The participation of women in the workforce is a determinant of India to achieve its vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. The level of employment of women has been increasing quite substantially not only in the rural but as well as in the urban regions. Different government initiatives such as women-centered budgets and schemes have enabled women to be self-reliant and enterprising. The growth of women owned MSMEs and the influx of women into formal jobs also adds more to the economic growth of the country. Women have become the driving force towards the transformation of India and have been able to bring sustainable development.
Context of Points:
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India aspires to have 70% participation of women in the workforce by 2047 to make the country progressive.
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The Government of India is promoting the culture of women empowerment leading to an uprising in female employment and entrepreneurship.
Key Points:
High Increase in Women Labor Force Transportation
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The rate of women employment has increased to 40.3% in 2023-24 as compared to 22% in 2017-18.
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The rate of unemployment among women was reduced between 5.6% and 3.2 per cent between the same period.
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Female employment in rural India increased by 96%; in urban areas by 43%.
Enhanced Employable and Education
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The levels of female graduate employability also increased by 5.53%age points (42-47.53%) in the 2013-2024 period.
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The employment rate of postgraduate women increased by 5.5% between the period of 2017-18 and 2023-24 to reach a level of 40%.
Increases in Participation in the Formal Sector
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There has been an increase of 1.56 crore women in seven years in the formal workforce (EPFO data).
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More than 16.69 crore women have enrolled as an unorganized worker on e-Shram.
Support to the Female Entrepreneurs
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There are 70 central and 400 state-level programs to encourage female entrepreneurship.
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There has been an increase of 429% in gender budgets to 4.49 lakh crores crore in 2025-26 of initial budget of 0.85 lakh crore in 2013-14.
Financial Inclusion and Self Employment
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The growth in female self-employment rates was 30% in the 2017-18 to 2023-24 period.
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Women got 68% in total MUDRA lending; 44% of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries are female.
Women-led MSMEs fueling economic Growth
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The figure of women operated MSMEs in India has increased since 2010- 11, which stands at 1 crore to 1.92 crores during 2023-24.
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Enterprises owned by women in terms of proprietary state rose to 26.2% as compared to 17.4%.
Conclusion
Women are a part of the economic transformation of India and play a significant part in the Indian workforce as well as entrepreneurship and MSMEs. Because of constant government backing, they are leading the way to making India a developed nation by the year 2047. The Nari Shakti defines the future of the economic growth of India.
