CRIF report analyzes the financial inclusion and independence of women in India, highlighting key trends and insights in their credit and borrowing behavior.
The increasing prominence of women in the formal credit market marks a significant milestone in India’s financial inclusion journey. Our analysis shows that women are leveraging various loan products to meet their personal and professional aspirations,
thereby reinforcing their financial independence. The key findings of this report are as follows:
Portfolio performance
The outstanding portfolio of women borrowers grew to ₹36.5 Lakh Crore in Dec’24, up
from ₹30.9 Lakh Crore in Dec’23, registering a faster growth rate of 18%. The overall
retail portfolio grew to ₹142.3 Lakh Crore in Dec’24, up from ₹121.9 Lakh Crore in
Dec’23, registering a 16.7% YoY growth.
Volume trends
The share of women borrowers in overall retail loans (by volume) remained stable at
approximately 24% in both Dec’24 and Dec’23. The number of women borrowers with
active loans stood at 8.3 Crore as of Dec’24, up from 7.5 Crore as of Dec’23, with a YoY
growth of 10.8%. In contrast, the number of men borrowers with active loans increased
to 20.3 Crore as of Dec’24, from 19.1 Crore as of Dec’23, with a YoY growth of 6.5%.
Supply
In CY 2024, the share of women borrowers in NTC originations remained high across
many products compared to men. The originations value to female borrowers in FY 25
(Q1-Q3) has already surpassed the same period in FY24 for Gold Loans, Property Loans,
Consumer Durable Loans, and Two-Wheeler Loans. Public sector banks emerged as
dominant players in lending to women in CY 2024.
Women borrower dynamics
Younger women borrowers (≤35 years) represent the highest share in originations volume,
with a marginal decline from 44.3% in CY 2022 to 43.8% in CY 2024. Overall, women have
higher credit exposure in the southern region compared to other parts of the country, and
they demonstrate better borrowing performance across most credit products.
Key takeaways:
- The outstanding portfolio of women borrowers grew to ₹36.5 Lakh Crore in Dec’24, up from ₹30.9 Lakh Crore in Dec’23, registering a faster growth rate of 18%. Gold Loans, Educational Loans, and Home Loans led the share.
- The number of women borrowers with active loans stood at 8.3 Crore as of Dec’24, up from 7.5 Crore as of Dec’23, with 10.8% YoY. The share of women borrowers in active loans remained stable at 24%.
- The ATS for Personal Loans, Gold Loans, Auto Loans, and Educational Loans was higher for women borrowers than for men borrowers in CY 2024.
- Originations value to female borrowers in the first three quarters of FY 25 has already surpassed the previous year (comparable period) for Gold Loans, Property Loans, Consumer Durable Loans, and Two-Wheeler loans.
- The share of NTC originations volume among women borrowers is higher compared to men borrowers in CY 2024 for all major products
- The share of younger women borrowers (≤35 years) constitutes the highest share in originations volume, though it marginally declined from 44.3% in CY 2022 to 43.8% in CY 2024.
- In CY 2024, public sector banks overtook private sector banks in lending to women, increasing their share of originations (value) for women borrowers from 34.7% in CY 2022 to 42.8% in CY 2024.
- Women continue to outperform men, demonstrating better borrowing behaviour with lower PAR 90+ DPD across all products as of December 2024.
