India has aced financial inclusion of women, now it needs to do more

India has achieved significant progress in financial inclusion for women, yet the journey is far from over. In 2014, the gender gap in bank account ownership stood at 20 percentage points. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, introduced in 2014, made substantial strides in addressing this disparity. As of August 12, 2026, nearly 590 million individuals were enrolled in the scheme, with over 56% of them being women.

Even among the poorest 20% of the population, 89% of women held bank accounts by 2023, compared to 94% of men, according to a February 2025 article in Data for India. While this represents a notable achievement, a new challenge arises: ensuring women have the agency to make decisions about the money in their accounts.

India has successfully bridged the gap in access to banking, but women only hold about one-fifth of the total money deposited in banks. Furthermore, India boasts the largest gender gap in account inactivity, with 12 percentage points separating men and women. Approximately one-third of women's accounts remain inactive. Financial inclusion is crucial as it enables access to loans for personal and professional purposes.

According to a NITI Aayog report in April 2026, women account for nearly 26% of formal credit. Although there has been progress, with women borrowers increasingly moving from entry-level credit to retail and business-purpose lending, there remains much room for improvement.

The persistence of this gap can be attributed to both economic and agency-related barriers. Economic factors include the low employment rate among married women, with only 32% employed, and a significant portion (15%) not receiving payment for their work. Additionally, women's ownership of property, such as houses and land, is much lower than that of men, which often necessitates collateral for larger loans.

Agency, on the other hand, is a more complex issue. Even among women who earn an income, only 18% have the autonomy to decide how to spend their money independently. Joint decision-making with husbands prevails, affecting various aspects of women's lives, including mobile phone use and mobility. The NFHS-5 report reveals that women's agency is also constrained in other areas, such as domestic violence.

Alarmingly, 45% of women and 44% of men still accept certain justifications for wife-beating. These factors collectively highlight that achieving true financial inclusion in India necessitates a shift in social norms and beliefs, rather than merely increasing access to financial services.