Women leading businesses have now become a common norm in India. Indian women are seen as a force of change and are emerging as powerful entrepreneurs, fueling growth, innovation, and resilience across sectors. This transformation is no accident. It is the result of a sustained push to unlock the potential of Nari Shakti through focused policy support, financial inclusion, and entrepreneurial handholding.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has witnessed a paradigmatic shift, where empowering women is not a political move, but a strategy for nation-building. From ensuring women’s access to financial services to providing collateral-free loans, the current government, through a multipronged approach, is removing every hurdle towards making women financially independent.

Ensuring Financial Inclusion

The first step of this multipronged approach started with bringing women into the fold of the financial ecosystem. It has been reported that in 2011, only 26% of all women in India owned a bank account. To make every unbanked person banked, the PM Modi-led government launched the PM Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in 2015. And women became the biggest beneficiaries of this scheme. Within two years of this scheme, the percentage of women with bank accounts rose to 77% in 2017. Beyond financial inclusion, these accounts also have a ripple effect. A study by SBI reported that states with a higher number of PMJDY account openings have witnessed a greater impact of the scheme. States with more PMJDY account openings reported reduced crime and lower alcohol and tobacco use. This is correlated to the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) Trinity, which enabled better subsidy delivery and curbed unproductive rural spending.

Providing Financial Nudge: Collateral-Free Loans Become a Reality

The next step came in the form of providing women with financial resources to start an entrepreneurial venture. There was a time when people had to take loans with high interest rates from local moneylenders. And in many cases, the inability to pay back the loan led to the loss of collateral such as land and house. To address this gap, under the vision of PM Modi, PM-MUDRA Yojana was launched almost a decade ago. Under this, a collateral-free loan up to Rs. 20 lakhs are provided, primarily benefiting individuals from marginalized backgrounds. Since its inception, over 52 crore loans have been approved. 70% of these loans have been extended to women, boosting their entrepreneurial spirit. A total of more than Rs. 1.08 lakh crores were disbursed under the Shishu category, more than Rs. 1 lakh crores under Kishore, and over Rs. 13,400 crores under the Tarun category as of 2024 to women borrowers, creating entrepreneurs.

Higher disbursement shares to women have recorded significantly higher employment generation through women-led MSMEs, reinforcing the effectiveness of targeted financial inclusion in enhancing women’s economic empowerment and labor force participation. In addition, women-owned MSMEs constitute 20.5% of the total number of MSMEs registered on the Udyam portal since its inception in 2020. These women-owned MSMEs’ contribution to the employment generated by the total Udyam registered units is 18.73%. Women-led MSMEs not only contribute to output generation but also to gender inclusivity. This shift is especially impactful for women in rural and semi-urban areas, many of whom previously had no access to formal finance. This financial inclusion has transformed not just individual lives but entire communities and the nation.

The government’s initiatives have built a robust framework for women to make them financially independent. Under the Stand-Up India Scheme, 75% of loans have been sanctioned to women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs' accounts grew from 55,644 to 1,90,844, with sanctioned amounts rising from around Rs. 12,452 crores to more than Rs. 43,984 crores.

Similarly, under the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), women are also availing collateral-free micro credit facilities. Since inception, 45% of total beneficiaries, i.e., around 30 lakh beneficiaries, are women street vendors.

The Union Budget 2025-26 has announced a new scheme for 5 lakh first-time women entrepreneurs from SC/ST communities, with term loans of up to Rs. 2 crores over the next five years.

Turning SHGs into the Core of the Rural Development Model

Self-help groups (SHGs) are central to rural development. Since 2014, the government under PM Modi has pursued a mission to include at least one woman from every rural poor household into SHGs and empower them in economic activities. As of January 2025, approximately 10.05 crore women's households have been mobilized into 90.90 lakh SHGs. Additionally, the government has partnered with various platforms to boost SHG product sales.

Under DAY-NRLM, community institutions have received capitalization support amounting to approximately Rs. 48,000 crores, while self-help groups have accessed bank loans worth Rs. 9.85 lakh crores. The Mission has empowered around 4 crore women farmers and supported over 3.13 lakh enterprises. In line with PM Modi’s vision of creating 3 crore Lakhpati Didis, so far, 1.15 crore women have become Lakhpati Didis, and 2.91 crore potential Lakhpati Didis have been identified across India.

Taking empowerment to new heights, the government is equipping women's Self-Help Groups with cutting-edge drone technology under the Namo Drone Didi scheme. Over the next three years (2023-24 to 2025-26), 15,000 drones will be provided to these SHGs, unlocking sustainable business opportunities in agriculture and allied sectors. This bold initiative aims to boost each SHG’s annual income by at least Rs. 1 lakh, transforming livelihoods and driving true economic independence for rural women.

The Way Ahead

Women are leading India’s growth trajectory with increased financial literacy, direct access to banking through Jan Dhan accounts or digital tools like Jan Samarth Portal and Mudra Card. Women are now making independent financial decisions, creating jobs, and becoming role models in their communities. The impact is also visible in terms of increasing rural FLFPR. As indicated in PLFS data, the rural FLFPR has increased significantly by 23 percentage points between 2017-18 and 2023-24.

Women are not only becoming financially independent but also getting into the Board of Directors, as nearly half of the DPIIT-recognised startups have at least one woman director. Beyond the decision-making at the official level, women are also leading decision-making at the household level. As per NFHS-5 data, women participate in 88.7% of major household decisions.

The countless stories of women transformed by the government’s multifaceted efforts over the past decade highlight how a single loan can change lives, uplift communities, and shape India’s future. Empowering women financially not only secures their independence but also drives the nation’s progress towards inclusive development.