Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(4): 1402-1410 1402 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.704.158 Women Empowerment through Self-Help Group Microfinance in Tamil Nadu, India L. Tamilazhaki 1* and P.K. Awasthi 2 1 Department of Agricultural economics, PJTSAU, Hyderabad, Telangana, India 2 Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm management, JNKVV, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Development alone cannot bring peace and prosperity unless sociality and gender equality are ensured. Tamil Nadu is the 11 th largest state in India. It has 35 million female in its total population of 72 million (Census Survey, 2011) and it stands fourth in terms of the percentage of women headed households in India. With India ranking 87 th place in gender gap report (World Economic Forum, 2016) we are still lagging in various areas of women empowerment. Rural women today have been suffering a lot due to the feeling of helplessness and lack of decision-making capabilities in financial matters. In this era of liberalization, privatization and globalization, women are more conscious for their liberty, International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 04 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com The welfare of the women folk has been a major concern for the Indian government. Consequently many measures have been launched to ensure a better status to utilize their untapped potential and to bring them into the spectrum of economic development. Self Help Groups- a viable measure was formulated by the government for achieving the objective of women empowerment. The present study was undertaken to assess the performance and economic impact of Microfinance on the investment, income, savings and employment status of rural women. A sample of 60 respondents from 10 Self-Help Groups of Udumalpet block of Tiruppur district formed the sample size. A number of income generating activities were undertaken by the SHGs. The results show positive changes in indicators of economic empowerment like Expenditure (113 to 350%), annual income (128 to 382%), savings (425 to 892%) of the respondents after joining the Self Help Groups. This has increased their participation in household decisions and strengthened the women empowerment. The four point continuum scoring revealed that the dimensions of Socio-Economic empowerment ranked on the first three positions were access to credit, asset building and mobility. Decision making related to child birth, access to sanitation and literacy were ranked lower. Economic problem was the main reason identified for inefficient functioning of SHGs regardless of their type of economic activities. Briefly, microfinancing through Self Help Groups taps the gesture for the upliftment to a better living and positive role in graduating women empowerment. Keywords Microfinance, Self- Help Groups, Empowerment Accepted: 12 March 2018 Available Online: 10 April 2018 Article Info