MUMBAI: Women borrowers now account for Rs 76 lakh crore of credit, or 26% of total system credit in 2025, marking a near five-fold rise since 2017 and signaling a structural shift in India’s credit landscape.A joint report by TransUnion Cibil, Niti Aayog’s WEP, and MicroSave Consulting said women are moving from being passive beneficiaries to active drivers of credit demand. The number of women availing formal credit grew at a CAGR of 9% between 2017 and 2025. Outstanding credit for women rose 4.8 times in this period compared with 2.9 times growth in overall credit. “The number of women availing formal credit in India has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9% between 2017 and 2025, underscoring their increasing engagement with the financial system. Outstanding credit for women borrowers has grown 4.8 times since 2017, compared with 2.9 times for total credit, indicating a significantly faster expansion. In recent years, the growth of digital infrastructure has facilitated easier onboarding, faster loan processing, and improved access to information,” said Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO, TransUnion Cibil.Women’s share in retail loan originations rose to 27% in 2025 from 24% in 2022, reflecting broad-based growth across segments. The share of new-to-credit women borrowers in retail credit rose by 10 percentage points to 38% in 2025, showing expansion into previously unserved segments. “At Niti Aayog, we recognize that access to finance is a structural enabler of women’s economic participation,” said Nidhi Chhibber, CEO, Niti Aayog.The number of women with active business-purpose loans grew at a CAGR of 31% over the past three years, indicating a shift towards enterprise activity.
