Microfinance and Economic Empowerment of Rural Women: Evidence from Udham Singh Nagar District, Uttarakhand

Abstract

This research paper focuses on how microfinance, which is provided mainly in Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) can empower women living in the rural areas of Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand. Relying on governmental sources, such as NABARD District Dossier: Udham Singh Nagar (2025), the Status of Microfinance in India / SHG-Bank Linkage Programme (NABARD, 2024), NRLM/OGD datasets (Ministry of Rural Development, 2024), district administration statistics, or the Census of India 2011. The study implements a secondary-data analysis of the coverage of the programmes, credit linkage, and the size of loans and the probable coverage of the microfinance By March 2025. According to the national SHG-Bank Linkage Programme (SHG-BLP), a total of 7,742,000 credit-linked micro-entrepreneurship groups have an average outstanding loan balance of about 335,000 Indian rupees as of March 2024 (NABARD, 2024). Although this figure represents a high level of institutional affirmation and an increase in the financial depth on the national level, the empirical trend in Udham Singh Nagar shows that the size of loans and beneficiary coverage is relatively low in comparison to the national average. Therefore, the economic dynamism of microfinance activities in the district remains low, despite the active promotion and bank association of self-help groups in the district. The paper also explains how such financial linkages, however magnified, can be used to enable income-generating, enhance savings behavior, and generate financial autonomy to women gradually in local socio-economic settings. It also describes policy and operational levers that are evident in government programmes- the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), the Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) and the livelihood enterprise initiatives by NABARD as well as points out key gaps in data, particularly the lack of district-level outcome indicators on income, asset accumulation or women agency. The paper finishes with specific recommendations in strengthening microfinance empowerment led by microfinance in Udham Singh Nagar and proposes some practical implications in undertaking an impact evaluation.