The number of women borrowers across major retail loan products spiked by 29 per cent between December 21 and December 22, primarily driven by the rise in personal loans and consumer durables loans, shows a recent study by the CRIF, an RBI-approved credit bureau in India. Both in the number of active loans availed by Female Borrowers and the number of Portfolio Outstanding loans for Female Borrowers, there has been a spike of more than 25 percent within this period.

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According to many experts, women are primarily taking loans to start their own businesses. In this period, while in all other loan products, there has been a spike, the number of active loans availed by female borrowers for agriculture has witnessed a fall. This indicates that women are focusing more on non-agricultural aspects.

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Experts pointed out that one major cause that drove the spike in the disbursement of loans and financial activities among women borrowers is digital inclusion. A study by PayNearby shows that more than 10,000 women entrepreneurs have dispensed over Rs 900 crores of financial services in the last financial year alone, primarily in the states of UP, Rajasthan, and MP.

"We want women to have greater control over their earnings, savings, and other critical elements. For this, we aim to enable form-factor-agnostic, simple-to-use platforms at all nearby retail stores, so that our women can take control of their futures and be active partners in the nation’s success story," said Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby, a financial service platform.