Restrictions imposed by the Government of India on the emigration of women in ‘unskilled’ categories such as domestic work are framed as measures intended to protect women from exploitation.

Drawing upon the data from the recent period, this paper explores the relationship between women’s involvement in microfinance programs and improvement in their empowerment status.

The paper attempts to analyze the extent to which National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (NREGA) addresses gender-specific economic and social risks to support the inclusion of women, specifically from marginalized communities, into India’s poverty reduction and growth redistrib