Why is the Centre revising the NFSA?

Source: The post “Why is the Centre revising the NFSA?” has been created based on “Why is the Centre revising the NFSA?” published in “The Hindu” on 10th July 2026.

UPSC Syllabus: GS 2- Governance

Context: The latest National Statistics Office (NSO) report shows encouraging progress in women’s economic participation in urban India. Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in million-plus cities has increased from 19.8% in 2017-18 to 27.2% in 2025. Women are also increasingly becoming entrepreneurs, with over 20% of unincorporated establishments being run by women in 32 out of 46 million-plus cities. However, female LFPR remains significantly lower than the male LFPR of 75.9%, indicating persistent structural barriers.

Positive Trends

1. Rising Female Labour Force Participation: Female LFPR has witnessed the highest increase among all demographic groups. Cities have emerged as important centres of employment opportunities for women.
2. Growth in Women Entrepreneurship: Women are increasingly establishing and managing businesses. Cities such as Surat, Vadodara and Pune have nearly 40% of unincorporated establishments run by women.

Major Barriers Beyond Childcare

1. Mobility and Safe Transportation

1. Women’s participation begins with their ability to travel safely to work.
2. More than half of women report experiencing harassment or feeling unsafe while using public transport.
3. Women often undertake chained journeys, combining work with childcare and household responsibilities.
4. Urban transport systems remain designed primarily for simple home-to-office commutes, failing to address women’s travel patterns.
5. Unsafe and unreliable transport discourages women from entering the labour market.

2. Limited Access to Public Spaces

1. Women often feel that they need a legitimate reason to occupy public spaces.
2. They are less likely to use parks, cafés or streets freely compared to men.
3. The issue extends beyond physical safety and reflects unequal social norms.
4. Cities need to be designed with the assumption that women are equal participants in public life.

3. Barriers to Career Progression

1. Women continue to face difficulties in reaching leadership positions despite entering the workforce.
2. Only 5% of NSE-500 companies are led by women.
3. Career stagnation is not explained solely by maternity or caregiving responsibilities.
4. Unconscious bias influences promotion decisions.
5. Leadership traits such as assertiveness are often viewed positively in men but negatively in women.
6. Women also tend to apply for jobs only after meeting nearly all eligibility criteria, while men often apply after meeting around 60% of the qualifications.
7. Supporting women in leadership expands the talent pool and strengthens merit rather than compromising it.

4. Limited Access to Finance

1. Women-led MSMEs face a credit gap of around 35%.
2. Limited collateral, lower property ownership and weaker financial literacy restrict access to institutional credit.
3. Less than 5% of venture capital funding in India goes to start-ups with a woman founder.
4. Investors often ask women founders risk-focused “prevention” questions, while men receive growth-oriented “promotion” questions, creating funding biases.

Way Forward

1. Urban transport should be made safe, reliable and gender-responsive, keeping women’s travel patterns in mind.
2. Public spaces should be designed to ensure that women can participate freely and confidently in city life.
3. Organisations should promote gender-sensitive leadership policies, eliminate unconscious bias and ensure equal opportunities for career advancement.
4. Financial institutions should improve women’s access to credit, collateral-free loans, venture capital and financial literacy programmes.
5. Affordable childcare facilities should continue to be strengthened alongside broader structural reforms.
6. Urban planning should adopt a gender-inclusive approach so that cities become truly enabling spaces for women.

Conclusion: Urban India has created new opportunities for women through rising employment and entrepreneurship. However, mobility constraints, exclusion from public spaces, workplace bias and unequal access to finance continue to limit women’s economic participation. Addressing these structural barriers through gender-responsive governance and inclusive urban planning is essential to achieving genuine economic empowerment and inclusive growth.

Question: Despite a rise in female labour force participation in urban India, structural barriers continue to limit women’s economic empowerment. Discuss the key challenges and suggest measures to improve women’s participation in cities.

Source: The Hindu