India, Oct. 16 -- The centre has approved the construction of 141,000 more houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0 in 14 states, bringing the total number of sanctions under the revamped housing mission to over 1 million units, the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) said on Thursday.

The approval was given at the fifth meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC), which was held on Wednesday in Delhi and chaired by MoHUA secretary Srinivas Katikithala.

Of the 140,942 newly approved houses, 76,976 are for women, including single, widowed, and separated beneficiaries. Another 13,509 have been earmarked for senior citizens, while seven are for transgender persons. Among social groups,...