Paper Details

Name: Srinivasa. K.R.
Country: India

Year: 2025
Volume: Volume No: 12, Issue No: 2, Year: 2025
Page Number: 460-468
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22303089

Microfinance program in India is growing rapidly and receiving increasing attention from the financial institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Government, as an instrument that can transform lives of the poor. Microfinance is considered as a development tool to alleviate poverty in Asian, African and South American countries. Microfinance gives quick and tangible results to the poor people, especially women. Microfinance, when extended to people, especially women, in rural areas coupled with supporting activities like training, raw material supply, marketing of products leads to investment in micro enterprises, women may become entrepreneurs, generate main or additional income to the family, poverty is reduced, and development takes place and the women get the self-confidence to go for enterprising activities with social, economic, and political empowerment and with her increased knowledge and awareness, development takes place. When the groups of people join as a group and are provided with empowerment leads to social and economic development in a holistic and sustainable manner. India’s development planning has always aimed at removing inequalities in the process of development, recognizing that women lag behind due to several socio economic, cultural and political factors and the five year plans have been paying attention to women’s welfare, female education, and their access to resources and empowerment. From the 6th five year plan, women were recognized as a separate target group and govt. efforts are focused to raise their social, economic and political status at par with men. The field or microfinance made significant progress as a movement in our country, with the active support of RBI, NABARD, SIDBI, and NGOs microfinance emerged as a giant. The concept of Self Help Groups is not ultimately a micro credit projects, but an empowerment process. The Self Help Group and Microfinance are aimed at empowering poor.