Union Budget FY27: India to build girls' hostels in every district

NEW DELHI: As part of the Union Budget for 2026-27, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February announced plans to establish hostels for girls in every district across India, aiming to promote girls’ education as a driver of economic growth.

The move aims to tackle one of the biggest barriers to female participation in higher education, lack of safe and affordable accommodation, by providing residential facilities near colleges and universities, especially in smaller towns and rural areas. The proposal envisages at least one dedicated hostel for girl students in each of India’s 806 districts.

Mint had reported on 8 January that a scheme is proposed to be announced in the Union Budget.

While announcing the plan, the finance minister said, “In higher education STEM institutions, prolonged hours of study and laboratory work pose some challenges for girl students. Through VGF (viability gap funding) or capital support, one girls’ hostel will be established in every district.”

The programme seeks to reduce dropout rates after Class XII, improve enrolment in higher education and skilling institutions, and enable greater participation of women in the workforce over the medium term. Millions of girls currently leave India’s education system after school simply because there is no secure place to stay near colleges, particularly in districts where higher education institutions are sparse or poorly connected by public transport.

Millions of girls currently exit India’s education system after school due to the absence of secure accommodation near colleges, especially in districts where higher education institutions are sparse or poorly connected by public transport.

Ashok Varma, partner at Grant Thornton Bharat, said, “The Economic Survey (for 2025-26) emphasized the need for better hostel facilities for female students and working women. Establishing one female hostel per district under a public-private partnership model with viability gap funding is a promising step.”

“Designing these facilities as purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) could be effective, but with several private players already active in student housing, implementation and affordability will depend on sustained private sector interest,” Varma said.

As per the officials aware of the matter, the hostels will be developed in partnership with state governments and local authorities, with priority given to districts with low female enrolment and high dropout rates. Existing government land and underutilized public infrastructure may also be leveraged to speed up implementation and contain costs.

The budget announcement comes amid concern over India’s low gross enrolment ratio for women in higher education compared with global peers, and the persistent gap between educational attainment and workforce participation.

The hostel scheme will align with existing initiatives in education, skilling, and women’s empowerment, and will include minimum standards for safety, sanitation, and digital connectivity. Officials expect the initiative to have a multiplier effect by improving educational outcomes, delaying early marriage, and creating a stronger pipeline of skilled women for the labour market.

Meanwhile, the Budget allocation for the Ministry of Education’s Department of Higher Education has increased from ₹50,077.95 crore in FY26 (BE) to ₹51,381.6 crore in FY26 (RE), and further to ₹55,727.22 crore in FY27 (BE).

To be sure, some hostel support does exist for girls in higher education through schemes such as the UGC’s Girls’ Hostel Scheme, launched during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012–17), and the Working Women Hostel Scheme of the ministry of women and child development, revised in 2017 and extended to students.

However, their coverage remains limited and uneven, with no universal district-level provision comparable to residential school systems, since the hostels are largely concentrated in metro cities.

Aside from the limited and patchy coverage for structured higher education hostels, residential facilities for girls are currently largely available at the school level through government-run schemes such as Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, launched in 1986, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, introduced in 2004, and Sainik Schools, set up in 1961.

Notably, the government has been concentrating on women-centric schemes over the years.

These include the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), which focuses on improving sanitation and dignity through household toilets, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), which provides free cooking gas connections to women heads of poor households, Lakhpati Didi that help women self-help group members earn a sustainable annual income of ₹1 lakh or more, and NaMo Drone Didi, which seeks to provide women with drone technology for agricultural services and income generation, among others.