- Why in news
- On 7 April 2026, NITI Aayog CEO Nidhi Chhibber released the second edition of the report 'From Borrowers to Builders: Women and India's Evolving Credit Market' in New Delhi (announced 8 April 2026).
- What it is
- The report tracks women's access to and progression within India's formal credit system using credit bureau data. It is prepared under NITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) by TransUnion CIBIL and MicroSave Consulting. The second edition adds microfinance data.
- Publisher and authors
- Released by NITI Aayog under its Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP). TransUnion CIBIL and MicroSave Consulting prepared it.
- Size of women's credit
- Women borrowers hold Rs 76 lakh crore, 26% of total system credit.
- Data base
- The report uses credit bureau data on about 16 crore credit-active women and primary research with 161 rural women nano-entrepreneurs.
- Origin of the collaboration
- It builds on a WEP collaboration begun in 2025 under the Financing Women Collaborative (FWC) to fill gaps in sex-disaggregated credit data.
Don’t confuse with WEP vs Mahila Samman or SHG schemes: WEP is a NITI Aayog platform for women entrepreneurs. It is not a lending scheme. The report is a data study, not a programme.
Reports and indices: 14 Prelims questions since 2013; they test who publishes a report and what it measures.
Why it matters
- Shows women moving from entry-level credit to retail and business loans, a sign of deeper financial inclusion.
- Sex-disaggregated data helps target policy for women-led enterprise.
Problems
- Of about 45 crore credit-eligible women, only around 16 crore are credit-active, so a large gap remains.
- Personal and gold loans still dominate, so productive business credit is a smaller share.
Way forward
- Use digital public infrastructure (identity, payments, underwriting) to lower entry barriers.
- Strengthen the enabling environment so credit leads to resilient enterprises.
Put in your answer
Women's credit portfolio: Women's credit outstanding rose from Rs 16 lakh crore in 2017 to Rs 76 lakh crore in 2025.
Microfinance to mainstream credit: 19% of active MFI borrowers now hold individual retail or commercial loans.
- 2020Mains GS2 · Q17Evaluate SHGs' role in microfinance, asset creation, and women's empowerment
- 2021Mains GS2 · Q8Can microfinancing women's SHGs break gender inequality, poverty, malnutrition cycle?
- 2015Mains GS2 · Q9Elucidate SHG-Bank Linkage Programme's effectiveness in poverty alleviation and empowerment
- 2015Prelims Q1Purpose of Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana
- 2023Prelims Q74Statements on SHG origin, joint liability, and bank support for SHGs
- 2026Prelims Q99Statements on NBFC deposits, RBI registration, and DICGC coverage
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Reports are only 14 of 327 news-linked Prelims questions and mostly ask about the publisher. Worth reading for the credit data but unlikely to be set.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.