Shifting Priorities Kiran Wadhwa Over the years, policies adopted by the government to ameliorate the housing problems of the poor have undergone considerable change. While earlier schemes were designed to fulfil the housing needs of the poor, the later schemes are more oriented towards catering to the demand for housing of the poor. What are the factors which have led to this shift? Do schemes based on demand have a better chance of success than did the older need-based programmes?