Microfinance, Women Empowerment and Banking Habit:Perspectives on Kerala

The subject of microfinance is considered as a significant and emerging trend in the present scenario for the empowerment of women. Microfinance programmes are promoted as an important strategy for women's empowerment. Microfinance builds mutual trust and confidence between bankers and rural poor to encourage banking in a segment of population where formal financial institutions usually find difficult to reach. The present paper examines the success of self-help groups in improving banking habits for better access to government infrastructure through the development programmes. The study envisaged investigation in four Grama panchayats, two each in Kasargode and Thiruvananthapuram districts of Kerala state. The survey shows the partial positive impact of the development programme of Kudumbashree, a microfinancial institution for improving the banking habits of the rural poor.