Mediating role of socio-economic and political empowerment in micro credit dispensation in the Indian context

Microfinance programmes have emerged in different countries across the world as a larger movement that aims at everyone, particularly the economically and socially marginalised people and households. It provides access to a wide range of affordable high-quality financial products and services, including not just credit but also savings, insurance, payment services, and fund transfer. Microcredit dispensation across India is implemented primarily through the Self-Help Groups and Neighbourhood Groups formed under the linkage of the state and central governments, non-governmental organisations and community organisations. Membership in women’s groups and subsequent provision of microcredit to engage in incomegenerating activities is the core objective of the dispensation programme that aims at the overall empowerment of women. This descriptive study is carried out among the micro-credit beneficiaries of the credit-linked Neighbourhood Groups of the State Poverty Eradication Mission (Kudumbashree) of the Government of Kerala to examine how the membership in women groups and access to microcredit bring about overall empowerment of women. The parallel multiple mediator analysis applied in the study confirmed the mediating role of economic, social and political empowerment in ensuring overall empowerment among the members. The model is found to be a full mediation model as the direct effect is insignificant.