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The International Labour Organization and the National Council of Applied Economic Research released a joint policy brief, 'Advancing Women's Digital Financial Inclusion in the Platform Economy', in New Delhi on 24 August 2026.
India has almost closed the gender gap in bank account ownership - women's account ownership rose from 43% in 2014 to 89% in 2024, against 88% for men - but the gap in using digital finance remains wide.
Only 25.2% of Indian women can conduct an online banking transaction, against 47.1% of men; on mobile money accounts the gap is 14% versus 32%, about three times the global gap.
India's platform workforce grew from 7.7 million in 2020 to 12 million in FY25 and is projected to reach 23.5 million by 2029-30, yet women are less than 1% of urban two-wheeler delivery drivers.
The brief backs cash flow-based lending using digital platform payment records, and Digital Public Infrastructure such as the Account Aggregator framework and e-Shram, to widen women's access to credit.
Conventional lending is collateral-based: the borrower pledges land, property or gold, and the lender's security is the asset. That structure excludes most women in India, who far less often hold titled property in their own name. Cash flow-based lending instead assesses repayment capacity from the borrower's actual income stream - here, the digital record of payments received through a platform. Because every ride or delivery leaves a timestamped payment trail, a platform worker with no assets can still demonstrate a steady, verifiable income. The brief pairs this with Digital Public Infrastructure - the Account Aggregator framework, which lets an individual consent to sharing financial data with a lender, and e-Shram, the national database of unorganised workers - so that a worker's financial history is portable rather than locked inside one platform.
Simple Analogy: Collateral lending asks 'what do you own that I can seize?' Cash flow lending asks 'what do you earn, and can you prove it?' For a delivery worker with a smartphone but no property, the second question is the only one she can answer.
The UN's specialised agency for the world of work, unique in being tripartite - governments, employers and workers are all represented. Founded in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles, it became a specialised agency of the UN in 1946 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969. India is a founder member.
India's oldest and largest independent, non-profit economic policy research institute; produces applied economic research and large household surveys
To let an individual share her own financial data with a lender or adviser on the basis of explicit, revocable consent
Key: Consent-based data sharing - the aggregator moves data but does not read or store it, which lets a borrower with no credit history build a case from her own records
To build a national database of unorganised workers, including gig and platform workers, under the Ministry of Labour and Employment
Key: Launched on 26 August 2021; registers workers on self-declaration and issues a Universal Account Number (UAN)
The first Indian law to define 'gig worker' and 'platform worker' and to contemplate social security schemes for them - the legal backdrop to any policy on platform work
The brief's access-versus-usage distinction is the same one behind the RBI's Financial Inclusion Index and the World Bank's Global Findex, which separately track ownership and active use of accounts
Platform work is often argued to offer flexible entry for women; the brief shows that without digital finance and mobility, flexibility alone does not translate into participation
GS Paper III > Indian Economy > Inclusive growth and employment; GS Paper II > Issues relating to women and vulnerable sections
General Awareness > Financial inclusion, digital payments and Digital Public Infrastructure
General Awareness > Economy, international organisations
Which Five-Year Plan is also known as the "Gadgil Yojana"?
Answer: Third Five-Year Plan
"Rauf" is a folk dance form of which region?
Answer: Jammu and Kashmir
The "Rauf" dance is associated with which state/UT?
Answer: Jammu and Kashmir
The 'Rauf' is a folk dance of which region?
Answer: Jammu and Kashmir
Work arranged through digital platforms that match workers with customers, covering both location-based work such as delivery and remote online work
Access to and independent use of digital payments, online banking and formal financial services through electronic channels
An RBI-regulated entity that moves an individual's financial data between institutions purely on her consent, without reading or storing it
Credit assessment based on a verifiable income stream rather than pledged collateral