He wants even the 'very poor' to possess a house for just $300 each (around Rs 15, 000).
And also a marketing expert, Christian Sarkar, he wrote a blog online of Harvard Business Review about this possibility last 12 months, and followed with a contest.
Nearly 2, 500 people registered, and there were 300 submissions, one from a group at Mahindra Partners Division.
In late June, Govindarajan introduced six individual winners, while Mahindra Partners received a individual global award of recognition for corporate participation.
"The team (Mahindra) will need to convert their paper design to a prototype, after which there will be a pilot and scaling-up of the project soon, " says Govindarajan.
While the Mahindra team is yet to finalise the date to go to the US, Mohan Raghavan, their team mentor, says: "The brief was to style a dwelling which would be sustainable, secure, durable, replicable as well as dignified, within $300.
"In our entry, we not only attemptedto address all these factors but have also made an instance for its commercial viability. "
When first drafting the blueprint, the Mahindra Partners team called for the utilization of bricks but this pushed the budget over $400.
Scrapping which idea, the team settled on suru wood, bamboo, and FRP (fibreglass reinforced plastic) sheets - all locally used and accessible in India.
Natural insulation (heat is absorbed) is supplied by the mud flooring, while bamboo walls have the power to withstand storms, fires, rains, snow, earthquakes and additional natural calamities.
Suru poles can withstand earthquakes/tremors, while the actual FRP sheets can protect occupants from heat and rainfall, while looking aesthetic and providing natural lighting.
A elevated plinth and door prevents unwanted entry of crawling bugs and animals, while increasing the level of hygiene as well as sanity.
The prototype could take at least another 12 months to determine the light of day, according to Govindarajan. Nevertheless, the $300 housing prototype is very good example.
At a time when 1. 5 billion of the world's inhabitants you live on less than a dollar a day, and India's cities need a lot more than 20 million homes, technology is aiding in making housing affordable towards the poor.
Matheran Realty, one such company, is in the procedure of building 15, 000 flats, with prices starting from Rs 210, 000 for 19-sq metre units (one-room kitchen).
So may be the Tata Group, building basic units at Boisar, about 100 kilometres north of Mumbai city, and priced these between Rs 390, 000 as well as Rs 670, 000 each.
Jaithirth Rao, better known as Jerry Rao (he'd also founded IT services company Mphasis before it had been acquired by EDS and now HP), launched an inexpensive housing project in Bangalore.
His company, Value and Spending budget Housing Corporation, has apartments priced between Rs 4. 5 lakh as well as Rs 10 lakh.
In April this year, another previous Citibanker, Ramesh Ramanathan, launched Janaadhar Subha, comprising 528 flats of 400 sq ft each in dimensions, priced at Rs 4 lakh, excluding property registration along with other charges.
"The figure ($300) is simply an indication that we must work towards giving the very poor a home, so they get a sense of dignity. Besides, there's nothing wrong in the private sector seeking a fair return along the way, " says Govindarajan.
When asked if he took into consideration the price of land in cities like Mumbai, Govindrajan admits that "land is really a thorny issue, but it can be solved in a few ways".
He suggests governments could allocate land to economically-deprived courses.
Second, big companies can pitch in (for instance, groups such as the Tatas and Mahindras, which have interests in real property, too) by purchasing large tracts of land and seek a decent roi.