According to industry leaders and analysts, the budget proposal for rental housing with hostel/dormitory-style accommodations is poised to be a ‘gamechanger’, potentially helping up to 50 million industrial workers, especially women whose involvement in blue-collar industries is anticipated to increase. Less than 10 per cent of blue-collar jobs are currently held by women, and their attrition rate is high—roughly 16 per cent.

The electronics industry, which employs 3.9 million people (30 per cent of whom are women), is expected to benefit greatly with this big move, as factories would be able to operate their full three shifts per day with the staff remaining close to the units.
Employees’ lives will alter if they are able to live in dorms near factories since they will be able to avoid paying exorbitant rentals elsewhere and avoid the commute. There will be safety and security for women within the property. The government has promised in the budget that, as part of its efforts to boost manufacturing in the nation, industrial workers would be able to rent hostel/dormitory-style housing through a public-private partnership with anchor companies’ cooperation and with the commitment to close the viability gap. Additionally, the establishment of creches and the creation of working women’s hostels in partnership with businesses would promote greater women’s participation in the workforce.

The Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) intends to build five working women’s hostels, which could make it simpler and safer for women to work in the private sector. The public-private partnership approach will be used to run the hostels for 30 years when they are built in Verna, Madkaim, Tuem, and Cuncolim.
The Union Finance Ministry's program for special support to states for capital investment in 2024–2025 will provide the funding for the hostels. The objective of the scheme is to provide a better environment for women to increase their labour force participation rate and to make their lives easier. For the construction of women's hostels in Goa, a capital expenditure of ₹100 crores has been allocated.

In order to evaluate the availability and state of the current hostels and determine whether new hostels are necessary, GIDC intends to choose an agency to carry out a feasibility assessment and a demand-supply analysis at the four industrial estates that have been identified. A clubhouse, parking spaces, maintenance grounds, water treatment plants, training areas, and other amenities are all included in the hostels, when they will be constructed.
The sites for the construction of working women’s hostels have been determined by the evaluation of demand and the ease of access to employment centers. To ascertain the demand for the hostel amenities, a socioeconomic and demographic study of the neighbourhoods surrounding each site would be carried out before the construction.
Image source: The Print, Autocar India, India briefing