Micro Finance and Women Empowerment in Rural Assam

<p>Microfinance is considered to be a key strategy for addressing issues of poverty alleviation&nbsp;<br>and women empowerment. The empowerment of women through microfinance with SHGs<br>would give benefits not only to the individual women but also for the family and community<br>as a whole through collective action for development. Microfinance has been recognized&nbsp;<br>world over as one of the new development paradigms for alleviating poverty through social&nbsp;<br>and economic empowerment of the poor particularly women. Microfinance encouraged many&nbsp;<br>researchers all over the world to rethink about the concept of financial inclusion of the<br>marginalized people, especially women, who were thought to be unthinkable. But in present&nbsp;<br>days the economists are expressing concerns about the market oriented nature of the micro&nbsp;<br>finance institutions in India. Microfinance programs have significant potential for<br>contributing to women's economic, social and political empowerment. Access to savings and&nbsp;<br>credit can initiate or strengthen a series of interlinked and mutually reinforcing 'virtuous&nbsp;<br>spirals' of empowerment. Microfinance programs have significant potential for contributing to&nbsp;<br>women's economic, social and political empowerment. The paper focuses on the conceptual&nbsp;<br>aspect of microfinance and Self Help Groups (SHGs) and analyze the of role SHGs towards&nbsp;<br>women empowerment in the rural Economy of Assam. The North-East Region remains a&nbsp;<br>classic case of financial exclusion. Micro credit facility has become very much helpful for the<br>women workers mainly in the unorganized sector in the North East India. . A number of&nbsp;<br>agencies- Government as well as Non- Government Organizations-(NGOs) are, today<br>involved in micro-finance development initiatives. The microfinance-SHGs have a great<br>bearing on women empowerment. It has becomea ladder for the poor, particularly the women&nbsp;<br>to bring them up not only economically but also socially, mentally, politically, educationally<br>and attitudinally</p>