Women in India are increasingly taking charge of their financial futures by actively seeking credit and monitoring their credit scores, according to a report launched by NITI Aayog on Monday.
Titled “From Borrowers to Builders: Women’s Role in India’s Financial Growth Story”, the report was unveiled by NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam. It highlights a significant rise in financial awareness among women, with 27 million actively monitoring their credit as of December 2024—a sharp 42 percent increase from the previous year.
The report, jointly published by TransUnion CIBIL, the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) of NITI Aayog, and MicroSave Consulting (MSC), underscores a positive trend in women’s participation in the financial ecosystem. Women’s share in the total self-monitoring credit base rose to 19.43 percent in December 2024, up from 17.89 percent in 2023. Notably, non-metro regions outpaced metro areas in self-monitoring growth, with a 48 percent rise compared to 30 percent in urban centers.
Geographically, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana accounted for 49 percent of self-monitoring women, with the southern region leading at 10.2 million. Northern and central states, including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, recorded the highest compounded annual growth rates (CAGR) in active women borrowers over the last five years.
The report also highlights a shift in borrowing patterns. Since 2019, women’s share in business loan origination has increased by 14 percent, while their share in gold loans has grown by 6 percent. By December 2024, women are projected to account for 35 percent of business borrowers, reinforcing their role as key contributors to India’s economic growth.
Despite this progress, challenges persist. The report identifies barriers such as credit aversion, poor banking experiences, lack of collateral, and difficulties in securing guarantors as obstacles limiting women’s full participation in the credit ecosystem.
At the report’s launch, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam emphasized the critical role of financial access in empowering women entrepreneurs. “The government recognizes that access to finance is a fundamental enabler for women’s entrepreneurship. The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is committed to fostering financial literacy, expanding access to credit, and strengthening mentorship and market linkages,” he said.
Subrahmanyam also stressed the need for collaborative efforts to ensure equitable financial access. “Financial institutions must design inclusive products tailored to women’s needs. Policy initiatives addressing structural barriers will be instrumental in accelerating this momentum. Under the WEP initiative, we have established the Financing Women Collaborative (FWC), and we invite more financial sector stakeholders to join this mission,” he added.
Anna Roy, Principal Economic Advisor at NITI Aayog and Mission Director of WEP, reinforced the importance of promoting women’s entrepreneurship as a strategy for economic growth. “Encouraging women entrepreneurs can create employment opportunities for 150 to 170 million people while driving greater participation of women in the workforce,” she said.
(Inputs from ANI)
