The announcement on a levy of sops by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to kindle the home loan segment and leading the pack is SBI, which announced cut in its lending rate by 0.9 per cent, with others following suit. It is good news for home buyers that rates are going down. Do not be blinded by the announcements alone, as lending rates are now linked to a new benchmark – marginal cost of funds-based lending rate, popularly known as MCLR. The new rate and benchmark came into being from April 1, 2016 compared to the earlier base rate-linked home loans.