Paper Title
Rural Women Empowerment in India: Challenges, Needs and Initiatives

Abstract
Women’s Empowerment has been an issue of immense discussions and contemplation over the last few decades world-wide. This as an agenda has been on top of the lists of most government plans & programs as well. Women empowerment in India is the most effective tool for development as these days; women across the world are actively working as a leader and surpassing others in all the spheres of life. Women empowerment in rural areas has been pointed out as an indispensable condition to reduce poverty and enhancing rural development in developing country like India. Although women make up half of the Indian population, their participation in various activities is not the same as men even today. Without the participation of women in the development process, society as a whole cannot be said to develop sufficiently. In recent decades the topic of women’s empowerment in rural areas has become acute, especially, in developing countries like India. Rural women are key agents for achieving the sustainable development of India. The present study attempts to analyze the women empowerment in rural India. This paper reveals issues, problems, needs and necessity of rural empowerment in India. It is also tried to exhibit the facts about various programmes conducted by the Government of India to improve the women empowerment and it illustrates the fact clearly that empowering the women is key not only to the well-being of individuals, families and rural communities, but also to overall development of the country. Keywords - Rural Women Empowerment, Rural Development, Issues, Needs