As the Budget Session of Parliament continues, the issue of working women's hostels, highlighted prominently in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's 2026 Budget speech, has sparked renewed scrutiny over the adequacy and distribution of such facilities across India.
On February 6, Lok Sabha MPs Biplab Kumar Deb and DM Kathir Anand raised detailed questions regarding the number of operational working women's hostels, future construction plans, financial allocations, the reported Rs 5,000-crore provision, and whether hostels can be run by public or private entities.
Responding in the House, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi explained that the Sakhi Niwas (Working Women Hostel) scheme, functioning under Mission Shakti, is a demand-driven, centrally sponsored programme. States and Union Territories are responsible for assessing their needs and submitting proposals, which are then evaluated and approved by the Programme Approval Board.
The Minister emphasised that the scheme's primary objective is to ensure safe, affordable and conveniently located accommodation for working women as well as those pursuing higher education or skill training. Facilities under Sakhi Niwas include daycare centres, enabling women with young children to access secure support while participating in the workforce. States and UTs are eligible for financial assistance to establish such hostels, subject to project approval.
Budget Spotlight and Rising Expectations
The conversation around women's accommodation gained fresh momentum after Finance Minister Sitharaman's Budget speech on February 1, which included a proposal to build one girls' hostel in every district to support women pursuing higher education, especially in STEM fields.
The Budget also announced the creation of community-owned "SHE Marts," intended to expand market access, branding avenues and entrepreneurship opportunities for women. Together, these commitments create the impression of a government prioritising women's safety, mobility and economic empowerment.
But how does this vision compare with what already exists?
The Reality on the Ground
Data presented in the Lok Sabha (as of December 2025) reveals that 560 Sakhi Niwas hostels are currently functional across the country. However, the distribution raises concerns of imbalance and unmet need, particularly in larger states.
Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, has only 8 functional hostels.
Jharkhand has just 2, while Haryana reports 7.
Meanwhile, several smaller or mid-sized states far outpace them: Kerala has 124, Karnataka 62, Tamil Nadu 60, Maharashtra 88, and Manipur 54.
Other regions remain minimally covered: Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Madhya Pradesh have 3 each. Sikkim, Tripura, and Lakshadweep have 1 each. The National Capital Territory of Delhi has 14. This uneven spread suggests that while some states have proactively expanded access, others, with far greater populations of working women, lag significantly behind.
Funding Trends Raise More Questions
An analysis of fund releases during the 15th Finance Commission cycle shows a mismatch between allocation patterns and the number of operational hostels. Several states with very few hostels, such as Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram, received moderate financial allocations, while larger states like Uttar Pradesh, despite their low hostel count, received relatively smaller amounts.
Conversely, Manipur, which has a moderate number of hostels, received the highest allocation: around Rs 10.9 crore. States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which already have substantial hostel networks, also received higher releases during the same period.
These disparities raise important questions:
Are allocations guided by need, performance, or administrative readiness?
Are states with fewer hostels struggling to submit viable proposals, or are approvals bottlenecked elsewhere?
Will the ambitious Budget Day announcements translate into equitable and timely implementation?
While the focus on women's hostels in Parliament and the Budget indicates a political and administrative push toward improving women's safety and mobility, the current landscape shows persistent inconsistencies. The government's promise of "one girls' hostel in every district" is ambitious and welcome, but bridging the gap between policy announcements and actual infrastructure on the ground will be key to transforming the lived experience of working women across the country.
