£ Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, University of Mysore, Mysore.
¥ Department of Studies and Research in Economics and Coordinator, Chair in Rural Banking and Management, Mangalore University.
Women's empowerment is critical to the process of development of the community and bringing women into the mainstream of development has been a major concern of the government since independence. Hence after a series of efforts and strategies microfinance through self help groups has been working as a powerful tool to fight poverty became the effective approach of financial inclusion. The objective of the paper is examine the impact of micro finance on economic empowerment of women and their level of capabilities built up after joining SHG by promoters, social groups and income groups and to offer policy prescriptions for sustained women's empowerment through microfinance. The study is based on both secondary and primary data. The paper made an effort to examine the impact of micro finance programme (SHG movement) on economic empowerment of women. It is found that performance of NGO promoted groups are good compared to other groups. Most of the SHG members especially streeshakti members avail micro credit for consumption purpose only. It is much more in low income groups and among SC and ST members. is evident that a larger proportion of SHG members have actively taken part in economic domains of their life. In the process of ensuring empowerment of women, there are several constraints such as illiteracy, rigid institutional and social factors which prevent women from going for work or taking part in any economic or social related functions, opposition from her husband or in-laws against what woman do and the like.
