Role of Micro-Finance Based Institutions for Uplifting the Status of Women in Bihar

Abstract

Microfinance is the provision of financial services to impoverished people, the jobless, or organisations, particularly women,
in order to help them increase their income and improve their standard of living. Self Help Groups (SHGs) dominate
microfinance as a successful vehicle for providing financial services to the "Unreached Poor," as well as building their
collective self-help capacities, resulting in empowerment. Women's empowerment refers to giving women the ability to
make decisions in their lives. Social empowerment, political empowerment, education empowerment, economic and
financial empowerment, and psychological empowerment are the five categories of empowerment that are required to
empower women. The study's goals include determining the role of microfinance in rural women's empowerment in Bihar,
identifying different schemes for women's empowerment in Bihar, and observing various challenges that women encounter
in order to promote women's empowerment in Bihar. Secondary data was employed to gather information for this
investigation. Microfinance has a significant impact in empowering women in terms of social and psychological
employment, but not so much in terms of economic empowerment because to a lack of understanding about the programme,
according to this study. After examining the various government plans, it was discovered that there are multiple schemes
available from the governments of India and Bihar that assist rural women and the underprivileged sections of society in
escaping poverty.