SOIL Report 2025 reveals 45% of farmers rely on informal credit despite India’s growth push, highlighting gaps in jobs, gender equity, and climate resilience.
India’s MSME sector provides livelihoods to nearly 30 crore people.
17 crore people moved out of extreme poverty between 2011-12 and 2023.
NEW DELHI (Ambedkar Chamber): Despite India’s rapid economic progress and its ambition to achieve high-income status under the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, a significant share of the country’s farming population continues to remain outside the formal financial system. The State of India’s Livelihoods (SOIL) Report 2025, released by ACCESS Development Services, reveals that nearly 45% of India’s farmers still rely on informal credit sources—a stark reminder of the persistent gaps in financial inclusion, documentation access, and last-mile delivery. While welfare schemes, digital payments, and financial reforms have strengthened household resilience, the report highlights that millions of low-income families continue to face barriers that limit their ability to access secure, affordable, and dependable formal credit.
Launched at a two-day national convening at Le Meridien, New Delhi, the Report captures key economic, social and policy shifts impacting millions of low-income households.
Enabling Economic Empowerment for individuals and communities is the key to India’s ambition of Viksit_Bharat@20247, that is economically strong, socially inclusive, environmentally responsible and globally influential, the report says.
The release saw participation from Manoj Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director, SIDBI; Dr Angela Lusigi, Resident Representative, UNDP India; Julie Gehrki, President, Walmart Foundation and Senior Vice President, Philanthropy, Walmart Inc.; among other sector leaders.
The keynote address was delivered by Manoj Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). He said, “Livelihood security rests on ensuring people have the assets, incomes and activities needed to sustain their lives. India’s progress, where over 17 crore people moved out of extreme poverty between 2011-12 and 2023, shows the impact of integrated welfare schemes, financial inclusion and direct benefit transfers. Entrepreneurship has been central to this shift, with the MSME sector providing livelihoods to nearly 30 crore people and initiatives like PM Mudra Yojana and credit guarantee schemes enabling millions to start or grow enterprises. In this context, ACCESS Development Services’ State of India’s Livelihoods Report is vital in guiding how we strengthen livelihoods further.”
The 2025 edition of the Report highlights India’s sustained economic momentum, with the RBI, World Bank, and IMF projecting faster growth, rising household incomes and a sharp decline in extreme poverty – developments that align with the Government of India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 ambitions of a USD 30-40 trillion, high-income economy.
However, the Report cautions that despite large-scale welfare schemes and improved delivery systems like DBT, KYC-linked authentication and digital payment infrastructure, many poor households continue to fall through the cracks due to documentation challenges, access barriers and authentication failures.
The SOIL Report (2025) flags emerging structural concerns
- India’s demographic dividend is shrinking, calling for rapid creation of quality, formal jobs with fair wages
- Persistent gender gaps in workforce participation and pay continue to constrain growth
- Agriculture remains highly exposed to climate-change-induced heat stress, demanding stronger investments in adaptation and climate-resilient farming systems
With the share of self-employment rising and the informal economy expanding, the Report also underscores the need for stronger livelihood security. While enablers like Kisan Credit Cards, microfinance, JAM, UPI and the Unified Lending Interface have expanded opportunities, many low-income households still lack dependable access to formal credit, relying instead on informal sources.
Speaking about the SOIL report, Vipin Sharma, CEO, ACCESS Development Services, said, “The SOIL Report makes it clear that while India is on a strong economic trajectory, with unemployment hovering around 6% and self-employment rising to nearly 58%, the quality of opportunities available to people remains uneven. The fact that almost 45% of farmers still depend on informal finance, and that women now make up over 64% of the agricultural workforce, reflects both the pressures and possibilities shaping the livelihoods landscape. As India moves toward the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, our challenge and responsibility is to ensure that growth translates into secure, dignified, climate-resilient livelihoods for every household. ACCESS remains committed to driving that transformation.”
For nearly two decades, the SOIL Report has served as an authoritative resource for policymakers, practitioners, researchers and development sector partners. The publication brings together sector-wide experiences, analyses programmes and policies, and presents evidence-based insights into the challenges and opportunities influencing livelihoods in India. (ambedkarchamber.com)
