• Abhishek Anand

The development of women entrepreneurship is very slow in our country. Though a woman represent 50 percent of the total population, there are only 2,95,680 women entrepreneurs of the total 2.64 million entrepreneurs in India during the year 1998-99. It shows that they do not have any economic independence in the society as well as their poor contribution to the economy of our country. The empowerment of women became necessary as they are almost fifty percent of the population and are being discriminated at all fronts. Women play a vital role in the social and economic transformation of a country. Since 1970s, developing countries, including India, have increasingly focused on micro-credit to facilitate the access of poor households to financial services like credit, savings, insurance etc. As the rural population in India, forming about two third of her total population is still dependent on agriculture, there is a crying need for timely and adequate availability of funds for agricultural and rural finance is a must for improving the lot and income of the poor. Micro credit, which includes micro savings, is gradually emerging as one of the most effective strategies to alleviate poverty. It can effectively generate employment and sustain the income of the households by giving them opportunities of work. Although micro credit institutions are effective weapons in the war against rural poverty they alone can not neutralize non physical symptoms - a poverty which deprives the poor of a full social existence.

entrepreneurship, empowerment, Women, rural poverty, Micro credit.

"EMPOWERING RURAL WOMEN THROUGH SHG AND MICRO FINANCE : IMPORTANCE, PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTIONS", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 1, page no.1709-1713, January-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1901D41.pdf

"EMPOWERING RURAL WOMEN THROUGH SHG AND MICRO FINANCE : IMPORTANCE, PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTIONS", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 1, page no. pp1709-1713, January-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1901D41.pdf