Women’s Role in India’s Financial Growth

Context

Recently NITI Aayog released the report titled “From Borrowers to Builders: Women’s Role in India’s Financial Growth Story.”

Key Highlights

• The report sheds light on the role of women entrepreneurs in shaping India’s financial landscape.
• Steady Rise in Women Borrowers: Women in search of credit grew three times between 2019 and 2024, reflecting growing demand amongst women debtors. 
• Women Borrower Demographics:  About 60% of women debtors availing credit are from semi-urban or rural areas.
  • Women under 30 years of age account for only 27% of retail credit uptake by women, as compared to 40% for men.
• Credit Supply Trends: Women’s participation in credit origination has visible excellent growth in recent years. Since 2019, the share of Women in Business Loans and Gold Loans has grown by 14% and 6% respectively.
  • By 2024, 42% of loans availed by women had been for personal finance, a moderate increase from 39% in 2019. 
  • The majority of loans availed by women remain towards gold – 36% of all loans availed by women in 2024 have been gold loans vs. 19% of loans availed in 2019.
• Rise in Credit Monitoring and Awareness:  As of December 2024, 27 million women debtors in India have monitored their credit information record and score with CIBIL. 

Significance

• Economic Growth: Women represent almost half of India’s population but make contributions only 18% to the GDP.
  • Encouraging women entrepreneurs can increase India’s GDP by 27%, as per IMF estimates.
• Employment Generation: MSMEs owned by women play a crucial role in job introduction and ability development at neighborhood stages.
• Social Empowerment: It promotes gender equality by demonstrating women’s capacity to steer and control corporations successfully.

Government Initiatives

• The National Rural Livelihood Mission has enabled 9 million women Self Help Groups (SHGs) to enhance their livelihoods by access to formal banking.
• NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) brings together public and personal sector partners to create a supportive environment for women entrepreneurs. 
• The PM SVANidhi Yojana supported 30.6 lakh women avenue vendors with 5,939.7 crore in working capital loans as of December 2024.
• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY): In FY 2023-24, loans totaling INR 2.22 lakh crore had been distributed to 4.24 crore women entrepreneurs.

Conclusion

• NITI Aayog bolstered that encouraging women entrepreneurs can create employment opportunities for 150 to 170 million people while using more participation of women within the personnel.
• By ensuring easier access to credit, mentorship, and assist systems, India can release the whole potential of women-led businesses.

Source: The Hindu

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. How does patriarchy impact the position of middle-class working women in India? (2014)

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