260 EXPLORING THE DIMENSIONS OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AMONG MICROFINANCE BENEFICIARIES IN INDIA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN DELHI-NCR Prashant Dev Yadav, Research Scholar Birla Institute of Management Technology, India Anshul Verma, PhD S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, India Conceptual Background Economically backward countries are more gender bias against women as compared to developed world. Economic, political and social empowerment of women can alter policy preferences and build institutions that cater the needs of both genders and represent society equally. In India, power of women at local level helped them to enhanced facilities for public i.e. water and sanitation, that affect women more. Minimizing gender gaps facilitate policy making and development. Economic productivity can be increased by gender equality that facilitates development and make institutions more representative (World bank, 2012). It is widely accepted and recognized that empowered women can be agent for development. It has been further acclaimed by International Monetary Fund survey (2006) “Enhanced accessibility of education, health facilities, loan and employment, and that reduce the gap in economic opportunities for men and women, results in poverty reduction and augment the pace of economic development.”This has been further supported by the research of development center of OECD that shows 60 % children are malnourished due to the lack of right for owning land, and it further adds up to 85% of non-availability of loans to women across the nations. Women empowerment found its roots in the mid of 17 th century there after it was introduced at the international women’s conference in 1985 at Nairobi. Women empowerment was focused in the five year plan (1992-1997). It was implemented through Panchayati Raj Institutions. Further it was taken as a national policy in 2001 ensuring survival, protection and development of women and children. Empowerment is not a tool that brings happiness, but it is a process that helps to realize women’s identity, strength, power, capabilities and their application in daily routine. Empowerment has been taken differently by various authors. It may be taken as to liberalize power (Narayana, 2002, World Development Report, 2002/2000) i.e. access to resources, as expansion in individual‘s agency (Kishor, 2002), as power of decision making i.e. autonomy (Jejeebhoy, 1995). However as per Collin’s dictionary “the empowerment of a person or group of people is the process of giving them power and status in a particular situation”. Review of Literature Women empowerment in literature includes a wide range of context, like, status and agency (Gage 1995; Tzannatos, 1999), access to resources, as expansion in individual’s agency (Kishore, 2002), bargaining power (Beegle et al. 1998; Hoddinott and Haddad 1995; Quisumbing and de la Briere, 2000), power (Agarwal, 1997; Beegle et al., 1998; Pulerwitz et al., 2000), patriarchy (Malhotra et al., 2002), gender equality (World Bank, 2001a and 2000b). Often there is no clear demarcation between operational meanings of these terms in terms of women‘s empowerment. Mason (1998)