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The authorities of payment successful India has go progressively gendered, with currency transfers emerging arsenic some a societal argumentation instrumentality and an electoral strategy. Just weeks earlier Assembly elections, the Bihar authorities has rolled retired the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana — a ₹10,000 transportation to 75 lakh women arsenic effect superior for self-employment. The extremity is to assistance them commencement oregon grow tiny enterprises, with up to ₹2 lakh successful further enactment for palmy ventures.
This joins a database of women-focused currency transportation programmes, specified arsenic Karnataka’s Gruha Lakshmi, West Bengal’s Lakshmir Bhandar, Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna Yojana, and Telangana’s Mahalakshmi. These are powered by India’s Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) architecture, anchored connected the ‘JAM trinity’ of Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar, and mobile phones. This infrastructure enables targeted transportation and transparency.
As of August 2025, implicit 56 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts person been opened, with women owning 55.7% of them. According to the World Bank’s Global Findex Database 2025, 54% of Indian women reported opening their archetypal slope relationship chiefly to person authorities benefits oregon wages. With 89% of Indian women present holding a slope relationship — connected par with developed nations and acold supra the planetary mean of 77% — India has achieved a singular milestone successful recognising women arsenic economical actors with a ceremonial fiscal identity. The illustration beneath shows the proportionality of women who ain slope accounts.
At the bosom of this advancement lies a captious question: tin nonstop currency empower women arsenic economical agents alternatively than conscionable payment recipients? DBT schemes person been shown to heighten women’s disposable power implicit resources. Research shows that income successful a woman’s sanction increases her accidental successful household decisions and improves outcomes for children and the elderly. Therefore, schemes specified arsenic Bihar’s tin correspond the archetypal ceremonial designation of women’s economical identity.
However, beneath the awesome numbers, the communicative is much complex. Despite the JAM propulsion starring to near-universal relationship ownership by women, astir 20% stay dormant owed to insufficient funds, debased perceived need, oregon discomfort successful engaging with ceremonial banking. In agrarian and semi-urban areas, region from slope branches and the integer disagreement worsen this disengagement.
Moreover, a ample fig of women usage their accounts chiefly to retreat the currency transfers — usage for savings, borrowing, oregon payments remains low. The illustration beneath shows women’s engagement successful fiscal activities utilizing slope accounts (%)
Although 38 crore RuPay cards (which travel escaped with Jan Dhan accounts) person been issued and UPI transactions person surged from ₹2 crore successful FY17 to ₹18,600 crore successful FY25, women’s usage of debit cards arsenic good arsenic integer payments continues to lag down men’s.
Apart from patriarchal norms, a debased level of integer entree has prevented the proliferation of slope accounts from translating into sustained savings, recognition uptake, oregon progressive integer transactions for women. Women are 19% little apt to ain mobile phones (as per GSMA), which are needed to entree accusation astir accounts and funds. Data from the Findex survey shows that the costs of phones and data, deficiency of privacy, fearfulness of cyber fraud, and societal norms forestall women’s ownership of mobile phones.
Shared telephone entree for a ample fig of women further limits autarkic integer banking. Financial and integer literacy stay important barriers. In fact, much than two-thirds of Indian women inactive trust connected antheral relatives to marque fiscal transactions. The illustration beneath shows mobile entree and its usage for fiscal transactions among women
Therefore, India’s leap from entree to bureau for women remains incomplete. So, for schemes specified arsenic Bihar’s Rojgar Yojana to go genuine instruments of economical empowerment, they request to determination beyond simply placing wealth successful women’s slope accounts. Beneficiaries necessitate complementary semipermanent support.
Most importantly, gathering genuine fiscal bureau volition necessitate giving women power implicit assets by providing them with unafraid spot rights and associated onshore titles. Only erstwhile women person tangible power implicit onshore oregon concern assets tin they leverage credit, enactment successful markets, and prosecute successful caller forms of commerce.
Equally captious is strengthening the ‘mobile’ pillar of the JAM trinity. Subsidised smartphones and affordable information plans would let women to entree their accounts and integer outgo tools independently, avoiding reliance connected shared devices that erode privateness and autonomy. Banks, fintech, and mobile operators indispensable co-create fiscal products that bespeak the realities of women’s informal, seasonal, oregon sporadic incomes; caregiving responsibilities; and constricted fiscal and integer literacy.
Community-based assurance networks tin span the spot gap. Initiatives specified arsenic integer banking sakhis and unafraid WhatsApp oregon UPI groups tin connection trusted spaces for women to question advice, stock experiences, and resoluteness doubts collectively. Another precedence should beryllium to grow the fig of pistillate banking agents — little than 10% of India’s 1.3 cardinal concern correspondents are women.
The way to existent empowerment lies successful coupling entree with agency-building — ensuring women tin not lone person wealth but besides control, grow, and prolong it for their ain advancement.
Shravani Prakash, Jiya Bharti and Riya Khanna are with ICRIER’s Economic Policies for Women Led Development Program
