Affordable loans, housing help low-income Indians become homeowners

India is giving low-income people the opportunity to buy homes by helping financial institutions create new mechanisms that allow for greater risk, such as using employers and microfinance companies as a collective point for multiple borrowers. Through these new products, 80,000 low-income homes have been sold and more than $200 million in loans have been distributed. Because of the higher risk involved in lending to them, low- and middle-income people often find it difficult to access loans in India.