Select a date Select month July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 Select a category Agriculture Bihar Votes For Its (and India’s) Future BUDGET 2014 Budget 2015: Modi’s Moment of Reckoning Budget 2016: The stories behind the numbers Chart of the Day Climate Change Cover Story Currency Chaos Development Education Elections 2014 Employment Fact Check Governance Newsletter Health homepage video Hunger India’s Great Challenge: Health & Sanitation IndiaSpend In The News IndiaSpend Interviews Industry Investigations Central State Latest Headlines Latest Reports Making Sense of Breaking News Modi’s Message: India’s States Reply Modi’s Report Card Mumbai Special Mumbai Special: The Revival Agenda Opinion – Videos Opinions Pollution Poverty Prime Time: India’s Grand Challenges Resources Central State Sectors Agriculture Defence Economy & Policy Education Health Infrastructure Snapshots States Central India Chattisgarh Madhya Pradesh EAST Bihar Jharkhand Orissa West Bengal NORTH Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir New Delhi Punjab Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand NORTH EAST Arunachal Pradesh Assam Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Sikkim Tripura SOUTH Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Kerala Tamil Nadu WEST Goa Gujarat Maharashtra Story In A Minute The Air We #Breathe The Road To Delhi: Elections 2015 The Transition: 2015-2016 Uncategorized Viznomics: A Quick Glance At Big Issues Welfare Women Women@Work Women@Work Search with Google

An artisan paints the idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses at a workshop in Mumbai. The five states with the largest proportion of literate women–Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra–account for 53% of all business establishments owned by women nationwide.

The five states with the largest proportion of literate women–Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra–account for 53% (4.3 million) of all business establishments owned by women nationwide, although no more than 33% of India’s women live in these states, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data released by the Economic Census 2012.

With 73.4% of its women literate, Tamil Nadu–third among larger states after Kerala and Maharashtra–has India’s largest number of establishments run by women, one million, according to the Economic Census 2012.

Tamil Nadu is followed by Kerala–which has 90% female literacy, India’s highest rate–which accounts for 11% of business run by women.

Source: Economic Census 2012, Men and Women 2011

While the female literacy rate was 65.5% nationwide, the female work-force participation was 25.5%, according to Census 2011.

Female participation in India’s workforce has declined from 34% in 1999 to 27% in 2014, IndiaSpend reported in August 2016, the worst rate among BRICS nations and lower than Bangladesh (57.4%), Nepal (79.9%) and Sri Lanka (35.1%).

The five states with the largest number of women entrepreneurs also have higher-than-national average literacy among women.

Source: Economic Census 2012, National Family Health Survey 4

Lack of financial education can also limit women from gaining access to and benefitting from financial services, according to this 2014 World Bank report.

The top five states have the largest number of women who have completed ten years or more of education. Maharashtra, which has the fifth-largest number of businesswomen, also has 77.4% women who have completed ten years or more of education.

Bihar, for example, has 153,610 establishments run by women (accounting for 1.9% of businesswomen and ranked 14th among states) and only 56% women have completed ten years of education.

Women own/run 8.05 million of India’s 58.5 million establishments (13.7%), IndiaSpend reported in May 2016, providing employment to 13.4 million people. About 89% of these were employed in establishments hiring less than 10 workers.

India was ranked 70th of 77 countries in the Female Entrepreneurship Index 2015 released by London-based Global Entrepreneurship Institute.

Building A Small Business, Step by Small Step: A Woman’s Story Archana Angre (43), who runs a tiffin service and a small restaurant in Chembur, an eastern suburb of Mumbai, studied till class nine. Angre started the business in 1997 when she worked as a cook, despite opposition from her in-laws who warned her that business was risky. The initial investment of Rs 2,000 was done by Angre and her husband Ashok Arjun Angre. She employed three family members (daughter, son and husband) in the beginning. Within a year of starting business, Angre received help from patrons who helped her with capital and equipment (gas cylinders and stove). Within two years, her business increased from 10 tiffins to 100 tiffins. Some of Angre’s clients helped her get a loan of Rs 50,000 from UCO Bank. The business expanded from making tiffins for office-goers to preparing meals for parties and company events. She received a loan of Rs 295,000 under the Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana (Prime Minister’s Employment Programme) in 2010, which she used to buy utensils and other items required for the business. Nineteen years later, Angre employs six people (three from her family and three hired workers). Angre is now planning to open a fully functional restaurant. She has also been able to fund her daughter’s studies in hotel management. “There is a need for change in attitude from being safe with a job to the ability to take risks to start a business,” Angre said.

(Salve is an analyst with IndiaSpend.)

We welcome feedback. Please write to respond@indiaspend.org. We reserve the right to edit responses for language and grammar.

__________________________________________________________________

“Liked this story? Indiaspend.org is a non-profit, and we depend on readers like you to drive our public-interest journalism efforts. Donate Rs 500; Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000.”