Financial Inclusion and Impact on Women Empowerment in Rural area with special reference to Central Travancore Region of Kerala

Abstract Financial inclusion is the process of ensuring access to financial services especially in rural India. Timely and adequate credit where needed by vulnerable group such as weaker sections and low income groups at an affordable cost. Financial Inclusion in India is often closely connected to the aggressive micro credit policies that were introduced without the appropriate regulations oversight or consumer education policies, the result was consumers becoming quickly over-indebted to the point of committing suicide, lending institutions saw repayment. Kerala is a model state for financial inclusion, it developed its banking infrastructure relatively early and, due to extensive population segmentation, created a large network of branches that still caters to different communities and customer bases. Financial Inclusion will be helpful for rural areas where people are unaware of banking services and the benefit associated with other financial services. The present study deals with contribution of inclusion plans of government in rural areas through various modes. The study also deals with role of financial inclusion for women empowerment in rural areas of central Travancore. Study analysis the collected information using various statistical tools.