Int. J. Indian Culture and Business Management, Vol. 17, No. 4, 2018 383 Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Indian women in grassroots socio-political institutions: impact of microfinance through self-help groups Akhaya Kumar Nayak Area of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Management Indore, Indore 453 556, Madhya Pradesh, India Email: aknayak@iimidr.ac.in Abstract: Microfinance has long been recognised worldwide as a tool for poverty alleviation. Besides, it also empowers the poor, both socially and politically. One of the largest microfinance programs in India is carried out through women self-help groups (SHGs). Extant literature suggests that by participating in SHGs, Indian women gain numerous socio-economic and political advantages. This paper specifically aims to explore the relationship between women’s participation in self-help group activities and their involvement as well as role performance in grassroots socio-political institutions, such as family, village council, local self-government, and caste. The paper concludes that the more actively the women participate in self-help group activities, the more involvement they gain and the more important role they play in grassroots level socio-political institutions. The study has practical implications for policy makers, non-government organisations and activists in India that are attempting to elevate the status of women by enabling their participation in all spheres of life. Keywords: microfinance; microcredit; self-help groups; SHGs; participation; role performance; women empowerment. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Nayak, A.K. (2018) ‘Indian women in grassroots socio-political institutions: impact of microfinance through self-help groups’, Int. J. Indian Culture and Business Management, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp.383–402. Biographical notes: Akhaya Kumar Nayak is a faculty member in the area of humanities and social sciences at the Indian Institute of Management Indore, India. He teaches courses such as Business Ethics, Indian Society and Culture, Introduction to Sociology, Essentials of Human Values, Leadership Insights from Bhagavat Gita, and Contemporary Social Issues. His research interest includes sociology of social movement, sociology of development, sociology of third sector, and scriptures of Sanatan Dharma. 1 Introduction Microfinance, or microcredit, became the buzzword in the development discourse of Asian countries towards the end of the 20th century and in the beginning of 21st century, especially after Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, gained noteworthy success through his Grameen Bank innovation. Since then, experiments on microfinance