Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday laid the foundation stone of Light House Projects under the Global Housing Technology Challenge-India (GHTC-India) at six sites across six states, a programme that seeks to build over 1,000 houses each in these cities in 12 months.

Speaking at the event organised virtually, Modi said housing for the poor and the middle class has been a priority for his government.

The LHPs are being constructed at Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Rajkot (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).

He said various measures taken by his government in the last six years has restored the confidence of the common man that he can own a house.

Earlier, he said, people's dream of having a house of their own was shaken as despite spending money they would often not get the promised home in time and were not sure of legal support, if needed. High interest rate was also a dampener, he added.

Construction sector acts as a force multiplier for the economy, he noted and added that his government has taken a number of steps to boost the real estate sector and will continue to do so.

Speaking of the Light House Projects, he said they are driven by modern technology and innovative process.

Houses being built under it will take less time to build and will be resilient, affordable and comfortable, he said, noting that modern construction practices from countries like France, Germany and Canada will be put into practice.

They will serve as incubation centres, he said, urging architects, planners, engineers and students to visit these projects.

The prime minister also announced winners under the Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators - India (ASHA-India) and gave out annual awards for excellence in implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U) Mission.

During the event, he also released a certificate course on innovative construction technologies named 'NAVARITIH' (New, Affordable, Validated, Research Innovation Technologies for Indian Housing) and a compendium of 54 innovative housing construction technologies identified through GHTC-India.

Besides the prime minister, the housing and urban affairs minister, chief ministers of Tripura, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh were present on the occasion.

The Light House Projects (LHPs) showcase the best of new-age alternative global technologies, materials and processes in the construction sector for the first time in the country at such a large scale, the government has said.

They are being constructed under GHTC-India which envisages providing an ecosystem for the adoption of innovative technologies in the housing construction sector in a holistic manner.

They comprise about 1,000 houses at each location along with allied infrastructure facilities.