Women take Rs6.21 lakh cr loan from unorganised sector for biz

Industry chamber CII today said the size of the unorganised sector fulfilling the financial requirement of the country's women entrepreneurs currently stands at about Rs 6.21 lakh crore.
"Around Rs 6.21 trillion (lakh crore) is the untapped size of financial requirement for Indian women entrepreneur. As no organisational institute is addressing it, women are taking loans from the informal sector," said Bhairavi Jani, Head of CII's arm India Women Network.
She said as per an IFC report, 90 per cent of women are meeting their financial requirements from the informal sector.
Addressing a CII summit on "Inclusive Growth for Women -- Agenda North East", Jani said it is imperative that economic and financial ecosystems are created and women contribution to the economic output is given due national recognition.

"With the new government under Narendra Modi initiating a few positive steps, we hope that some of the issues relating to women entrepreneurs will be addressed in due course of time," she told PTI on the sidelines of the event here.
Speaking on the occasion, Numaligarh Refinery Director (Finance) S K Barua said women's role as part of human capital can no longer be ignored.
"Women empowerment at every level is important especially in the political space that entails policy level changes," he added.
Assam Bengal Navigation Executive Director Jahnabi Phookan said women in the North East are comparatively better off in the national context, but concerning issues are that of freedom of movement and economic independence.