Will Budget address student housing sector imbalance?

By Saurabh Arora

"I’m hopeful that the new budget will address the demand-supply imbalance in the student housing sector currently prevalent in India. In particular, I look forward to the economic and policy support for developing the Professionally Managed Student Accommodation (PMSA) sector. This will add value to the government’s Study in India initiative announced during the last Union Budget. There is tremendous growth potential here as our country hosts 10 Mn migrant students in higher education, of which a majority of 6.4 Mn students need access to PMSAs due to lack of university or campus hostels. This should be encouraged through GST exemption on the renting of residential properties, and other policy frameworks conducive to brownfield projects on student accommodation."

(Saurabh Arora is the Founder, and CEO, University Living)