study were:
• About 70% respondents can and are willing to
pay a monthly loan instalment of around
Rs.2,000.
• About 50% respondents would like a house in
the range of Rs.2,00,000 to 4,00,000.
• About 70% of respondents who want a house
are willing to relocate to an area beyond 5
kilometres from their current residence.
• On average, the space utilization per person in
the current residence is 6.5 sq.m./ 69.97 sq.ft..
• The aspirations of people for an improvement to
their house included:
• A 'pucca' house (house constructed with
bricks and cement),
• A house with all basic services and facilities,
• A house in a good location,
• A larger house (1-2-3 rooms),
• A house with a separate room and kitchen,
• Space for children to study, and
• A house with a better social environment that
will contribute to a better future for the
children.
In December 2009, DBS and a Saath team,
along with architectural students Ata ur
Rahman, Areen Attari and Digant Shah,
conducted a Snapshot Study of 100 families to
get a better understanding of the target
population to be served and for whom the
houses have to be designed and built. The
specific objectives of the study were to:
l capture anecdotal portraits of the lives and
lifestyles of the target customers, and
l understand the issues and complexities of
potential DBS customers.
The study was not meant to be a representative
sample of the condition of the urban poor in
Ahmedabad, and was limited to sample
families selected from informal settlements
where water connections and toilets were
provided at the household level (between 1999
and 2007) under Ahmedabad Municipal 4Corporation's Slum Networking Project . These
included settlements where Saath had either
independently or in collaboration with the
Municipal Corporation implemented community
development initiatives such as educational,
health and livelihood Programs and introduced
savings and credit activities. Some women and
young people in the area who had upgraded 3their skills under livelihood Programs (Urmila
3and Umeed ) introduced by Saath had higher
incomes and stable employment.
Thus, the sample families were from Saath 3areas (83) comprised families of Umeed
3trainees (30), Urmila home managers (20) and
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DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 21
Financial Characteristics of Target Customers
Indicators Characteristics
Age group 19 to 30 30 to 50 Above 50
Income level Less than 3000 3000 to 6000 6000 to 8000 Above 8000
Income consistency Consistent Inconsistent
Consistency of projected income Expected to Increase Expected to Taper off Inconsistent Consistent
Expenditure (as percent of income) More than 90% 70 to 90% 50 to 70% Less than 50%
Savings & Assets Less than 50,000 50,000 to 100,000 100,000 to 500,000 More than 500,000
Desire to upgrade Yes No
Down payment capacity Up to 30,000 Less than 100,000 100,000 to 200,000 More than 200,000
EMI capacity Less than 3000 3000 to 6000 6000 to 9000 More than 9000
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A Few Typologies of Target Customers – Community Development
Indicators Type 1
Occupation Husband–TransportSon – Share broker Husband– casual labour Husband–Transport Wife – House work
Daughter - Tuition
Secondary Occupation No No No No
Education Husband– TY B.Com Husband– Class 12 Husband– Class 10 -Son – TY B.Com Wife – Class 10 Wife –Class 7
Additional Skills Daughter – Tally Software Wife, Daughters - Embroidery No -
Part of SHG No Yes Yes Yes
Desire to upgrade Yes Yes Yes Yes
Type 2 Type 3 Type 4
Wife – Home manager Wife – Stitching Husband– Painting
A Few Typologies of Target Customers - Design
Indicators Type 1
No. of Floors 1 1 2 1
Condition Moderate condition Good condition Good condition Moderate
Materials
• Roof Corrugated Tin Corrugated Tin Corrugated Tin Corrugated Tin
• Wall Brick & Mud Brick & Lime Brick & Lime Brick & Mud
• Floor Cement Kadappa/ Limestone Cement Cement
No. of Rooms 2 + toilet 2 + toilet + bath 2 + Toilet 1
Rooms & Function • Kitchen & Wash • Sleeping & Store • Kitchen, sleeping, storage Multipurpose room• Sleeping, Wash • Kitchen, sleeping • Working, sleeping
Area of house 336 sq. ft. 276 sq. ft. 264 sq. ft. 144 sq. ft.
Area of common 120 sq. ft. 80 sq. ft. 20 sq. ft. 30 sq. ft.
spaces used
Type 2 Type 3 Type 4
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DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 25
Evolving
the DBS Strategy
complement their way of life. These include:
l A range of small, efficient and liveable housing
options from the smallest “one room and kitchen
unit” to a more spacious “two room and kitchen”
unit, and
l Supportive infrastructure such as community
spaces, work spaces, services such as for
health, education, livelihoods, crèches etc.
Housing Finance AccessThe housing finance model needs to be customised
to the needs and realities of low income households
through features such as flexibility in repayment
terms and periodicity, as well as options for person-
to-person loans. This would include:
l Mapping financial characteristics of potential
customers and matching with financial products
available in the market
l Exploring potential collaborations with micro
finance institutions, and
l Exploring viability of setting up a DBS owned
MFI.
Community DevelopmentCommunity development is a core activity and DBS
is committed to actively support the upward mobility
of customers, that is, enable them in making
economic and social progress through:
l Livelihood development and skills enhancement
interventions,
l Health and Education services, and
l Activities for improving credit worthiness
The snapshot study revealed that just the
construction of affordable houses would not
meet the needs of the families. It was essential
also to support them for related and inter-linked
needs such as for getting access to housing
finance and margin money, and for overall and
gradual improvement in the quality of their lives
through community development initiatives.
The study indicated that a typical DBS
customer:
l Starts with a house she/ he can afford, and
which she/he has bought with a loan that
she/he can repay comfortably;
l With support from DBS’s community
development initiatives, improve skills,
livelihoods and incomes, and repay loan
instalments regularly;
l Purchase a better house with an enhanced
loan, and
l Become a mentor for other families.
By the end of 2009, after the presentation of the
concept and discussions with experts, and the,
snapshot study, DBS formally articulated its
approach for creating a new genre of
community housing.
Design and Production of Community HousingThe aim is to have a new genre of community
housing that incorporates features that serve
the needs of the specific market segment and
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The DBS Business Strategy
The enterprise model and business strategy of
DBS Communities is built on three core areas,
namely, i) Design and production of community
housing; ii) Housing finance for communities,
and iii) Community development initiatives
aimed at catalysing the upward social and
economic mobility of DBS customers.
Business Strategy of DBS Communities
Design & Production of Community
Housing
CommunityHousingFinance
Community Development
Initiatives
Research & Development
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DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 27
2010: Piloting, Learning and Responding to Needs
Despite the demand and saleability of houses in projects meant for people in the
informal sector, DBS experience reveals that the rate of cancellation and new bookings for
people in the niche segment is about ten times more than in projects meant for the formal
housing market. This is because the financial situation of the customers is fragile and any
unforeseen expense can result in the customer not having adequate funds to pay the
margin-money or the loan instalments. In some cases, the booking is cancelled because the
person lacks proper documents for getting a loan.
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The Design Charette
DBS Communities organised the Community
Housing Design Charette on 9 and 10 January
2010 with the aim of bringing together people
from multiple disciplines and backgrounds to
deliberate on the proposed business strategy of
DBS Communities and to explore in detail the
planning of the first ‘Umang’ project. In the
process, the design Charette was expected to
yield a set of principles and a finalized package
of products and services for the first project of
DBS. The invitees were mostly people known to
the DBS team, including architects, planners,
real estate developers, contractors, bankers,
housing finance institutions, social workers,
academicians, bureaucrats, investors, financial
institutions, NGO representatives, and players
in the real estate industry.
The specific objectives of the Design Charette
were:
1. To present the DBS vision, mission,
objectives, business strategy and proposed
design for the first project - ‘Umang Lambha’;
2. To seek inputs for (a) further refinement of
the business strategy and (b) refining the
plan of Umang Lambha with respect to the
three core elements of the business
strategy;
3. To identify institutional, technical and
financial resources for operationalizing the
business/, and
4. To explore opportunities for collaboration
with various stakeholders/ interested parties
in the industry and those supporting
developmental initiatives, including investors,
housing finance companies, microfinance
companies, philanthropic organizations,
community development organizations, etc.
The Design Charette was organised to include
plenary sessions and group work focused on
review, discussion, and refinement of the proposals.
The presentations and discussions covered the
three elements of the DBS business strategy and
the cross-cutting or overarching issues.
1. Community Housing Design,
2. Community Housing Finance,
3. Community Development, and
4. Integration, synthesis and communication.
On the first day, the DBS Team presented the
preliminary proposals and preparatory work
covering the Core Team's understanding of housing
affordability, the socio-economic characteristics of
potential customers and the spatial quality of their
surroundings as identified through the snapshot
study. In addition, Mr. Vishnu Swaminathan from
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 29
Ashoka gave a presentation on the deficit of
housing finance and housing facilities in various
urban areas in the country. A presentation on
community housing finance highlighted options
for making finance accessible to people at the
base of the socio-economic pyramid. The DBS
Team also presented the conceptual design of
Umang Lambha.
The enterprise model and business strategy of
DBS Communities was validated by participants
of the Design Charette. Further the core area
activities were elaborated as follows:
Design and Production of Community
Housing: To develop a range of house types
from one to three (now two) room apartments in
liveable community environments with
community work spaces, crèches, clinics and
community resource centres.
Community Housing Finance: To evolve and
offer innovative and customized housing finance
solutions, including carefully mediated Person-
to-Person loans and flexible repayment
schedules like Equated Daily/ Weekly/ Monthly
Instalments.
Community Development Initiatives: The DBS/
Saath social workers to partner with DBS
customers for creating alternative livelihood
opportunities, enhancing skills, securing health
and education services, and building a credible
financial track record.
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On the second day, the DBS core team
discussed the significant insights and feedback
from the Design Charette, which bolstered their
confidence in their approach and work.
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DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 31
Issues addressed during
the Design Charette
Community Housing Finance
1. One of the main approaches being explored for
facilitating access to finance involves the
creation of an interface between our customers
and housing finance companies. This interface
will use mechanisms like establishing identity
and income proofs, compulsory banking
behaviour, group guarantees, etc. to create
comfort level on both sides in the lending
process. The two issues explored in this context
were:
a) How can we persuade the mainstream banking
system to accept the due processes that we
create as equivalent to mainstream
documentation and reduce the perceived risk
level of our customers?
b) How can community development agencies be
equipped to take on the task of implementing the
critical interventions like compulsory banking
behaviour?
2. What is the additional cost of creating an
effective interface? What are the avenues for
funding this additional cost, may be through
philanthropic or government intervention?
3. What form of ownership document will be
appropriate in the lending conditions that we will
encounter? Should it be freehold title to be
mortgaged or some form of Hire Purchase?
4. How can we create a procedure to mainstream
our customers and hand over their loan
portfolios to mainstream companies?
5. Are there any policy measures that are being
formulated by the Government that will help
us develop this business
6. Who - people or organizations – can help us
in our endeavour?
7. What should be the form of the Community
Housing Finance division of DBS? Should it
be a separate legal entity? What will be the
legal/ corporate linkage between the CHF
division and the parent company? Are there
any conflict of interest issues?
8. How can we adapt traditional models of
lending and develop person-to-person type
of financing mechanisms?
9. What are the subject areas related to
community housing finance where research
is required urgently?
Community Development Initiatives
1. What should be the functional scope of the
CDI? What sectors should it cover?
2. Should this initiative take the form of a
community services provider or that of a
philanthropic change-maker organization, or
a bit of both?
3. How much will be the cost to run this kind of
an intervention?
4. How should this activity be funded? Should it
be free standing and self-sustaining? Is it ok
for the CDI to be part-funded by the real
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32 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
estate business and the housing finance
business?
5. Should we seek external philanthropic input?
What are the potential sources?
6. What should be the form of the Community
Development Initiative? Should it be a
separate legal entity? If yes, should it be for-
profit or not-for-profit?
7. What sort of local entity – a community
based organization (CBO) – can be created
in each project? What can be the scope of
this entity? What sort of a capacity building
program can be established to create and
sustain these entities?
8. What are the subject areas related to
community development initiatives where
research is required urgently?
Community Housing Design
1. What are the different ways in which
effective, usable community spaces be
created in high density apartment
complexes?
2. To what extent can we load the cost of
community facilities on the home buyer? Can
philanthropic funding offset some of this
cost? What are the sources for such
funding?
3. What specific features need to be
incorporated in the design to cater to the
specific needs of our customers? – at the
individual flat level, at block or cluster level,
at the overall project level?
4. What special privileges can be secured in the
regulatory regime for enabling community
housing design?
5. What features of design and specification can
substantially reduce the operation and
maintenance costs of the buildings?
6. Is it possible to accommodate incremental
investment possibilities?
7. What are the subject areas related to community
housing design where research is required
urgently?
Cross cutting issues
1. At a corporate management level how can we
strike a balance between the three divisions,
giving each the space to function autonomously
and still achieve synergy between them?
2. What sort of partnerships can be created to
make this business model a success? Should
they be project specific or organizational or
both?
3. What should be the nature and mode of
communication to our customers?
4. What can we do in the corporate governance of
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Ltd. to help us
approach any agency at national and
international level for support in fulfilling our
objectives?
5. What can we do to attract investors, land owners
and other key industry players to do business
with us on terms that help our customers?
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DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 33
From the commercial perspective of a developer, the construction and sale of a
scheme should be completed as quickly as possible so that he can move on to another
scheme. He cannot be casual or charitable because he is constructing affordable
housing.
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DBS Pilot Project
- Umang Lambha, Ahmedabad
Umang Lambha – the first project under the
DBS Communities banner was launched in
association with Saath Charitable Trust on 2
May 2010 in the Vatwa area of Ahmedabad.
One of the primary requirements was to achieve
maximum ground coverage while minimising
the circulation area and the development costs
to be borne by apartment owners.
Considering the vision and long-term objectives
of DBS Communities, architects – Vineet and
Anjum decided on a step-by-step design
approach rather than immediately aim for the
maximum/ permitted ground coverage. They
experimented with linear plans where
apartments were organised along well-lit and
ventilated corridors while minimising circulation
space. They finalised plans for three types of
apartments –1 Room with Kitchen (1RK), 2
Rooms with Kitchen (2RK) and 3 Rooms with
Kitchen (3RK) priced from Rs.3,50,000 to
Rs.8,50,000. The initial layout was changed
from a linear layout where only 35 percent
ground coverage was achieved to a cluster plan
which led to 45 percent ground coverage. The
apartment designs and cluster plans were
further refined based on the inputs and 5feedback received from the Design Charette .
Further, considering the requirements of
potential customers, mixed use was planned
with allocation of spaces for small shops at
different levels of the apartment blocks.
However, this raised legal issues such as
whether the shops would be considered
commercial or residential property, and whether
commercial by-laws would be applicable.
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DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 35
2 Room Kitchen UNIT
1 Room Kitchen UNIT
The approved plans and designs of the
apartments require minimal changes to
individual units depending on their location
within a cluster. The cluster plans, with a
maximum of 24 apartments per floor, provide
interesting public spaces while utilizing the built
and semi-covered areas optimally. The open
space around the apartment blocks and the unit
layouts are expected to ensure good daylight
and ventilation.
Community use spaces are provided for Urban 2Resource Centres (URC), a primary health
centre, a credit society office, a centre for
women's development activities, a reading
room, a community hall, and a pre-school/
crèche etc. The aim is to locate community
development activities and livelihood programs
within the project area and actively support
interventions that enhance incomes of the
families. The Project also houses a make-shift
school run by Saath for children of construction
workers.
The common infrastructure includes bore wells,
underground water reservoir and overhead
tanks in each block for 24-hours water-supply,
paved roads, street lights, compound wall, and
open spaces/ gardens. Arrangements have
been made for on-site recycling of sewerage.
The recycled water will be utilised for the green
areas/ landscaping.
The layouts were further modified considering the
General Development Control Regulations of
Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority that: i)
restrict maximum building length of 50 meters; ii)
require a gap of 4.5 meters between building blocks
of 50 meters length; and iii) require calculation of
open courtyards as built-area if there is no through
road. In addition, changes had to be made to meet
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation building by-laws
and the fire regulations.
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Original Site Layout Plan, Umang Lambha
Final Site Layout Plan, Umang Lambha
Project Launch
DBS Communities wanted to ensure that the
potential customers were informed about the launch
of Umang Lambha. It therefore used various
marketing methods for greater outreach. Besides
newspaper advertisements, brochures and flyers,
Saath informed its members through word of mouth
and road shows. Radio spots were on from 1 May
2010, large hoardings were put up at prominent
places, and ample signage was put up to guide
people to the site. In addition, free transport was
arranged from the nearest road junctions (Asalali
and Narol), and a discounted rate was announced
for the first phase of booking.
DBS ensured that while publicising the Umang
Lambha scheme and the launch, the emphasis on
the scheme not being for investors was obvious.
This was because the DBS team was aware that in
a large proportion of affordable housing schemes in
the country, people from higher income groups buy
off the apartments for investment.
A large launch pavilion was erected at the site with
three large spaces and smaller support areas. The
first large area at the entrance had a set of large
panels and a model of the entire project area where
the project and the concept were explained.
Connected to this space were full scale models of
two types of apartments, that is, the one room and
kitchen unit, and the two room and kitchen unit.
Two booking areas – one for people requiring
assistance and the second for people not requiring
assistance, were connected to the space with
the full-scale models. This was done to prevent
purchase of a large number of apartments by
speculative buyers – a likely scenario based on
experiences of other low-cost housing projects
implemented in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
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Interested buyers were led to one of these
booking areas as appropriate. The first booking
area was for people who needed financial
assistance and general handholding. On 1 and
2 May, a Saath team assisted families coming
to this area to understand the scheme and
options on offer. They briefed customers
regarding the details of houses, answered their
various queries and ensured that the visitors
decision to purchase a house met their needs,
and was appropriate for them. The second
booking area was for people who did not need
any assistance, and were therefore directly
assisted by DBS staff. Housing finance
companies like Mahindra Housing Finance,
Micro Housing Finance Corporation (MHFC),
GRUH Finance and Dewan Housing Finance
Corporation Ltd. were provided desks in
between the two areas.
Customer Response
The response to the project launch was
overwhelming. At the end of the day, an estimated
5000 visitors had passed through the pavilion. Of
Arrangements at the Launch of Umang Projects
• Ensure that she/he gose to the right place
• Directions and Guidance
• Name and contact (alternative contact)
• PARESH and ROSHAN
Table 1Registration desk
• Counseling - that is filling up the URC questionnaire
• DHRUV and DEVUBEN
Tables 2 and 3Counseling
• Assessments - Sanctions
• MHFC Team and DIVYANG
Tables 4, 5 and 6MHFC
• Record how much loan has been approved by bank
• How much more does she/he need
• NIRAJ and CHINMAYIBEN
Table 7Down payment’s assessment
and record of the loan process
Person enters the hall
Mandap Layout
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 39
Layout of Launch Pavillion at Umang Lambha
these, about 70 percent were from the target group.
About 220 apartments were booked (20 percent of
the apartments in Phase I, which was opened for
booking). About 50 percent of the families that
booked apartments on the same day had come to
the launch through Saath. Of these, about 50
families that had not come prepared for making the
booking/ down payment, came the next day to
complete the booking process. By the end of the
launch process, DBS ended up having a waiting list
of about 800 potential customers.
Looking at the overwhelming response in the
context of the weather, the slushy approach roads
and the “inauspicious” month of the Hindu lunar 6calendar (Kamurta ), the demand for affordable
housing was confirmed. For the DBS Team, this
reinforced the appropriateness of its business
strategy and approach.
DBS also found that while its target group aspired
for a house with two rooms and a kitchen many
could afford only a one-room and kitchen unit.
Further, many potential buyers have difficulty in
arranging the down payment or 'margin' money
(which is usually 30 percent of the price of the
apartment) in one instalment. DBS also realised
that if house bookings were invited in the open
market, it was likely that all apartments would be
sold - indicating a strong investor interest in the
affordable segment.
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40 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
Ashoka at the site of Umang Lambha
Ashoka Innovators for the Public, founded in 1980, has over time focused on launching leading social
entrepreneurs and offered a range of programs and initiatives to deal with changing needs. More recently,
Ashoka is working to ensure that social entrepreneurs and their innovations continue to inspire a new
generation of change makers to create positive social change.
In Ahmedabad, Ashoka Foundation was in contact with Rajendra Joshi - an Ashoka Fellow who was
contributing to the development of its “Housing for All” (HFA) initiative financed in partnership with the Hilti
Foundation. Under this initiative, Ashoka contributes to cooperation among community organizations, land
developers and banking institutions to create affordable housing conditions for the poor. In this context,
representatives of Ashoka Foundation and Hilti Foundation had met Rajendra and visited Saath. Subsequently,
after Rajendra briefed them about his and Saath's involvement with DBS Communities for building affordable
housing, Hilti Foundation and Ashoka provided strategic support for the launch of the Umang Lambha.
Launch Publicity
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 41
Lessons from the launch of
Umang Lambha
DBS Communities, Saath, Micro Housing Finance
Corporation Ltd (MHFC) and others had the
opportunity to observe and learn from the activities
and issues identified before and during the launch
of Umang Lambha. These can be categorised in
terms of:
l Planning and design issues;
l Launch management, and
l Housing Finance, and
l Customers and visitors
Planning and DesignThe pilot project, because of its scale and location,
provided several site-planning and development
challenges. First, in its desire to initiate a pilot
quickly, DBS had not paid adequate attention to the
plot’s ground conditions and it had expected to get
clarifications regarding the land-use shortly. Despite
assurances from the Town Planning Department,
DBS faced the following situations:
l Initially, the TP Scheme of the area showed an
18 meters wide road going through the site.
Later, AMC clarified that there was no road
passing through the site.
l 20 percent of the site was earmarked for
institutional use but it was not clear whether this
was as a single block or spread-out across the
site as smaller plots.
l After the launch of the project, DBS found that
part of the area where construction was started
was earmarked as an institutional area.
Thus, construction on that part was halted,
resulting in development of lesser apartment
blocks on the site.
l A corner of the site was encroached upon.
This led to the decision of not building on
that part of the plot.
The changing situations led to alterations in the
layout plan a number of times, and finally after
due regulatory permissions were received, the
construction works for Umang Lambha formally
commenced in August, 2010. However, after
construction work was started, the foundation
design had to be modified to a raft-foundation
because of high ground water-level. In addition,
DBS found that contractors were not willing to
continue with the project. Queries revealed that
the contractors had found the requirements and
cost for scaffolding higher than envisaged
because of the high density of columns and
beams.
Thereafter, the DBS Design Team was further
expanded with engineering and other support
function staff, and prominent structural and
services consultants were roped in to assist the
in-house Design Team.
Launch managementA critical issue identified at this early stage was
that the key people (Saath staff and others) who
interacted with potential customers at the site
were inundated with queries, such as:
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42 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
I) The differential pricing of houses with
access to terrace and garden space;
ii) The stepwise process for booking of
houses;
iii) Meaning and implications of non-
agricultural plot (NA) and No Objection
Certificate (NOC);
iv) The loan papers to be made available by
the builders;
v) Rationale and method for charging floor
premium;
vi) Area to be deducted from the super built-
up area;
vii) Charges for “Dastavej/ Sale Deeds of
properties and electricity connection”. In
this context, visitors were particularly
interested in knowing which of the two
electricity companies in Ahmedabad would
be supplying power to the project;
viii) The details of construction and finishing
materials (RCC, finishings etc.), and
ix) The DBS Affordable Housing financing
options.
Customers and visitorsThe door to door marketing of the project was
innovative, and this influenced the number of
visitors to the launch. Queries on how people
heard about the launch of the scheme showed
that word-of-mouth was the most frequent,
followed by radio spots and newspaper
advertisements.
The need for a lot of handholding of customers was
identified. Therefore a team of 4 to 5 persons were
following-up with customers interested/ booking
apartments in Umang Lambha. Subsequently, DBS
decided on outsourcing the task of loan facilitation
in the future.
Customer follow-up included several critical housing
loan related issues, such as convincing potential
customers that taking larger loans was not good for
them and that they should take a minimal loan. In
addition, since many clients came with the
expectation that some financial benefit or subsidies
would be available for a scheme meant for low-
income groups, they had to be informed that DBS
Communities and Saath were not providing any
discount on price, rate of interest on loan or
financial assistance to the buyers of apartments in
Umang Lambha.
Based on the experiences and observations at the
Umang Lambha launch, DBS Communities, Saath
and MHFC decided to organise a Credit Camp, a
platform where potential Lambha customers could
have detailed interaction with housing finance
companies. It also led to the identification of the
need for long term actions in the area of financial
awareness and capacity building and of a housing
facilitation centre.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 43
One of the significant lessons learnt after the
launch of the pilot project was the challenges of
maintaining a cash-flow when commitments for
purchase of a house by people whom DBS is
catering to are very fragile.
The DBS observation is that the rate of
cancellation and new bookings for people in the
niche segment is about ten times more than in
projects meant for the formal housing market
DBS therefore decided that while the demand
was confirmed, it would be prudent at this stage
to cater to customers who had already shown
interest at the Umang Lambha site. DBS
therefore decided on a simple launch of its next
project where only 'waitlisted' people were
invited.
Housing FinanceThe key lessons from the Umang Lambha project
that were deliberated while considering options for
the new projects were related to finance.
DBS found that the purchase of land with borrowed
money was not a cost-effective solution.To have
greater outreach to the market and for leveraging
capital investment in the land, the management
decided to launch projects with the land owner as a
project partner. DBS therefore approached people
who owned land that had yet to be developed, and
offered to develop the land-parcel specifically for
affordable housing on a profit-sharing basis, and
received a good response to this offer.
DBS realized that housing finance is not reaching
this segment because of the regulatory
environment, the associated risks and the
vulnerability of the customers. Further, there is a
need to assess potential customers in terms of their
capacity and affordability, and provide handholding
support in terms of taking bookings, connecting the
customers to the appropriate housing finance
institution, getting the correct documents,
supporting the application process, and submitting
requests to the housing finance institutions for
release of loan at different stages. This required
continuous and intensive interaction with the
customers. Besides the facilitating support provided
by Griha Pravesh, the Team decided that it was
more appropriate to outsource this task. DBS has
selected an agency for this for its new projects.
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44 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
Credit Camps
After the successful launch of Umang Lambha
the DBS team and Saath received several
queries from potential customers about getting
loans. DBS found that although Mahindra
Home Finance, Micro Housing Finance
Corporation Ltd (MHFC), GRUH Finance, and
Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd
(DHFL) had stalls at the launch, people could
not have detailed discussions with the finance
companies because of the large crowd. Further,
based on an analysis of a database of
applicants created after the launch, and
feedback received through Saath, it was
obvious that the large number of people from
the informal sector would have difficulties in
getting loans from scheduled banks because
they would not have monthly pay slips.
DBS Communities therefore identified the need
for a platform where potential customers could
have detailed interaction with housing finance
companies. The main requirements were for
people to know the available options for
procuring loans, their affordability, and the loan
process – especially the requirements for
documents. This led to a decision to organise a
Credit Camp where such interaction can
happen.
The first Credit Camp was a joint initiative of
DBS, Saath and MHFC to understand the
financial positions of the clients better by
interacting with them and by collecting the
required documents for loan processing. A few
people from Monitor Group (India) came along
with MHFC executives to understand the on-going
efforts of DBS Communities and Saath, and of
people's response to the camp.
The first Credit Camp was organized on 5 and 6 3June 2010 at the Umeed Centre (Umeed is a
livelihood program run by Saath) near Behrampura
Post Office - a central and easily accessible location
convenient for most people. The Camp was
organised specifically for customers who had
booked apartments in Umang Lambha, and for
those whose bookings were cancelled or cheques
were returned.
To ensure active participation, the customers were
sent letters in Gujarati informing them about the
time, date, and location of the credit camp as well
as a list of documents that they should bring with
them for loan processing. About 150 customers
turned up for the credit camp.
A two-part questionnaire for getting essential
information about the customers was prepared by
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 45
Saath and MHFC in consultation with each other. At
the camp, representatives of Saath and MHFC
filled-in the forms with information given by the
clients. Subsequently, executives from MHFC had a
20-30 minutes discussion with each client. They
even counselled and convinced a few of them to
settle for a smaller house and loan amount due to
their income limitations or lack of documents.
At the end of the Credit Camp, almost all families
were found to be eligible for a housing loan, and
most loan-applicants were given preliminary
approvals. However, in many cases, there was a
gap between aspiration and affordability. It also
emerged that some customers would need
additional support for mobilizing the down payment.
In total, of about 150 people who participated in the
camp, 75 came with proper documents.
The experience of the credit camp revealed the
extent of support required by potential customers
and the need for an active facilitation process. This
soon led to a decision for setting-up a housing
facilitation unit called Griha Pravesh, and the
decision to organise Credit Camps on Day 1 of the
launch of future Umang projects.
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46 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
7Observation about the Credit Camp
On 5 June – day 1 of the Credit Camp, Saath’s Micro Finance Institution was hosting its Annual General
Meeting at the same venue. Therefore, when the meeting ended, a mass of inquisitive people crowded at the
registration and information desk. There were floods of enquiry on the type and cost of housing and a
possibility of getting a loan. We requested them to come to the construction site and see the full scale model
and also had to restrict them from interacting with the executives from MHFC so that the purpose of the credit
camp remains intact.
It was enthralling to hear the client’s background, stories and dreams of having a house of their own. Stories
of success and sorrow ranging from a technician who rose to have his own enterprise to a mother who lost a
young son in an accident quite recently and was determined to buy the apartment her son had dreamed of.
The clients were filled with determination, anxiety and one could see a twinkle in their eyes during the
interaction, which seemed impossible to shake their confidence and let them go dejected. We expect the
booking bells to continue ringing once the loans gets sanctioned as many other potential clients from the
target group would follow their friends and seek loans through MHFC.
We learnt about our clients and the motivation they possess to move up the social and economic ladder. We
understood that we need to prepare two questionnaires; the preliminary one will determine their eligibility for
loans and also involve counselling which will be done by Saath and the detailed questionnaire will be used by
the MHFC for an in-depth understanding of the client’s financial position and scrutinizing the documents. We
intend to host some more credit camps every fortnightly for the benefit of our clients in near future. Out of the
75 people who brought their documents, 63 people have got a principal approval out of which 13 loans are
sanctioned already.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 47
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48 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
Griha Pravesh Operation and Seminar Photos
Housing Facilitation Centre:
Griha Pravesh
The need for a housing facilitation centre
evolved with the realization that the customers
felt harassed and neglected because they
faced problems in getting responses to queries
about the project or finances. DBS realised that
the end-user and customers require support in
getting all information regarding affordable
housing projects, housing finance and on the
proposed community development activities.
DBS realised that if a single-window facilitation
centre was created, potential customers,
especially the illiterate and semi-literate, would
not have to visit various organizations/ people. It
would contribute to DBS efforts for establishing
a sustainable model of housing provision by
pulling together the strengths and experience of
DBS in the real estate space and of Saath in the
social inclusion space. The facility would initially
result in improved efficiency, and over time
become a larger and independent entity. Such a
centre would require a team of experts with
current information on the various aspects to
assist the clients.
DBS, Saath and MHFC principally agreed to
have a not-for-profit Section 25 Company under
the Companies Act 1956 as a housing
facilitation centre. In 2010, Saath and DBS
Communities set-up a housing facilitation
centre, called Griha Pravesh, which will provide
an interface between potential home buyers
from the informal sector who earn between
Rs.10,000 to Rs.25,000 (in 2010), and
developers, housing finance companies and
community development organizations.
Griha Pravesh aims to make it easier for people to
own a house by:
1. Gathering and disseminating information about
'affordable housing projects' to assist potential
clients make informed decisions about
purchasing their house;
2. Facilitating access to housing finance and
support for margin money, and
3. Facilitating integration of community
development initiatives with housing.
The target group includes people for whom
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 49
We expect to continue the process of
learning and responding to new lessons
and insights as we work towards
achieving scale and volume, and thereby
impact not only the lives of those who
purchase houses built by DBS
Communities but also those who want to
cater to the niche market at the bottom
of the socio-economic pyramid.
understanding the housing/ housing finance market
may be difficult because of the complexity of
paperwork, legal formalities and compliance
requirements involved in purchasing a property. It
may include people whose decision to purchase a
house is affected by factors such as lack of
information about affordable homes and non-
availability of suitable housing finance, knowledge
about access to health and education services and
employment opportunities in an unfamiliar location.
The interface with potential affordable housing and
existing DBS customers will be through Parivaar
Pragati Seminars that will be organised for
information dissemination and support as required.
To ensure that only those seriously interested in
purchasing a house participate in the Seminars,
participants are required to register as Griha
Pravesh members. The benefits of becoming
members of Griha Pravesh are:
i) The members are informed about the reasons
and benefits of asset creation, financial planning
and banking, housing finance processes and
related requirements documentation, etc.,
ii) Opportunities available to the members for skill
enhancement to enhance their incomes, and
iii) Introduction to services/ products such as
savings, loans, insurance, livelihood
enhancement, etc., for enhancing upward
socio-economic mobility.
Griha Pravesh Operational
model
Griha Pravesh has been set-up under the
umbrella of Saath's Shelter and Livelihood
Services (formerly Saath Livelihood Services
which was incorporated as a 'Section 25'
company in 2007), an existing livelihood
promotion platform to enable it to develop
synergies with on-going community
development initiatives. The Griha Pravesh
office has temporarily been established at the
Saath office, with two people dedicating 50
percent of their working time to its activities.
Initially supported by DBS and Saath, Griha
Pravesh will eventually become an autonomous
initiative that will collaborate with different
associate organizations, and replicate its
facilitation model in other parts of the country.
While partner associates in different cities may
vary, Griha Pravesh's core mandate of providing
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50 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
affordable housing to the poor will remain
unchanged. To ensure this, each new
organisation/ institution wishing to become a
member of Griha Pravesh will have to be
approved by the founding members.
Envisaged as a pan-India initiative, Griha
Pravesh will adopt a flexible approach as far as
the operational model for providing facilitation
services is concerned. Therefore, while a central
office will be common in every city, different
outreach strategies could be adopted for
reaching out to potential clients. These may
include field offices or mobile services
operating directly in target communities.
Griha Pravesh is being set up with a Board of
Directors drawn from the Saath and DBS teams
supplemented by independent Directors. A
professional team, consisting of people with
experience in community services, housing
finance and housing development, is being put
together. Eventually the Board of Directors will
be an independent body overseeing and
guiding the professional team.
Initial funding is being mobilized by DBS and
Saath. The first three years of operation is
estimated to cost about Rs.2,00,00,000 (two
crores). Griha Pravesh is open to receiving
funding from like-minded donors wishing to
support the cause of affordable housing. As a
not-for-profit company, individuals and other
entities can contribute in the following ways:
I) Sponsor a Parivaar Pragati Seminar – Rs.30,000
per event
ii) Support 5 families towards home ownership –
Rs.50,000 (over a 2 year period)
iii) Support the running of a community centre for 3
months – Rs.1,00,000
iv) Support the establishment of a new community
centre – Rs.3,00,000
v) Support the preparation of communication
videos – Rs.2,00,000
Partnership opportunities are also available for
those organizations that contribute directly to
upward socio-economic mobility of DBS
Communities' customers either through their
products or services.
Information on Affordable
Housing projects
Griha Pravesh will assist potential clients in making
a choice of a housing unit based on their budget
and affordability by providing information on:
l Affordable housing projects in the city;
l Housing site location and connectivity;
l Internal layout, unit type and size options
available;
l Housing terminology such as built-up area, super
built-up area, shared collective responsibility,
maintenance fund for common areas etc.;
l Basic prices of housing units together with
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 51
additional costs which the client is expected to
pay, including registration fee, stamp duty, legal
fee, utility charges etc., and the total cost price of
the individual housing units;
l Schedule of payments, and
l Expected time of possession.
Housing finance assistanceGriha Pravesh will facilitate smooth and speedy
provision of housing finance to the client by
providing information on:
l Maximum loan available as a percentage of cost
of property;
l Amount to be paid as margin money;
l Income and eligibility criteria for loan;
l Age criteria for loan applicants;
l Financial implications of their decision to
purchase a particular house, including how
household cash flows will be affected;
l Loan interest rate and maximum tenure for which
loan is available;
l Loan application fee and processing fee;
l Documents required for loan processing –
identity, address and income proof;
l Loan terms and conditions – co-applicant
requirements, mode of repayment (post-dated
cheques, ECS) etc., and
l Detailed information and handholding in the loan
process.
Griha Pravesh will also explore options for securing
margin money assistance for those clients who
are not in a position to make the down-payment
for the house.
Research & developmentGriha Pravesh can be effective in achieving its
basic objectives only if it continuously updates
information about low-cost housing projects etc.
and tracks the outcomes of decisions made by
Griha Pravesh members based on the support it
provided. Therefore, Griha Pravesh will actively
collaborate with ASHRAM (Academy for
Sustainable Habitat Research and
Management) for undertaking research and
development activities, including training and
policy advocacy. In addition, Griha Pravesh will
collaborate with other institutions with similar
areas of interest.
Community services
Griha Pravesh will ensure embedding of
community development interventions by
actively facilitating an interface between clients
and community service organizations for
providing primary health care, education,
livelihood, vocational training and microfinance
services and in getting essential identity and
income documents.
Griha Pravesh will provide an end to end
solution for affordable housing by creating a
database of potential clients, and by inviting
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52 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
various high net-worth individuals (HNIs),
corporates, builders and real estate players
working in the affordable housing market, and
financiers lending to the informal segment to be
a part of the organization and to donate
generously. It will also help genuine clients for
bridging the margin money shortfall, helping the
clients improve their livelihood means by the
various community development initiatives,
documenting the clients progress and
developing relations with MFIs, NGOs, financial
institutions and affordable housing players all
around the country.
Another key activity that will support the
effective functioning of Griha Pravesh is the on-
going staff training program comprising three
levels of training modules. The focus of the
training is on familiarisation with the objectives
and processes of Griha Pravesh, the housing
finance options and making the right match for
the customers, the objective, scope and details
of the community development initiatives, and
finally functional skills.
DBS Communities and Saath aim to reach
within ten years, more than 10,00,000 urban
customers across more than seven States in
India, and by 2014/15, have 5,000 Griha
Pravesh members through its six centres in
Ahmedabad and other cities of India.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 53
DBS understands that a sustainable
venture can be achieved through
continuous endeavour and by fostering
positive collaborations. It therefore
intends to enter into partnerships with
investors, reputed construction
companies and land owners.
Parivaar Pragati SeminarsAs part of its assistance for housing finance and
margin money, Griha Pravesh has been organising
Parivaar Pragati Seminars. The participants are
required to register as Griha Pravesh members. The
DBS Team found that when the fee was Rs.100 for
the first seminar, many persons who were not
seriously interested in purchasing a house in the
near future also became members. Consequently,
the registration fee was increased to Rs.350 from
the second seminar.
Griha Pravesh has organised three Seminars on the
‘Need for Financial Planning and Asset Creation’.
The first Seminar was held in Behrampura on 3
September 2011, the second was held in
Bapunagar on 24 September 2011, the third
Seminar was organised in Meghaninagar on 26
November 2011. The participants of all the
Seminars were taken through a process of
visioning, current financial status assessment as
well as steps for securing the future. The Seminar
sessions were interactive as well as informative with
people from diverse backgrounds sharing their
thoughts with great enthusiasm.
About 66 participants registered as members of
Griha Pravesh at the end of the first Seminar
and 44 at the second event. Based on a
diagnostic assessment, each family will be
counselled on savings and banking, preparation
of documents, home loans, skill enhancement,
insurance and various other services.
Since Griha Pravesh is functioning as a market
development catalyst, it is already inviting and
working with other developers in Ahmedabad. It
organised a Seminar sponsored by Foliage Real
Estate Developers Pvt. Ltd. on 24 March 2012 at
Isanpur. The objective of this Seminar was to
market Foliage's Garetpur housing project.
Thus, more than one HFI and developer are
now involved in Griha Pravesh. Now more HFIs
and Developers are involved in Griha Pravesh.
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54 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
Sammelan 1
3 September 2011
Financial Planning and Asset Creation
Behrampura
170
25
Small businesses
• Rajendra Joshi • Niraj Jani
• Dharmesh Kansara from Muthoot Finance
Empower Pragati Saath Muthoot Finance
Self-Help exercises and Seminar
Rs.100
66
Sammelan 2
24 September, 2011
Financial Planning and Asset Creation
Bapunagar
450
22
Daily wagers
• Niraj Jani • Manish Pancholi
• Madhuben Parmar,
• Dharmesh Kansara
from Muthoot Finance
Empower Pragati, Saath & Saath MFI DBS Muthoot Finance DBS
Self-Help exercises and Seminar
Rs.350
44
Sammelan 3
26 November 2011
Financial Planning and Asset Creation
Municipal hall at Meghaninagar
250
24
Government employees
• Parul Prajapati
• Jayesh Shah, MHFC • Akshay, from
Foliage Real Estate Developers Pvt. Ltd.
Empower Pragati Saath Muthoot Finance
Audio-Visual Presentation
Rs.350
NA
Sammelan 4
24 March 2012
Market Foliage’s Garetpur housing project
Panethar Hall, Isanpur
NA
NA
Mixed group
• Fareed from Foliage • Dharmesh Kansara from Muthoot Finance
Foliage Real Estate Developers Pvt. Ltd.
Audio-Visual Presentation
Rs.350
NA
Date
Theme
Venue
No, of people attending
Numbers of chawls visited for publicising Sammelan
Occupational Profile of people in chawls visited
Key Speakers
Key Sponsors’
Method of communicating knowledge
Registration fees
Number of people registering as Griha Pravesh Members
Comparing the Parivaar Pragati Sammelans / Seminars
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 55
Type of support required
Example
Customer is unable to pay 30 percent margin as required due to damage
of tobacco crop in his place of origin. However, he can pay it in around two
to four months and retain the booked flat. If given a week's time, he could
discuss the options with his family in the village.
An auto-driver could pay the margin money in about three to four months'
time. In the absence of any option, decided to cancel the booking for an
apartment.
A tailor did not have the required margin money and would have opted out
of purchasing an apartment if informed about his ineligibility for getting a
loan through the facilitators.
Problem
Not having Margin
Money at the time
required
Not aware of possibility/
option for getting a loan
Source: from Griha Pravesh Overview presentation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11 GRIHA PRAVESH
Home Registration & Stamp Duty
Loan Sanction Letter
Application for Loan
Selection of Home
Saving of Margin Money
Connect to Community Development programs
Guidance based on Diagnostic Report
Address and KYC Verification
Detailed Survey of the Customer
Customer becomes a Member
Griha Pravesh Stages of Customer Interaction
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DisseminationCampaigns
EngagedFacilitation
• Asset creation
• Documentation
• Financial literacy
• Skill upgrading, education
and health
• Home maintenance
House selection to filling-upsubmission and registration
of documents
Source: from Griha Pravesh Overview presentation
Griha Pravesh Functions
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 57
The Full Economic Citizenship (FEC) Program of
Ashoka Innovators for the Public and the Hilti
Foundation under their 'Housing for All' initiative
organized a Global Summit on Housing
Entrepreneurs in Barcelona from 30 November to 1
December 2011. The participants from more than 8
different countries included business, finance and
citizen leaders who were working in the affordable
housing sector.
Rajendra Joshi, B R Balachandran and Sowmya
Haran participated in this conference and shared
the DBS model for holistic community development
through housing. This was greatly appreciated and
the directors of DBS where able to contribute useful
insights to every seminar in the conference. Various
aspects of provision of affordable housing from
finance to construction technology were discussed.
A draft set of recommendations were circulated
before the conference and discussed during the
deliberations.
The directors of DBS are also contributing voluntary
time to other activities of Ashoka such as the Portal
for Collaboration of Affordable Housing
Stakeholders Certification System for Affordable
Housing.
DBS at the Global Summit of Housing Entrepreneurs
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DBS Communities has focussed on building up a high quality professional team committed to developing an
effective enterprise model for delivery of affordable houses. During 2010, the DBS Team gradually expanded
to include practitioners who represent different sectors and specialisms. This included the DBS management
and finance teams which were strengthened with Mr. Manish Pancholi - the then Chief Executive Officer and
Mr. Sudarshan Iyengar - the then Vice-President (Finance) joining in May 2010 and October 2010 respectively.
Core Team Expansion
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 59
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2011:Progress and Learning
Looking to the tremendous response
received from the market with the launch
of Umang Lambha, the Team decided to
start another project in the same lines. The
experience with the Umang Lambha
project greatly influenced the DBS
approach for the next project – Umang
Narol.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 61
Umang Narol
DBS Communities identified a land parcel of 3.4
acres in Narol, less than 3 km from the Umang
Lambha site, and the second DBS Communities
project in Ahmedabad was launched on 6 March
2011 in partnership with RJD Buildcon. The site is
easily accessible from the Lambha - Narol Highway
(NH8), and is @ 2 kilometres distance from public
amenities such as the BRTS services. The site has
a total of 8 blocks with RCC frame construction and
five floors above parking on the ground floor. Of the
885 units (360 units of 1 room-kitchen and 525 units
of 2 rooms-kitchen) to be built on the site, bookings
were opened for 450 units at the time of the project
launch. The response was again tremendous with
96 percent of the apartments booked within 2
weeks.
The project includes pucca roads, street light, own
bore well, garden, and spaces allocated for an
Urban Resource Centre, health centre, community
hall and micro-finance activities. Prices start from
Rs.3,99,000.
Based on the experience of Umang Lambha, the
apartment and cluster design is simpler, with the
ground floor space retained for community use,
more openings in the apartments for light and
ventilation, and services provision in a way that will
make maintenance easier in the future.
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2 BHK Unit : Type A and Type B
1 BHK Unit : Type A and Type B
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
Photographs of Umang Narol Site taken in April 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 63
Umang House Owners
Mrs. Rohitbhai Parmar, Umang Narol, Flat No. C-406
Geetaben and Babubhai Chauhan, Umang R3-117Lambha, Flat No.
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64 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
Devuben Kanjibhai Parmar, Umang Lambha, R2-220Flat No.
Nainaben Dave, Umang Lambha, G-203Flat No.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 65
On 23 April 2011, the sprawling DBS campus was
inaugurated. The invitees to the event included
participants in the Design Charette.
The campus comprises of the DBS Communities
Corporate Office, ASHRAM, studios, amphitheatre
with a seating capacity of 200 in two tiers and an
exhibition gallery below the amphitheatre. The
roofing for the studio is a translucent glass sheet
with steel stanchions grounded in support for the
roof. The upper seating in the amphitheatre has
been laid in the form of the steps and a circular
stage has been set for performance.
The DBS staff shifted into the new Corporate Office
from June, 2011.
A residential block for the use of security persons
and support staff is located at one end of the site.
Adalaj Campus
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It is necessary to work with the people
to ensure that they have the capacity to
repay the loans. DBS decided to
introduce activities that mitigate the
risks by introducing health, education
and skills upgrading services within the
scheme. This includes working with
people so that they have better incomes
and their aspirations rise and within a
few years, they become customers for a
larger house.
66 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
It is not enough just to design and build
affordable housing schemes. The developer/
builder needs to make arrangements that
enhance the confidence of the HFIs in the
viability of projects that largely cater to
people in the informal sector.
We have envisioned a future in which safe, livable
and legal housing is a reality for all. We have taken
it as our mission to build an enterprise which is
capable, not just to deliver thousands of houses to
base of pyramid home buyers, but also to provide a
host of support systems including housing finance
and livelihood support.
We are convinced that such a mission can be
accomplished only by a dedicated and passionate
team working with the best of facilities in an
inspiring environment. Our new campus at Adalaj
has been created to provide a lively space,
equipped for high productivity. It will accommodate
the offices of both DBS Affordable Home Strategy
Ltd and ASHRAM, its research centre. The campus
reflects our commitment to our vision and mission.
We have embarked on a journey. We know the
destination. We are discovering the route as we go
along. When we started work on this campus, we
were still formulating our business model. Today
we are on a rapid growth path and we see this as
essential infrastructure for operating at scale.
Therefore, even in the face of challenging financial
situation, we have made this investment for our
future. We invite you to join us on our mission and
make this campus yours too. Welcome to the DBS
– ASHRAM campus.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 67
ASHRAM: Academy for Sustainable
Habitat Research and Management
Based on its initial experiences, the DBS
Management decided to develop a dedicated
research and development centre, named
Academy for Sustainable Habitat Research and
Management (ASHRAM). ASHRAM will contribute to
the growth and development of the 'Affordable
Housing Eco-system' by:
l Creating value and supporting the affordable
housing eco-system;
l Contribute to the larger body of knowledge on
affordable housing;
l Bring together stakeholders from the affordable
housing eco-system for knowledge sharing and
fostering meaningful partnerships;
l Serving as a think tank for research and
advocacy, and
l Fostering social entrepreneurship in affordable
housing.
Specifically, to achieve its vision and mission,
ASHRAM will engage in the following activities:
l Research and Development;
l Training people involved in and/or wanting to get
more involved in catering to the affordable
housing eco-system;
l Advocacy;
l Specialized consultancies;
l Creating and participating in strategic
platforms, and
l Publication and dissemination of knowledge.
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68 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
ASHRAM will undertake research, publication and training broadly in the following thematic areas:
Design and Production of Affordable Housing: Housing affordability depends on the right sizing and right
pricing and this varies with the context. This would depend upon local economic development potential, the
status of the informal sector, real estate activity and a host of other variables. A lot innovation in design is
possible and desirable to arrive at an optimal living space both for new homes and home improvements. Further
many new technologies in construction processes, materials and outputs are being tested. The key efforts in
this sector will be directed to the preparation of analytical tools so that practitioners can make informed choices
on appropriate locations, product mix, sizing and pricing, construction technology, construction management
practices, materials and specifications, etc.
ASHRAM will research and develop cost effective and eco-friendly approaches that have the potential for
directly involving target group home-buyers in the housing process. The effort will be to systematically compile
knowledge in a way that makes it accessible and supports generation of new knowledge. This will cover the
entire spectrum from understanding context specific feasibility to construction and post occupancy
maintenance of housing projects.
Affordable Housing Finance: One of the greatest challenges in the affordable housing eco-system is the
access to credit by the informal sector. There are very few financial institutions that target the informal sector
with loans of more than Rs.1,00,000 and with loan tenure up to 20 years. Many of them require guarantors or
other kinds of security. The loan products are pre-determined with inadequate flexibility to address the special
needs of the informal sector. This area requires special efforts in research and advocacy.
ASHRAM will utilize DBS projects to undertake action research and develop effective models in micro finance
models for housing. While proven micro finance models are available for livelihoods, micro finance for housing
is still in at a nascent stage in India.
ASHRAM's activities will also focus on enhancing awareness about the potential of this market segment,
amongst housing finance institutions. ASHRAM will also look at the possibility of creation of a guarantee fund to
encourage financial institutions to lend to the informal sector.
Community Development: The provision of affordable housing must go hand in hand with initiatives for
community development especially in the areas of livelihood, behavioural change with respect to banking and
savings habits, health and education. These initiatives are important to build a cohesive community, enhance
socio-economic status of the customers and cultivate a healthy eco-system for access to credit.
ASHRAM aims to collate global best practices and knowledge, and encourage social entrepreneurship that
contributes to the affordable housing eco-system.
ASHRAM will undertake research and training to support the Community Development Initiative of DBS, and will
partner with organizations having domain expertise in the areas of health, education, livelihoods and micro-
finance to design and implement innovative initiatives which can be scaled up as social ventures.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 69
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Photographs of ASHRAM taken in May 2011
70 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
Lambha Customer Profiling
- The Findings
In order to better understand the target
community it aims to serve, ASHRAM and Griha
Pravesh undertook a survey of 360 of the 500
customers of DBS's first project “Umang
Lambha” in May 2011. For ASHRAM, the
profiling of these Umang Lambha Phase 1
customers will continue over a period of seven
years. The findings from the survey, which are
important for the different entities involved in the
affordable housing segment, are given below.
Location
The Umang Lambha customers are from
different locations across Ahmedabad, with the
maximum customers coming from Vejalpur
(~15 Kms from Lambha), Isanpur (~6 Kms)
and Narol (~5 Kms). This indicates that for
customers in the targeted segment, the
distance of an affordable house from the current
place of residence and occupation is not a
deterrent in their decision to purchase a house.
Income levels
56% of the respondents earn Rs.20,000 or less
per month and 27% earn between Rs.20,000 to
Rs.30,000 per month. Since many households
have more than one earner and/or comprise
joint families, there is a possibility that some
respondents only reported their own incomes.
Thus, there may be some under reporting of the
family income.
Expenditure
23% of the respondents spend more than 70% of
their income, with the highest expenditure being on
food and miscellaneous expenses.
Banking and Savings
94% of main loan applicants and 45% of co-
applicants have a bank account in their own name,
and State Bank of India, Dena Bank and Bank of
Baroda are the most popular amongst the account
holders. Only 43% of the respondents have some
sort of savings while 57% have assets in the form of
land or property, 4% have rental incomes, 12% have
cars and 69% have 2 wheelers. Only 11%
respondents have taken other loans.
Occupation
Of the 60% respondents who are self-employed or
informally employed, 36% are self-employed, 6%
have small shops/ stalls, 9% are daily-wage
workers, 3% are independent service providers
such as plumbers, electricians, mechanics etc., 7%
are working as auto-rickshaw and bus drivers or
conductors etc. and 1 % are home-based workers.
40% of the respondents are formally employed/
salaried (4% in Government and 36% in private
employment).
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DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 71
Self Employed with
shops/restaurants/garage
6%
Autorickshaw,
transport
7%
Home based-
tuition/tailoring/
embroidery
1%
Daily wage
labor
9%
Independent service
providers (plumber,
mechanic, etc.)
3%
Salaried- private
36%Salaried- Govt.
4%
Self
employed-
other
34%
Access to services
90% of the respondents have paved access to their
homes, 85% have a water-supply connection and a
toilet in their homes and 100% have electricity
connections. The high level of access to services is
because the respondents come from slums that
have been improved under the slum networking
project of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (1998 4to 2006) .
Documentation
There is a huge gap between the requirements
of housing finance entities for processing loan
requests and the documents the respondents
have. As indicated in the diagrams, there are a
variety of documents that are acceptable to
housing finance entities for considering and
processing loan applications. Despite this, the
Findings: Lambha Customer Profiling
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72 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
Availability of KYC related documents with salaried customers
Do not have Have
Identity proof
Residential proof
Salary slip of past three months
IT Form 16 details of past three years
Income Tax Returns of past three years
Bank Statements of past 12 months
Last Provident Fund Statement
Appointment / confirmation letter
Private company profile
Previous loan statements, if any
Additional investment details (LIC, KVP etc.)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
lack of a regular income proof is a major
hindrance for people in the informal sector.
These findings about availability of KYC related
documents with customers have provided the
housing finance companies with a good
indication of the issues that will be faced with
the target group customers.
HFIs
The research revealed that instances of
personal loans have been under reported by the
customers at the time of loan application. This
indicates the potential for home loans that
provide an option for debt consolidation. In
addition, as the DBS experience has shown, there
is a need for housing finance companies that are
dedicated to this segment to invest in general
awareness programs, customer education, and in
creating platforms for assisting individuals in
applying for loans and for obtaining required
documentation.
NGOs & CBOs
The DBS experience clearly highlights the fact that
handholding support cannot stop with the purchase
of a house. The occupants need effective support
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 73
Availability of KYC related documents with self-employed customers
Identity proof
Residential proof
Income Tax Returns of past three years
Audit report of the past years
Bank Statements of past 12 months
Address proof of business place
Agreement of Partnership
Business profile
Pan Card Number of Company
Previous loan statements, if any
Additional investment details (LIC, KVP etc.)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Do not have Have
model of providing pre-school education,
activities for women's empowerment, financial
literacy, skill upgrading etc. in the new
settlements.
Other Organizations
ASHRAM also conducted short surveys of
families who booked homes in Umang Lambha
and Umang Narol, and who later cancelled their
bookings. The study revealed that the corpus
of CBOs and/ or NGOs even after they move into
their new homes, especially for supporting them in
their efforts for upward socio-economic mobility
and to encourage their involvement in the long-term
operation and maintenance of the project areas.
This experience indicates that organisations
working on housing issues can enable access of
the poor to affordable housing by promoting others
or becoming facilitators and “market enablers”. This
will provide stimulus to the affordable housing eco-
system, and increase the demand for the DBS
Findings: Lambha Customer Profiling
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74 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
available with the customer for the down
payment and the monthly instalment on the loan
sanctioned often results in a viability gap of
Rs.20,000 to Rs.30,000. Consequently, the
home aspirant is unable to make the down-
payment in a timely manner, leading to
cancellation of the booking. This shows that a
fund that could hedge the risks of the housing
finance company or provide interest free loans
for the 'margin money' would be a possible
solution to this problem. The government,
charitable foundations or non-profit agencies
intending on working in this sector could
actively consider support in this area.
Developers
The DBS experience shows that the niche
market for affordable housing is large. In
Ahmedabad, the housing for this segment
should ideally cost less than Rs.7,00,000. Thus,
developers of such schemes need to be
innovative to provide one and two room houses
at competitive prices.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
Photograph of Umang Narol site taken in April 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 75
Strengthening the DBS Team
Reserve Bank of India for more than four and
half decades, and was formerly Executive
Director of National Housing Bank (wholly
owned by RBI). He has held various important
positions in RBI which included multiple
deputations to the Unit Trust of India and the
NABARD during their formative years. He was
also Consultant to the Asian Development Bank
and the Citibank. He is currently an Advisor and
on the Board of Directors of reputed corporates
such as Sahara Group and the Bengal Ambuja.
The DBS Team is keen on the involvement and
guidance of experts and practitioners who can
support the cause of affordable housing and be
catalysts for enabling access of people in the
informal sector to affordable housing. In addition,
DBS endeavours to continue building capacity of its
human resources.
In 2011, Mr. S.P. Ghosh, an authority in the field of
finance, investment and regulation, accepted the
DBS invitation to join its Board as an Independent
Director. Mr. Ghosh was associated with the
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2012: Partnerships and Management Systems
The first four months of 2012 have been eventful with the launch of Umang
Sachin in Surat and substantial progress in several other areas.
Mansing and Rekha Maurya, Umang Lambha, Flat No. G-120
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 77
One of the key achievements at the start of the year
was the decision to launch a new Umang project in
Surat in partnership with RJD Buildcon. Sachin is a
major industrial hub, a railway junction on the Surat
- Navsari railway line, and there are several housing
schemes under implementation in the surrounding
areas. Surat Municipal Corporation too has
constructed 2,372 dwelling units in the area for
“economically weaker section groups” under a slum
upgrading initiative.
The Umang Sachin project site of 4.02 acres
(16,307 sq.m/ 175,465 sq.ft.) is close to the railway
station, and it will have 839 apartments (128 of 1
room+kitchen and 711 of 2 room+kitchen) in a
total of seven blocks. Four blocks will have four
floors above a hollow-plinth and three will have five
floors above a hollow-plinth. The apartments are
priced in the range of Rs.4,85,000 to Rs.7,11,000.
At the launch on 26 February 2012, Umang Sachin
received a tremendous response. Informally more
than 80 percent of the units were booked before the
project was officially launched.
Umang Sachin, Surat...
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Snapshot Comparison of Umang Projects
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
Project Name
Location
Total site area
Setbacks & Margins
Net Saleable Area
No.
of Blocks
Number of floors
Number of apartments and their sizes
Launch Date
Price range
Partners
Booking Status on 10-06-2012
Pricing Range as on
10-06-2012
Umang Lambha
Vatwa, Ahmedabad
3.62 acres
(14,641 sq.m) / (1,57,534 sq.ft.)
13 m. from high tension line
4.5 m. from road
3 m. from plot boundary line
3,42,279 sq.ft.
10
Ground +3 floors (4 Blocks)
Ground +4 floors (1 Block)
Ground +5 floors (5 Blocks)
Total
792 of which bookings were opened for 519 units in Phase I & 273 units in Phase II
1 rm+kit
312 nos (~40%)
306 to 324 sq.ft.
2 rm+kit
435 nos (~55%)
486 to 585 sq.ft.
3 rm+kit
45 nos (~5%)
667 sq.ft.
2 May 2010
Rs.
3,50,000 to 8,50,000.
DBS Communities
Saath
• 100% booked
• Avg Rate/sq. yd=
Rs.10,690/ -
(min. 9,999/ & max. 13,500/-) -
• 1 RK unit price
(min. 3.30 – max. 4.68 Lakh)
• 2 RK unit price (min. 5.40 – max. 7.60 Lakh)
• 3 RK unit price (min. 7.40 – max. 8.06 Lakh)
Umang Narol
Narol, Ahmedabad
3.4 acres
(13,762 sq.m)/ (1,48,079 sq.ft.)
4.5 m. from road
3 m. from plot boundary line
3,66,390 sq.ft.
8
Ground +5 floors
(parking on ground floor)
Total
885 of which bookings opened for 450 units and the rest after 2 months
1 rm+kit
360 nos. (~41%)
306 to 324 sq.ft.
2 rm+kit
525 nos (~59%).
486 sq.ft.
6 March 2011
Rs.3,99,000 onwards
DBS Communities
Saath
RJD Buildcon (Land Owner)
• 95% booked
• Avg Rate/sq. yd Rs.
13,900/ - (min 11,750/- & max. 15,500/-)
• 1 RK unit price (min. 3.99 –
max. 5.40 Lakh)
• 2 RK unit price (min. 6.61 – max. 8.23 Lakh)
All Blocks
Umang Sachin
Sachin, Surat
4.02 acres
(16,307 sq.m)/ (1,75,465 sq.ft.)
4.5 m. from road side
10.5 m. from centreline of road to building face
3 m. from plot boundary line
4,48,650 sq.ft.
7
Ground +4 floors (4 Blocks)
Ground +5 floors (3 Blocks)
Total
839
- bookings opened for all units
at the same time
1 rm+kit
128 nos. (~15%)
450 sq.ft.
2 rm+kit
711 nos. (~85%)
550 sq.ft.
26 February 2012
Rs. 4,85,000 to 7,11,000
DBS Communities Saath
RJD Buildcon
• 70% booked
• Avg Rate/sq.ft. @ 1,450/-
• 1 RK unit price – 4.81 Lakh
fixed
• 2 RK unit price - 7.11 Lakh
fixed
(Land Owner)
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 79
The projects built under the Umang banner will
have similar facilities, layout plans, finishes and
detailing. With its focus on providing customers with
optimal useable space and quality finishing, DBS
Communities decided to use conventional building
techniques and materials rather than go for new
technologies and construction materials.
Considering the affordability of its target customers,
land prices, and the costs of building materials and
construction, the average size and planning options
for one and two room units are limited. Therefore,
once the design team led by Vineet Chadha and
Anjum Gupta finalised the basic plans of different
size apartments and clustering options, the DBS
Team agreed that these could be adapted in other
locations with minor adjustments and refinements in
response to the site contexts and conditions.
Setting a Benchmark
for DBS Umang Projects
Consequently, the efforts for new projects/
developments would focus on site planning and
refinement of cluster and block designs. This
would result in optimal use of unit and cluster
designs and in reduction of time required for
planning and designing new projects.
Having finalised which building and finishing
materials to use to maintain a quality standard
acceptable to DBS, and to set a benchmark for
design standards for all Umang Projects, DBS
decided on preparing a Design Manual that will
guide future projects and practices more
efficiently. The DBS Design Manual will provide
clear guidelines about the processes and ways
of constructing the houses, detailing of
elements and specifications of building
materials and finishes. It will provide
comprehensive information about relevant
development guidelines that have dictated the
design of the individual units and the apartment
blocks, as well as about requirements for
spaces for the community development
initiatives.
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In 2012, DBS formally initiated collaboration with Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri (architects, urban designers
and conservationists) of Panika, Ahmedabad. The aim is to further ensure that DBS customers get good value
for money, resources are optimally utilised, and optimal comfort and space utilisation are achieved,
Henceforth, a dedicated affordable housing division in Panika will work on the DBS projects.
The design philosophy of Nimish and Parul includes the following:
l Every problem, irrespective of its nature, magnitude or constraints has an appropriate solution
l Appropriate solutions will only come through clarity in the identification of the problems, the selection of the
correct tools and their appropriate applications
l Design and construction processes must offer opportunities for creative inputs at all levels of participation
Spreading Association
with Experts…
In order to achieve its Mission, DBS is committed to working with people who are
exploring alternative paths and passionately working towards equity and a sustainable
approach to development. Since its inception, the core group and management team has
expanded to include other experts in the fields of social development, architecture,
planning, housing finance and management. The expertise available with DBS Communities
has also grown through association and partnerships with other individuals and entities.
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DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 81
There are several new housing finance companies that are specifically targeting people
in the informal sector. Working with people with varied financial situations, the HFIs requires
special skills and attitudes that are specific to the segment.
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The DBS Team members share a vision and
recognise that their work is not only about
constructing and selling affordable houses for a
specific market. It requires a lot more efforts,
actions and processes that address the issues,
gaps and hindrances that arise because of the
specific market that the product is catering to. It
entails facilitating and enabling people to apply
for housing loans, and later, for regular
repayment of their loan instalments and
maintenance of their house and environment.
For DBS, this includes enabling access to
health and education services and support
through Urban Resource Centres after the
families move into their new homes.
The efforts and actions of the Team over the
initial 1000 days has given insights about
several issues and provided opportunities for
learning significant lessons that would be useful
for builders/ developers as well as other
entities/ groups that are interested in working in
the affordable housing market, especially
financiers.
Essential areas to look into are:
81. The Policy/ regulatory environment;
2. Design and construction;
3. Partnerships and Joint Ventures:
4. Housing finance, and
5. Demand side support.
Key Lessons after
1000 Days
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 83
The Policy/ Regulatory
EnvironmentHousing policy in India has largely focused on the
supply side. However, in order to have a thriving
market for affordable housing, it is essential to
address policy issues for the supply and demand
side of the affordable housing market, that is, from
the perspectives of the developers and the
customers.
The developer's perspective1. The requirement of environmental clearance for
projects of more than 20,000 sq.m built-up area
is a significant and important requirement, but
has negative implications on the affordable
housing market. The lengthy process leaves
developers with two options:
a. To plan projects that cover less than 20,000
sq.m built-up area and thereby lose economy of
scale in providing common facilities, or
b. To factor in the cost of delays of 6 to 12
months in launching the project.
2. The special provisions for low-cost housing in
building regulations are generally meant only for
up to two storied tenements and are not suitable
for low-cost buildings. Thus, developers have to
follow regulations, such as allocating parking
spaces for cars etc. At the same time, the
regulations do not include provision for mixed-
use/ commercial spaces at different floor levels.
3. The other building norms and space standards
result in the minimum cost of a dwelling unit
being too high. Thus, the lowest cost apartment
is not truly affordable to people with
incomes of up Rs.20,000 per month.
Permission for development of a wide range
of house types including dormitory or single
rooms that have cluster or group-level
kitchens, and toilet and bathing facilities etc.
would encourage more experiments and
options for those seeking a basic shelter.
4. Developers of affordable housing need
access to bridging finance/ funds because
the processing of home loans takes longer
for this market segment. This makes the
cash inflow back‐ended. Further, since this
market segment is highly price sensitive, the
project cycles need to be as short as
possible.
5. Most developers wanting to serve this
segment are relatively new entrants and are
in this business for reasons larger than short
term financial gains. With shorter track
records, they face challenges in accessing
cheap project finance.
6. Structural issues in urban development
cause artificial constraints in land supply in
the private domain and consequently drive
up the market value of land.
7. While structural reforms in the sector are
awaited, provision of legally clear
developable land at market value by the
government will substantially support the
affordable housing developers. In fact, this
would benefit the market segment without
any element of subsidy.
Key Lessons after 1000 Days
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84 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
The customer's perspective
The issues that customers face are related to
'qualifying' for a housing loan and to the actual
terms of borrowing.
1. Entry barriers for home loans for this market
segment, such as documentation, banking
habits and income proof hinder mainstream
housing finance companies and banks from
lending to low income customers even though
they are considered a “priority sector”. Based
on the DBS experience, it is essential to invest in
providing facilitating and handholding support
for the customers. DBS established Griha
Pravesh to provide such support and is actively
promoting its use by other developers.
2. People with incomes of up to Rs.20,000 per
month end up paying almost twice the interest
that higher income customer's pay and that too
in half the time. Also they get much lower loan to
value ratio. The risk perception is unduly high
despite extremely positive experiences of
Housing Finance Institutions (HFIs) and Micro
Finance Institutions (MFIs) dealing with this
sector. Given this situation, the margin money
component becomes a big barrier for many low
income customers who would otherwise make it
through.
3. People in this segment generally have very
strong ties with their kith and kin, and helping
each other is fundamental to their existence.
Therefore joint families are not uncommon.
However when a housing loan is given, HFIs still
evaluate their credit worthiness in a very myopic
manner owing to 'Guidelines of the Reserve
Bank of India'. Thus, a family of 8 members
having lived together for more than 10 years
with a combined monthly income of
Rs.22,000 is not eligible for a Rs.4,40,000
loan (given by 30% of monthly income as
EMI), but will probably get a loan based on
the incomes of the 'applicant and the
co‐applicant'. Therefore their actual eligibility
may come to about Rs.240,000, and a family
that requires a minimum living space of
about 500 sq.ft. can only afford a house of
about 350 sq.ft.
4. A majority of low income customers live in
rented accommodation (even in informal
settlements and slums) and find it difficult to
pay both rent and pre‐EMI during the
construction period. Therefore housing loans
with a moratorium on interest during
construction is desirable.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 85
Project Planning, Design
and Constructionl DBS Communities ensured that the design of
the individual units was based on the size and
character of multiple use spaces that potential
customers are used to and not dictated by cost
and space constraints. Further, the cluster plans
aimed at creating external spaces that people
could use comfortably. Further, quality finishing
materials such as granite kitchen platforms were
used to enhance the quality of the finished units.
l The allocation of spaces for community
development initiatives have resulted in some
reduction in saleable apartment area – but the
benefits of introducing these services in each
project area means that the occupants have
better and easier access to basic services.
l In the current economic situation, the targeted
market segment can afford a maximum of two-
room apartments. An analysis of the
background studies and DBS observations
have contributed to the planning of one and two
room apartments and clusters. Thus, although
future projects will comprise of one and two
room units, there is scope for refinement of the
unit and cluster plans in response to the context
and feedback from Umang Lambha customers.
l Standardisation and a product mix are essential
for efficiency and resource management.
l Introduction and refinement of design elements
is a continuous process. Additional efforts are
required to provide spaces for community
interaction.
l The decision to introduce community
development initiatives as part of the
business strategy and allocate spaces for
them means that although the developer is
losing out on 'saleable apartments', the
design is more responsive to the needs of
the targeted customers.
l The building norms are in favour of parking
spaces and hence design cannot be
responsive to the spatial needs of specific
customers, such as requirement for open
and semi-open community use spaces.
l Although coordination amongst specialists
working on the architectural, structural and
infrastructure plans for such projects is
largely facilitated by the Design Team and/or
developer, during the planning and
implementation stages of Umang Lambha,
DBS identified the need for better
coordination with the structural design team.
Key Lessons after 1000 Days
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Joint VenturesDBS Communities has experimented with a
different implementation model for the three
projects launched before April 2012. In the pilot
project at Lambha, DBS bought the land, undertook
construction and development work, and marketed
the project.
With an on-going project to demonstrate what DBS
Communities was aiming for, DBS partnered with a
landowner for the Umang Narol project. The
arrangement was for the landowner to get a share
of the profits, while DBS took responsibility for the
project's construction and marketing. For the
third project Umang Sachin at Surat, DBS once
again partnered with the landowners who also
are responsible for construction and
infrastructure development. In this case, DBS is
responsible for designing, marketing the project
and customer management.
For each project, DBS is supported by housing
finance companies that are venturing into the
affordable housing space and providing loans
to both - the formal and informal sectors. These
include MHFC, GRUH Finance, HFFC, Muthoot
Finance, etc.
Joint Venture Arrangements for Umang Projects
LAND DESIGN CONSTRUCTION MARKETING FINANCE
DBS buysthe land
DBSresponsible for
construction
DBSresponsible for
project marketing and customermanagement
DBSresponsible for Design & Site
Planning
DBSresponsible for Design & Site
Planning
DBSresponsible for Design & Site
Planning
Landowner
partnerswith DBS
Landowner
partnerswith DBS
DBSresponsible for
construction
Landownerresponsible for
construction
DBSresponsible for
project marketing and customermanagement
DBSresponsible for
project marketing and customermanagement
MHFC, GRUH Finance
Ltd. and Dewan Housing Finance Corp
Ltd.
GRUH FinanceLtd., MHFC and Muthoot Finance
Micro HousingFinance
Corporation and Muthoot Finance
Umang LambhaAhmedabad
3.62 acres14,641 sq.m
Umang SachinSurat
4.02 acres16,307 sq.m
Umang NarolAhmedabad
3.4 acres13,762 sq.m
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 87
Housing FinanceDespite the demand and saleability of houses in
projects meant for people in the informal sector, the
projects cannot be treated the same as those
meant for the general housing market.
The developer needs to put in substantial efforts to
have the required cash-flow. Although the demand
for houses costing up to Rs.8,00,000 exists, there
are issues related to cash-flow because of the
market segment for which the houses are being
built. This is because the financial situation of the
customers is fragile and any unforeseen event
(such as a sickness related expenses) can result in
the customer not paying instalments or the down-
payment. In some cases, the customers had to
cancel a booking because they could not get a loan
due to lack of proper documents for the financing
entity. Sometimes customers make the down
payments promptly and the banks tentatively
approve loans, but since the customer is unable to
provide the required documents/ documentation,
the HFIs do not release the funds.
The developer/ builder needs to make
arrangements that enhance the confidence of the
HFIs in the viability of projects that largely cater to
people in the informal sector. Since HFIs are more
comfortable in extending finance to the informal
sector when an intermediary such as an NGO is
acting as an interface, DBS has an advantage
because of its association with Rajendra and
partnership with Saath.
The DBS observation is that the rate of cancellation
and new bookings for people in the niche segment
is about ten times more than in projects meant
for the formal housing market. Thus, the builder/
developer requires funding to bridge the time
between getting the returns from the customers
and the timing when funds are required for
timely and efficient construction process.
HFIs have laid-down formulae, which look at the
debt burden, income and longevity of the
person for giving loans in the formal sector.
However, this is not true for the informal sector,
which comprises people with a variety of
occupations such as bus-conductors and
sweepers who are formally employed and have
regular pay-slips and vendors etc. do not have
this. Further, while borrowers in the formal
sector are generally well aware of the nuances
and have the required paperwork such as
driving license for address proof, the informal
sector customer may only have a ration card.
So guidance for customers from the informal
sector is absolutely essential through trained
staff/ facilitators of entities such as Griha
Pravesh for linking them up with finance
companies.
Key Lessons after 1000 Days
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Currently, there are few such facilitating entities
compared to the huge market requirement, and
developers cannot take this up because it
would require them to employ three times the
number of people to engage with three times
the potential clients (one-in-three potential
customers actually become a real customer/
house buyer). The experiences and related
actions taken by DBS Communities in terms of
establishing Griha Pravesh and organising the
Pragati Parivaar Seminars have resulted in more
financing companies coming forward to support
Umang projects.
Facilitators need skills for judging the risk
underwriting for potential customers. Generally,
since each person does the risk underwriting
intuitively, different facilitators and financing
institutions are likely to differ about the risk
posed by a potential client. For the informal
sector, assessors look for the following three
indicators:
1. The amount of steady income for month
2. The one-shot spend pattern of the person
3. Capital spend income
Unlike in the formal sector, where generally a
client would be prompt in meeting the banker
when called pertaining to a loan, in the informal
sector, the same urgency in making timely EMI
payments is not observed. Further, about 4 to 5
meetings are required with informal sector
clients before the loan process is finalized while
for the formal sector, the process may end with
one or two meetings. Some HFIs such as
GRUH and MHFC in Ahmedabad have staff
who can decide on whether to give loan to
particular customers while others require the
paperwork to be sent elsewhere or their head office.
When the customers have all the papers/
documents, the HFIs can sanction the loans very
quickly, for example, HFFC sanctioned 3 loans on
the day of the launch of Umang Sachin in Surat.
Looking at the issue from the commercial
perspective of a developer, he would like to
complete the construction and sale of a scheme as
quickly as possible and move on to another
scheme. He cannot be casual or charitable
because he is working on enabling access to the
poor for an affordable housing. Thus, in schemes
for affordable housing, here are diverse attitudes to
the 'projects'.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 89
Community DevelopmentThe main learning from the DBS Communities'
efforts and activities of the past 1000 days is that it
is possible to enable access of people from the
informal sector to formal housing. However, in order
to achieve this objective, there has to be coherence
and concerted actions for addressing the three core
areas of the DBS business strategy.
The commitment of DBS Communities to support
people at the base of the socio-economic pyramid
to purchase a house has led to further actions such
as providing an interface between the communities
and housing finance companies. DBS Communities
has collaborated with Saath to provide/ extend the
following to its targeted customers:
l Facilitating support and outreach to potential
customers in different slum areas in
Ahmedabad;
l Conducting research/ studies of people in the
informal sector;
l Special arrangements and activities as for Griha
Pravesh, and
l Once customers start occupying/ moving into
their new homes, extend health, education,
development and micro-finance/ savings and
credit activities through Urban Resource
Centres.
Key Lessons after 1000 Days
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Rekhaben Mansingbhai Maurya, Flat No. G-120, Umang Lambh
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 91
Micro Housing Finance Corporation Limited
(“MHFC”) is the first housing finance organisation to
focus exclusively on the financially excluded urban
low income households. It focuses on personal
verification of income and expenditure patterns
rather than insist on income proof and payslips.
MHFC works with developers who are constructing
apartments costing less than Rs.10,00,000.
To start with, since MHFC and DBS are targeting the
same economic group, DBS invited MHFC for the
Design Charette. During initial interactions, MHFC
was very impressed with the commitment of Sanjay,
Balachandran and Rajendra, and their focus on end-
users. MHFC decision to collaborate with DBS was
influenced to a large extent because of its
association with Saath and Rajendra Joshi. MHFC
has partnered with DBS in the three Umang projects
launched till April 2012 and its confidence in DBS
has been strengthened because of the following
observations:
a) DBS's focus on end-users has led to important
initiatives such as the organising of Credit Camps
and setting-up of the customer counselling
centre - Griha Pravesh. The initiative of
supporting the financially excluded families in
their quest for a house and helping them
become eligible for loans is unique. MHFC has
been actively involved in the Credit Camps and
Pragati Parivaar seminars organized by Griha
Pravesh. MHFC is particularly impressed with the
Pragati Parivaar Seminars where the customer is
not just given information on DBS projects, but
also on other competing projects. This
transparency and focus on the customers
getting maximum choice will ultimately make
it sustainable and make it DBS stand out
amongst its peers.
b) DBS has a long term perspective. It is
building its business block-by-block and has
stayed true to its original mission by not
moving into the mid or higher market
segments. It views 'profits' as a means for
sustaining the organisation rather than
making the maximum possible profit as
quickly as possible. This is amply
demonstrated by the fact that unlike several
other developers, DBS has raised the prices
of the houses in a more conservative manner.
c) Another unique approach of DBS is that it
reserves a certain percentage of houses for
clients who come through Saath, which
further reveals it's commitment and focus on
lower income end-users.
d) DBS is now implementing its third project
and it has about three more in pipeline. It
shows that DBS is a serious and credible
long-term player in this segment.
For MHFC, the relationship with DBS as
important and it expects the partnership to grow
over time. As on 31 March 2012, all MHFC's
customers who may not have been deemed
credit worthy by mainstream banks and housing
finance companies, are paying their EMIs on
time. There were no past dues.
Micro Housing Finance
Corporation Limited (MHFC)
HFI Perception of DBS
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Home First Finance Company (Home First) aims
to make home loans easier for consumers who
are buying their first home. Its focus is on people
wanting to purchase houses in the range of Rs.
5,00,000 to 20,00,000. The range is wide
because the house prices in cities like Mumbai
would be very different from others.
Since many housing finance companies that
focus on the affordable housing market have
started over the past 4 years, HFFC's business
strategy is to tie-up with developers who are
constructing houses for the same target group.
As of 30 April 2012, HFFC has a presence in
urban peripheries of Ahmedabad, Bangalore,
Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.
HFFC has found that because of its focus on
customers wanting to purchase housing costing
a maximum of Rupees 20,00,000, the supply is
restricted. DBS is one of the developers that has
continued its focus on people who can afford
houses of up to Rupees 10,00,000 by
constructing houses of 1 and 2 rooms and
kitchen. This is unlike other builder/ developers
who get tempted to construct larger houses, sell
them and move on to the next project.
In the affordable housing segment, customers
are generally purchasing their first house, and
are less aware about the processes involved
than people in higher income groups. In
addition, they are more hesitant about making
the decision to purchase a house because it
involves a high financial risk. They ask a lot more
questions to clarify doubts or ascertain details. At
the same time, they have few documents that are
required by housing finance institutions. HFFC
therefore has evolved a process for the evaluation of
such customers through physical verification.
HFFC identified DBS Communities as a potential
partner while searching for organisations working
with its target segment. This was substantiated by a
Monitor Group Report that identified DBS as an
important entity in the affordable housing market. By
the time DBS Communities and HFFC came
together, almost all the units in Umang Lambha were
sold out. HFFC therefore started its association with
DBS with Umang Narol.
HFFC is likely to continue its association with DBS in
the future because they are targeting the same
market segment. Customer counselling is very
important for the affordable housing customers and
DBS is doing this very well in two ways. One is the
activities through Griha Pravesh and the second is
through DBS staff that support customers on site by
responding to their queries. Further, DBS has
associated with Saath which takes care of the
preparatory work in terms of thee customers having
bank accounts and having some savings for the
down payment.
Home First Finance
Company (HFFC)
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 93
On completion of 1000 days, besides acting on
the lessons and directions identified to date,
DBS communities will be working towards
actualising its vision and mission together with
its Team of experts. The DBS Team is poised to
take actions as follows:
1. DBS shall begin to access formal financial
institutions for project financing. The
business model is viable and profitable and
there are plenty of options available from
banking institutions to lending companies.
2. DBS understands that a sustainable venture
that provides quality products can be
achieved by fostering positive
collaborations. It therefore intends to enter
into partnerships and tie-ups with investors,
reputed construction companies and land
owners.
3. DBS recognizes the need to generate
goodwill and participation from the larger
community and intends to enrol a wide
range of accomplished individuals as
symbolic owners of the company.
4. DBS has put in place ERP systems in place,
which through ongoing implementation, will
help DBS in becoming a system driven
organization.
Beyond June 2012
Way Forward and Future Plans…
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94 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
1.To have an assessing window that assesses the
potential customer as soon as he/ she walks in to
'possibly book an apartment'. This can either be
done by Griha Pravesh or by the housing finance
institution. When DBS next opens a scheme/ or
location, Griha Pravesh or the HFI will assess the
customers' readiness in terms of availability of
paperwork/ documents and margin money when
they walk into the booking office. If the customer is
ready, the HFI takes her/ him and works towards
approving a loan and if not ready, she/he comes
under the guidance of Griha Pravesh.
2. To have an analytical tool such as CIBIL (Credit
Information Bureau of India Limited, which acts
like a central repository of credit information in
India where as many as 500 different banks and
financial institutions report each of their
customers actions to them) for this target group.
3. To check whether this group takes consumer
loans for TVs, refrigerators and other white
goods that are offered by retailers. This
would reveal what is the minimum
documentation 'accepted' for such consumer
loans (PAN number, Name and supporting
proof documents).
4. Demand Aggregation – introduce a means
that provides visibility into purchasing
requests for 'affordable housing' through the
process of coordinating and consolidating
requirements. Demand aggregation would
facilitate various companies of an enterprise.
It would enable identification and equipping
of potential customers who are not yet ready
to purchase a house. Further, this can help in
cost-effectiveness through identification of
product demand across multiple locations,
and aggregation of distribution channels or
other units of the enterprise. For example, a
single purchasing request and ordering from
a limited set of suppliers following
standardized purchasing procedures.
5. The role of Griha Pravesh is very important
and one would want it to scale-up multiple
times.
Housing Finance
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 95
Community DevelopmentAs already highlighted, community
development initiatives for the long-term have
already been planned and spaces for locating
them are an integral part of each DBS project
plan and design. However, DBS Communities
anticipates some changes in the nature of
activities in response to the wider socio-
economic environment and aspirations of the
people.
As individuals get actively involved in say micro-
finance, health, education and/or livelihood
activities in a particular project, they will be
supported for further upgrading of skills for
managing community development activities within
the project area as well as for supporting and
training others in new areas.
Way Forward...
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Future Umang Projects in Gujarat
Bhavnagar
Ahmedabad
Gandhinagar
Surat
Rajkot Vadodara
India - Gujarat
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 97
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited is led by a team of practitioners and professionals who come from
diverse backgrounds – finance, architecture, urban planning and management. What unite them in this
venture are their passion and a strong belief that it is possible to provide financially viable, good quality, and
market based solutions for affordable housing.
The Core Team…
Sanjay ShahSanjay Shah Real Estate Developer & Architect
I have always been inspired by traditional
and informal finance systems which are
built entirely on relationships of trust. I
want DBS Communities to extract the
essence of these traditional models and
cast them into a system that is both
humanitarian and viable, and use it to
create liveable and affordable community
housing.
Sanjay Shah has over 15 years of experience in
architecture and real estate development, and is
currently involved in real estate development in
Ahmedabad, Dubai and Morocco.
Sanjay started his career as a real estate developer
in Ahmedabad in the mid-nineties. Way ahead of
the market at that time, he conceived and built a
successful series of fully furnished and moderately
priced apartments under the brand name
Nandanvan. In the process, Sanjay innovated on
cost control as well as pricing, and his company
became one of the first few in Ahmedabad to
develop effective quality management systems.
Since 2005, Sanjay has also been involved in a
construction business in Dubai where one of the
specialized areas of work that he has been dealing
with is workforce housing. This experience
reinforced his earlier interest in affordable housing.
Sanjay believes in the viability of a market based
approach to community housing. He brings his
vision, his capabilities as a strategist, and
pragmatism to every aspect of DBS’s functioning
and project concepts and ideas based on his many
years of ground experience,. He believes in
challenging himself and others and his involvement
brings rigor to processes in the organization. He will
focus on strategic positioning of DBS Communities
in the real estate market, on the company's internal
systems, and on strategies for procurement of land,
construction and marketing.
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98 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
B. R. BalachandranArchitect & Urban Planner
Urban India has just begun its journey of
transformation. It is important that this
transformation should start with the people
who actually build our cities. It is my vision
that DBS Communities will participate in
building the foundations of a truly
egalitarian society.
B.R. Balachandran is an architect and urban
planner with nearly two decades of professional
experience. He is the Managing Director of
Alchemy Urban Systems Private Ltd. - a
professional planning and design firm based in
Bangalore.
Balachandran started his career as a practicing
architect in Thiruvananthapuram, and then from
1997 to 2006 worked as a planner in
Environmental Planning Collaborative),
Ahmedabad. As its Executive Director, his
notable contributions included the
reconstruction planning of Bhuj (Kutch, Gujarat)
after the earthquake of 2001. In 2007, he set up
Alchemy Urban Systems Pvt Ltd and has been
working on projects ranging from planning for
water management in Kolhapur to planning for
post-flood reconstruction in Bihar. Balachandran
has led planning teams on the preparation of
Development Plans and other urban planning
projects across India as well as in Sri Lanka,
Nepal, Bangladesh, Mauritius and Indonesia.
With his colleagues at Alchemy, Balachanadran
has been campaigning for changing urban
planning, policy and legislation to enable
market based solutions for affordable housing.
As one of its Directors, Balachandran brings to
DBS, his understanding of the urban housing
process with its multiple dimensions. He
focuses on systems and processes that enable
affordability for the target group of buyers.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 99
Dinesh Jain is a Chartered Accountant by
profession. He has 20 years' experience in
corporate finance. Based in Ahmedabad, he is
one the main promoters of the Company.
Dinesh started his career with the Ahmedabad
based Jindal Group in 1992. He was also a
Director in several group companies including
Balaji Realty Ltd, a subsidiary of Jindal
Worldwide Ltd (listed in the BSE). Dinesh has
managed the finances of many group
companies involved in textiles, dyes and
intermediaries, internet service providers, real
estate and investment activities. He has been
involved from the conceptualization of new
enterprises to their full operation.
Recently, Dinesh entered a new phase in his
career and business as Promoter and Director
of several new companies including Tanya
Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. and DBS Affordable
Home Strategy Ltd.
As one of its main promoters, Dinesh brings to
DBS his expertise in building large and robust
financial management systems, the qualities of
leadership and sound principles of financial
management. He focuses on corporate finance,
project finance and community housing finance.
Dinesh JainChartered Accountant
I firmly believe that sound financial
management systems are essential for any
company to deliver on its promise. I am
committed to the highest levels of integrity
and accountability in the finances of DBS
Communities.
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100 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
Rajendra JoshiSocial Entrepreneur & Founder Trustee, SAATH
I am convinced that the quality of life of the
urban poor will improve when they are
approached as a significant market. For
housing, the need is to create a sustainable
market ecosystem for this segment. At DBS,
we want to demonstrate that the cost and
design of houses, affordable housing finance
and community development are
complementary enablers for affordable
housing.
Rajendra Joshi, a social entrepreneur, has been
involved in development work with the urban
and rural poor in India through Saath - an NGO
he founded in 1989. His experience in
development and social entrepreneurship has
made a great impact in the low income
communities and slums of Gujarat, and other
Indian states. Working in cooperation with
several government, academic and non-
governmental organisations and institutions, he
has made several interventions to improve the
life of those at the Bottom of the Pyramid. By
using market-based strategies to create
inclusive societies in both poor urban and rural
communities, he has strategized, planned and
facilitated interventions in public health,
education, livelihoods, infrastructure and basic
services, microcredit, natural resource
management, institution building, organisation
development, public policy, conflict resolution
and disaster management.
As a Director of DBS Affordable Home Strategy
Ltd., Rajendra brings to the enterprise his in-
depth understanding of community
development and in particular, the areas of
livelihood, microfinance and housing
affordability.
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 101
Sakti Prasad Ghosh has a chequered service
career spanning over three and a half decades.
The journey started as a Probation Officer
(Class I) in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and
ended with him retiring on superannuation as
Executive Director, National Housing Bank
(Reserve Bank of India). During this period
Ghosh was placed on deputation, twice with
Unit Trust of India (UTI), and to National
Agricultural Bank for Rural Development
(NABARD) and National Housing Bank (NHB)
during their formative years. The long career
with RBI has provided him understanding of
macro-economic dynamics, functional aspects
of Central Bank and Development of Financial
Institutions.
On superannuation, engagement with Asian
Development Bank (ADB) as Management
Specialist-cum-Staff Consultant has provided an
understanding of working with multilateral
institutions. Concurrently, association with Citi
Bank as Consultant has provided
understanding of business strategies of
financial services institutions. Currently, Ghosh
is on the advisory and board level of various
Infrastructure and Housing Development
companies and Housing Finance Institutions.
Sakti Prasad GhoshEx- Executive Director (National Housing Bank,
wholly owned by the Reserve Bank of India)
Urban India has just begun its journey of
transformation. It is important that this
transformation should start with the people
who actually build our cities. It is my vision
that DBS Communities will participate in
building the foundations of a truly
egalitarian society.
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Parul Zaveri and Nimish Patel's practice
Abhikram (meaning 'Initiation' in Sanskrit) was
established in 1979 with a view to explore the
design directions, and processes, which make
the built environment, functionally,
psychologically, environmentally and spiritually,
more contextual and more comfortable for the
end-users. After 23 years of efforts in initiating
directions, approaches, process and use of
traditional materials, technologies and skills,
ABHIKRAM made room for PANIKA, through
which Parul and Nimish undertake works that
attempt to re-establish the relevance of
traditional decision-making processes in
contemporary context, and to conserve energy
through Passive Human Comfort Systems.
Nimish and Parul bring to DBS their belief in
the visionary thinking behind architecture of
India which captures the aspirations and uses
the capabilities of human resources for
transforming them into unimaginable future
realizations.
Nimish Patel and Parul
Zaveri of Panika,
Ahmedabad.Sr. Conservation Architects
To Parul and Nimish, the Built Environment
means:
Ÿ A response to human needs that must go
beyond function, economics and aesthetics
to cover human comforts.
Ÿ Human comforts comprise physical as well
as psychological aspects.
Ÿ Adequacy of physical and psychological
comfort leads to increased productivity,
better human relationships, and overall
peace and happiness.
Ÿ It is only when architects address these
issues that the contribution of the
profession to society is likely to increase
in geometric progression.
Need photo
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 103
Vineet Chadha and Anjum Gupta are architects
and urban designers with nearly twenty years of
professional experience. They established
SAAR – Studio for Art and Architectural
Research in Bhopal. Vineet and Anjum, who
believe in the creative use of innovative, cost-
effective and eco-friendly building systems,
have designed, coordinated and executed
urban, architectural, interior and landscape
design projects. Vineet and Anjum have
extensive experience in large residential and
institutional projects and have won many
accolades for their work in different parts of the
country.
Vineet and Anjum are bring their passion and
experience in developing approaches to design
and construction that are most appropriate for
community housing in different climatic,
geographic and socio-economic situations.
They have designed Umang Lambha and
Umang Narol projects and also have developed
the housing typologies for DBS.
Vineet Chadha & Anjum GuptaArchitects & Urban Designers
We firmly believe that in the future that we
are all living into, community spaces,
collective processes and sustainable use of
materials and technology are vital for the
health of human societies and this planet. We
visualise DBS Communities as a leader in
this new genre of community housing.
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Sowmya HaranArchitect & Urban Planner
Sowmya Haran is an architect and urban
planner with over ten years of professional and
academic experience. Sowmya started working
on urban planning projects at Environmental
Planning Collaborative where she worked on
preparation of local area and city development
plans. As a Director of Alchemy Urban Systems
Private Ltd., which she co-founded with B R
Balachandran, Sowmya manages a variety of
projects.
Sowmya brings to DBS her understanding of
systemic issues in housing provision, and will
focus on Corporate communications, and the
research and development agenda of DBS for
influencing the national housing policy.
Ravi Iyer is an independent Management
Systems consultant with nearly twenty years of
professional experience. He qualified as a
construction technologist and is a certified Lead
Auditor in ISO 9000 and 14000. Ravi has
developed quality management systems for
varied functional areas such as marketing,
quality control, shop floor management,
purchase and inventory and human resource
management. He specialises in systems for real
estate development, construction, and
architectural design and engineering services.
As an expert who is extensively involved in
systems development, training and auditing,
Ravi is instrumental in developing systems for
DBS and in training the staff in its use. He is
working towards ensuring that DBS
Communities is a systems-driven organisation.
Ravi IyerConstruction Technologist
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 105
Manish has and overall experience of 15 years
in S & M, Business development & Operations.
He has headed large teams of people in the
entertainment industry and successfully
established business processes from scratch.
His last stint was with E- city ventures, ZEE
group.
Sudarshan is an accomplished finance
professional with over two decades of
experience in Retail Finance, which includes
Housing, Auto and Consumer Finance. He has
held leadership positions in well know Financial
Institutes such as GRUH, Citi Group and Future
Group. His desire to make a change in the
socio-economic status for Base of Pyramid
clients, through affordable housing has evolved
to make him an important part of the core team
at DBS.
Manish PancholiDirector (Sales & Business), DBS
Sudarshan IyengarDirector, DBS
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SaathSaath is a non-governmental organization registered as a public charitable trust
in Gujarat, India. It has facilitated participatory processes to improve the quality
of life for the urban and rural poor and provide a platform for individuals,
institutions and corporate to partner with bottom of the pyramid communities.
http://www.saath.org
Tanya Infrastructure Private LimitedIt is a real estate company currently involved in sale of plots and development at
Sanand and Nal Sarovar.
Saar (Design and Execution)Studio for Art and Architectural Research is a Bhopal based firm working on
urban design, architectural design, interior design and landscape design
projects along with their supervision and execution. They have done projects like
Ispat industries, ICICI Lombard, Madhya Pradesh eco-tourism board, hotel
Hilltone and Hotel Recluse (Mt. Abu), Greenwoods country club, Drishti offset
etc.
Alchemy Urban System Private Limited.Alchemy is committed to the task of enabling the continuous positive
transformation of Indian cities by providing creative and insightful professional
services in the areas of urban planning, urban design and urban management.
http://www.alchemyurban.com
PanikaThe focus of works undertaken by Parul Zaveri and Nimish Patel through
PANIKA, which was established in 2002, is on re-establishing the relevance of
traditional decision-making processes in the contemporary context, and to
conserve energy through Passive Human Comfort Systems.
Our Partners & Associates
Mr. Sandeep Shah, Pruthvi Management Consultancy - PMC
Mr. R.G. Desai and Mr Siddharth Desai, Sarjan - Structural Engineer
Mr. Devang Shah, Kena Consultant - Structural Engineer
Mr. Apoorva Parikh, Electrical Consultant
Mr. Milind Mehta, Plumbing Consultant
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 107
Media Coverage
Business Standard - April 1, 2011
DBS to offer 3,800 affordable housing
units in Ahmedabad
In what could give a fillip to the affordable
housing sector in Ahmedabad, DBS
Affordable Home Strategy Ltd., in
association with SAATH, an Ahmedabad-
based non-government organisation, is
set to launch a 3,800 residential housing
project in the Rs 4-10 lakh bracket.
To be launched under the brand name,
'Umang Vinzhol', the units will come up in
phased manner on the outskirts of the
city. According to BR Balachandran,
executive director, DBS Affordable Home
Strategy Ltd., the project will entail a
turnover of Rs 250 crore in the near future.
We are conducting a feasibilty study on
the project. However, we have been able
to successfully book all of 792 units in our
earlier project," said Balachandran.
Earlier, DBS and SAATH have launched
similar project 'Umang Lambha' with non-
government organisation (NGO) Ashoka
Foundation. Part of Ashoka Foundation's
Housing For All (HFA) program, the
project saw around 792 affordable
residential units being offered to end
users.
"We intended to offer units for people who
do not have a salary slip or statement and
find it difficult to avail loans. But for this,
we needed support of a developer with
land accessibility and an organisation that
could aggregate the end users. Which is
why we tied up with DBS and SAATH for
offering affordable housing," said Vishnu
Swaminathan, director, Housing for All,
Ashoka Foundation.
URL: http://www.business-
standard.com/india/news/dbs-to-offer-3800-
affordable-housing-units-in-ahmedabad/430500/
DNA - Friday, Mar 4, 2011
DBS plans 5,000 affordable homes near
Ahmedabad
DBS Affordable Home Strategy plans to
construct around 5,000 affordable homes
in the vicinity of Ahmedabad.
The real estate developer has partnered
with Saath Charitable Trust for the
affordable housing scheme at Lambha
based on Ashoka Innovators' Hybrid Value
Chain (HVC) model and has already
launched 2,400 units in the price range of
Rs3.5 lakh to Rs8.25 lakh.
The group is targeting lower income
people. "Although this group is in a
position to repay home loan EMIs they
find it difficult to qualify for formal sector
loans for want of income proof, address
proof and financial track record," said
Sudarshan Iyengar, vice president of DBS
Affordable Home Strategy.
He said that the company plans to come
up with around 5,000 more affordable
houses in the vicinity of Ahmedabad, but
did not mention the time line for the same.
The company has also launched
affordable housing scheme called 'Umang
Lambha' for the people at the bottom of
the family income pyramid. This scheme
is also based on HVC model and is
launched in collaboration Saath trust.
Valeria Budinich, vice-president of Ashoka
said that these type of HVC partnerships
are rapidly spreading the growth of
affordable housing in India and over
10,000 homes are being planned and
under construction in 6 cities, unlocking a
market potential of Rs400 crore.
"New alliances to design, build, finance,
market and scale up affordable housing
throughout India are now in place. Over
the next four years, Housing for All, an
initiative of Ashoka, will start new projects
based on this model in many states
across the country,” said Budinich.
URL: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_dbs-
plans-5000-affordable-homes-near-
ahmedabad_1515406
The Economic Times - Friday 10th February, 2012
Case study: DBS Affordable Home Strategy offers easy loans help poor own homes
DBS Affordable Home Strategy was launched in 2009 with the aim to create affordable dwelling units for the urban poor. "We wanted to create a company that focused solely on affordable housing and did not look at affordable housing as a side business," said architect BR Balachandran, who founded the venture with chartered accountant Dinesh Jain and real-estate developer Sanjay Shah.
The company is building two housing projects -- Umang Lambha and Umang Narol -- on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Consumers choose between two models -- one room-kitchen or two room-kitchen in a community living format.
The units, which vary between 220 sq ft and 450 sq ft in size, are priced between Rs 4 lakh to Rs 9 lakh. These projects are targeted at low-income consumers, most of who are employed in the informal sector. To reach the target low income customers, DBS partnered with SAATH, an Ahmedabad-based NGO that has worked extensively with slum dwellers.
"Finance for consumers is what makes or breaks affordable housing," said Balachandran. While mainstream banks require income proof documents and a higher down payment, companies such as Micro Housing Finance Corporation (MHFC) set up in 2008, and Muthoot Housing Finance do not have such requirements.
This has helped turn affordable housing into a viable business proposition as organisations such as MHC began to lend to home buyers without insisting on income proof. However, Balachandran says this is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. "Government needs to do more, not just in providing housing finance. Land reforms are urgently needed to keep costs low." DBS has launched a new project in Surat and plans to expand beyond Gujarat in six months.
URL:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/real-estate/realty-trends/case-study-dbs-affordable-home-strategy-offers-easy-loans-help-poor-own-homes/articleshow/11832334.cms
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108 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
After 1000 Days, we have learned that this initiative
requires lot of support from like minded people who are
willing to contribute something in this pursuit.
We invite you to join hands with us...
... whatever be your interest and expertise,
we envisage a role for you.
… contrary to more conventional investment strategies, no firm can do
this alone. Multiple players must be involved, including local governmental
authorities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), communities,
financial institutions, and other companies. Four elements — creating
buying power, shaping aspirations, improving access, and tailoring local
solutions —are the keys to a thriving Tier 4 market.
Each of these four elements demands innovation in technology, business
models, and management processes. And business leaders must be willing
to experiment, collaborate, empower locals, and create new sources of
competitive advantage and wealth.
9C.K. Prahalad and Stuart L. Hart, 2002 .
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 109
This report is based on information from many DBS Communities' sources and has benefited greatly from inputs of many
contributors. The documentation would not have been possible without the contributions of several people.
Sanjay Shah elaborated on the background, context, strategies and experiences of the past 1000 days. This included the
challenges that DBS Affordable Housing Strategies Ltd. has faced, the lessons learnt and actions taken in response to
gaps and needs identified, and the processes and systems being introduced to enhance transparency and efficiency. He
also provided valuable comments and advice during the documentation period.
B R Balachandran provided insights into the strategies adopted for strengthening the approach and business strategy,
helped fill-in the gaps and elaborated on the DBS perspective on the policy and regulatory environments. Rajendra Joshi
elaborated on his and Saath's involvement with DBS Communities, the challenges faced by potential customers of
affordable housing and the innovative actions taken in response to the needs and challenges identified. He also provided
the reasoning and insights for the organizational structure of Griha Pravesh and how the community development initiatives
are expected to be delivered in the Umang projects. Vineet Chadda and Anjum Gupta explained the reasoning behind the
planning and design of the individual apartment units, clusters and site plan for Umang Lambha, and the challenges
encountered in finalizing the plans in accordance with the development regulations and site constraints. Nimish Patel
described the potential for making the experience of the owners and occupants more satisfactory through detailing and
strategic management of the development process in consonance with his and Parul Zaveri's design philosophy.
Sudarshan Iyengar expanded on the financial issues involved in the delivery of affordable housing and on the issues faced
by financing companies in loan processing for the home-purchasers in the informal sector. He also provided his
perspective on the potential impact of the Credit Camps and the facilitation support of Griha Pravesh on the affordable
housing eco-system. Rajnish Dhall of Micro Housing Finance Corporation Ltd and Manoj Vishwanathan of Home First
Finance Company provided inputs regarding their company's focus on affordable housing and shared their experiences to-
date with DBS Communities.
Dinesh Jain's strategy and systems for financial management have highlighted the importance of these elements for the
delivery of affordable housing. Manish Pancholi not only expanded on the management actions for enhancing efficiency
and minimizing costs, but was also instrumental in tracing and providing essential information.
Niraj Jani of Saath expanded on the actions for marketing of Umang Lambha, and the experiences from the Credit Camps
and Parivaar Pragati seminars, and provided details and data from the survey of 360 Umang project customers. Sowmya
Haran's documents provided details of ASHRAM. The endeavor was supported by Ravi Iyer who provided the background
material, context for several actions, and coordinated the preparation and production of the report. He has taken most
photographs in this report. Further, many others who were involved in the compilation of previous documents of DBS
Communities too have contributed indirectly to this endeavor.
Suresh Karpatiya and Manish Agravat of Kumbh Design handled the design and production
of the report, and patiently incorporated changes in the content.
The initial work for this documentation was undertaken by B R Balachandran and Ravi Iyer.
However, the responsibility for any errors and gaps rests primarily with me.
Sharadbala JoshiUrban Development Consultant
Acknowledgements
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110 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
1. Prahalad, C K. 2005. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits. Pearson
Education/Wharton School Publishing, New Delhi.
2. Saath has supported the setting-up of Urban Resource Centres (URCs) as one-stop shops run by community
members in slum areas of Ahmedabad. For families that become URC members for a nominal annual membership
fee of Rs 125, the URCs link them to families with microcredit, schools, job training, medical care, infrastructure, and
with access to government entitlements and programmes. The aim of URCs is to transform service delivery to the
urban poor from the NGO model to a market-orientated approach.'3. Urmila' and 'Umeed' are placement based livelihood programmes that Saath introduced to train women and youth in
skills required for services in the business and domestic sectors, and then placing them in appropriate companies.
4. The Slum Networking Project in Ahmedabad was introduced as a partnership project between the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation, NGOs and the private sector. The Municipal Corporation provided in-slum infrastructure,
landscaping and solid waste management. The slum residents paid Rs.2,000 per house for getting individual water
supply and sewerage connections.
5. A Design Charette is an intense effort to solve any architectural or design problem within a limited time. The word is
used by the architectural and design community to describe any intense, on-the-spot design effort. In land use or
urban planning, a charrette involves intense and possibly multi-day meetings for consulting with all stakeholders
including municipal officials, developers, and residents.
6. The period from December 16 to January 14 when the Sun transits through Sagittarius is known as ''Kamurta” in
Gujarat. Traditionally, the belief amongst Gujaratis is that any auspicious activity initiated during the inauspicious
''kamurtas'' is likely to fail. Thus, Gujaratis avoid formalising significant decisions such as for marriages, buying and
selling of property and other assets, making important business transactions etc. during this period.
7. From Saath.
8. From note on “Insights from the DBS Communities Experience of Affordable Housing” prepared by B.R.
Balachandran, Executive Director, DBS Affordable Home Strategy Ltd, Ahmedabad. October 2011.
9. C.K. Prahalad and Stuart L. Hart, 2002. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, strategy+business, 26, First
Quarter. Accessed from: http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~brewer/ict4b/Fortune-BoP.pdf
Notes
ASHRAM Academy for Sustainable Habitat Research
and Management
CBOs Community Based Organisations
CEO Chief Executive Officer
DBS Design Build Serve
HFFC Home First Finance Company (Home First)
HFC Housing Finance Company
HFI Housing Finance Institution
MHFC Micro Housing Finance Corporation Ltd.
MFI Micro Finance Institution
NA Non-Agricultural
NGOs Non Government Organisations
NOC No Objection Certificate
RCC Reinforced Cement Concrete
SHG Self Help Group
URC Urban Resource Centre
Abbreviations
Dastavej Sale Deeds of properties
Griha Pravesh House Entry - Literally means first entry into a newly built house
Umang Happiness or Joy
Journey of 1000 days, 2009 - 2012
DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited | 111
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110 | DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited
Creating buying power, shaping aspirations, improving access,
and tailoring local solutions - the four elements of the commercial
infrastructure for the bottom of the pyramid are intertwined.
Innovation in one leverages innovation in the others.
9C.K. Prahalad and Stuart L. Hart, 2002.
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DBS Affordable Home Strategy Limited (An ISO 9001:2008 Company)
Regd. Office & Corporate Office:
Block No.130, Moje Por, Adalaj-Koba Road, Dist. Gandhinagar - 382421. Gujarat. India
E-mail: info@dbscommunities.com | Web: www.dbscommunities.com
Tel.: +91-99099 84508/09
Ahmedabad Office:
1, Sunvilla, Hebatpur Road, Off. Sarkhej Gandhinagar Highway, Ahmedabad - 380054
Toll Free: 1800-123-6007 | SMS: “UMANG” to 56767
Other Location: SURAT
Business Strategy of DBS Communities
Design & Production of Community
Housing
CommunityHousingFinance
Community Development
Initiatives
Research & Development