India, May 21 -- The UN-Habitat's World Cities Report 2026 paints a concerning picture of housing. Nearly 40% - approximately 3.4 billion - of people are currently affected by a housing crisis, with homes in short supply, owning and even renting becoming too expensive, and existing living spaces remaining poorly provisioned. The situation is expected to worsen, as cities worldwide will need to accommodate an additional two billion people by 2050.

The India story is equally worrying. By 2050, half of the country's population is projected to live in urban areas. And 13 out of 10,000 people already live without a roof (13 per 10,000 is the homelessness rate). As an earlier Niti Aayog report on affordable housing noted, the demand-supply dyn...