Factors Impacting Psychological Empowerment of Rural Women Utilizing Microfinance in Selected Villages of Telangana

In order to contribute for the growth of society, Indian government has been introducing various schemes to empower women by numerous initiatives in rural areas by allowing them to market their goods, by encouraging them by providing equal opportunities and rights so that they benefit from trade and finance. Self-Help-Groups (SHGs) are enabling rural women to participate by educating them for their rights and policies and by providing leadership opportunities in the process of empowerment. Rural women of Telangana are taking up various entrepreneurial activities and are being empowered in all spheres with the help of micro finance schemes promoted by the government. The present study aims to learn the demographic profile and psychological factors of rural women who are members of SHGs in two districts of Telangana. The empirical study has made an attempt to learn their psychological perceptions in order to find the relationship between psychological factors and empowerment in view of the trends taking place in micro finance. The factor analysis revealed three factors and results show that age, education and social status has significant relationship between psychological factors and empowerment while marital status and annual income does not show significant relation. The study shows that majority of rural women were aware of smartphone usage and it was suggested that, as empowerment starts from within at individual level, government schemes should focus on educating rural women about the new advancements taking place in micro financing to make them more self-reliant and financially independent. Keywords: self-help-groups, micro financing, personal dignity, social support and empowerment DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/13-13-03 Publication date:July 31st 202