Financial Inclusion and Women’s Empowerment Across Social Groups in India: Evidence from NFHS-5

Shaik Mahaboob

Financial Inclusion and Women’s Empowerment Across Social Groups in India: Evidence from NFHS-5

Author(s)	Mr. Shaik Mahaboob
Country	India
Abstract	Abstract Comprehensive financial inclusion is the foundation of India's economic strategy to empower women. This objective is being pursued through state-sponsored mechanisms, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and the rapid expansion of digital mobile-banking infrastructures like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). While aggregated national data derived from the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) show a broad success, indicating that 78.6% of Indian women possess functional bank accounts and 53.9% own independent mobile phones. This study examines the equitable distribution of these developmental gains across historical fault lines. By systematically analyzing NFHS-5 unit-level data across constitutional social categories, the analysis reveals deep structural disparities that challenge the narrative of universal inclusion. Scheduled Tribe (ST) women consistently show the lowest levels of formal financial integration nationally, with basic bank account ownership stagnating at 75.0% and independent mobile phone ownership at merely 39.9%. Paradoxically, data demonstrates that these same marginalized groups register the highest national rates of traditional, physical asset ownership, including house (47.0%) and agricultural land (39.0%) ownership. This socio-economic divergence suggests that customary land tenure, particularly land protected under the Forest Rights Act (FRA 2006), does not translate into modern financial liquidity or digital autonomy. Traditional land provides shelter but lacks the collateral utility required for commercial banking. Furthermore, this study analyzes the infrastructural and biometric barriers, such as Aadhaar authentication failure for manual laborers and telecom network limitations in Scheduled Areas, that restrict Adivasi women from accessing the digital economy. To provide a comprehensive sociological critique, this paper examines modern challenges through the lens of India's banking history. It also contrasts the current domestic landscape with global models, such as Kenya's M-Pesa, and the aggressive strategies used by private Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). The paper concludes that addressing this digital and financial divide requires targeted, localized infrastructure investments, algorithmic non-collateralized lending, and FinTech innovations like offline digital payments, moving away from reliance on generic national policies.
Keywords	Keywords: Financial Inclusion, Digital Divide, Scheduled Tribes, Women’s Empowerment, NFHS-5, Asset Ownership, Forest Rights Act, Intersectionality, FinTech, Microfinance Institutions
Field	Sociology > Economics
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-09-12

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Financial Inclusion and Women’s Empowerment Across Social Groups in India: Evidence from NFHS-5

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