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International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056 Volume: 11 Issue: 05 | May 2024

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p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Women and Financial Literacy: Insights from Self-Help Group’s Heera S Kumar1, Dr, Siva Prakash C S2 , Sreelekshmi Balakrishnan3 Assistant Professor, DC School of Management and Technology, Trivandrum, India Professor & Principal, DC School of Management and Technology, Trivandrum, India Assistant Professor, DC School of Management and Technology, Trivandrum, India ----------------------------------------------------------------------***----------------------------------------------------------------------Abstract - India is steering on an exceptional ride in the top gear towards betterment and progress. In this fast changing environment where the range and complexity of financial products and services are broadening the scope of entire market, it is becoming increasingly important for people to acquire Financial Literacy. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the driving force behind Financial Literacy and credit counseling and we are in the infancy stage for promoting financial literacy among women in SHG’s regardless of their demographic profile. The present study focuses on the role and awareness of financial literacy among women in SHG’s in selected grama panchayath in Trivandrum district. Their awareness with regard to financial products and services were analyzed. As per the findings, women in SHG’s have awareness towards financial products and services. But their awareness level is very weak in the area of investments.

KEYWORDS: Financial Literacy, Financial Literacy & Credit Counselors, Financial products & Services, Self Help Groups 1. INTRODUCTION The post liberalization era of the global economy demands people to undergo many complex decisions while dealing with finance (Diaz-Alejandro, 1985). The skill and insightness to deal effectively with money and financial matters is a necessity thrust upon all individuals irrespective of their job or profession. The crux of this necessity lies when the weaker section of our nation also comes under the purview of finance. They encounter varied and umpteen number of questions related to basic finance such what is credit/debit? What is income/expenditure? How to save money? What is investment? How do I start a business? How to calculate risk and return? What is GST? To answer these questions and take wise financial decisions, women need education in finance. Ignorance towards finance can lead women to fall in ponzi schemes and other accounting frauds (C.P. Chandrasekhar, 2014). Financial literacy is important because financially illiterate people incur higher financial costs and assume higher debts (Lusardi and Tufano 2015). Several terms, including financial education, competency, literacy, economic capability, and literacy, are used interchangeably and convey the same meaning as financial literacy (Zait, A., Bertea, P.E , 2014). The exact definition of financial literacy is still debatable because it involves various factors that measure financial literacy, and it varies from region to region. (Kimiyaghalam, F., Safari, M, 2015). OECD, (2014) defined, ‘financial literacy is a knowledge and understanding of financial concepts and risks, and the skills, motivation and confidence to apply such knowledge and understanding in order to make effective decisions across a range of financial contexts, to improve the financial well-being of individuals and society, and to enable participation in economic life.’ Financial literacy refers to the diverse knowledge and skills on financial matters, such as managing money, setting budgets, and investing (A. Lusardi,2019)( A. Lusardi, O.S. Mitchell, 2014) Kerala is a unique example of high social development and the lit eracy rate of 93.91% (Census 2011) is far exceeding than any other states of India, making Kerala as the highest literacy state of India. This is largely due to the extraordinar y performance in the education of women in low-income groups and the depressed communities. The emergence of Kudumbasree Model and their initiation of forming Neighborhood Groups (NHG’s) and Self Help Group’s (SHG’s) paved way to financial intermediation and taught their members the discipline of savings, pooling their savings for lending to members of the group for income generating activities. Knowledge towards financial activities has become a major aspect in the lives of everyone, especially at the grass root level. In this context, the purpose of the study is to understand the role of financial literacy among women in self-help groups and also to understand the level of awareness of financial literacy among these women in rural areas.

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