Room to Read India launches girls’ financial literacy drive

MUMBAI: Room to Read India has launched the sixth edition of its flagship girls’ education campaign, Har Kadam Beti Ke Sang, this time with a sharp focus on financial literacy. The initiative, titled Har Kadam Beti Ke Sang – Financial Literacy Ki Aur Badhe Hum, aims to equip adolescent girls, with the skills and confidence to make informed financial choices, resist early marriage, and envision independent futures.

The week-long campaign calls on families, educators, policymakers, and communities to nurture financial confidence among young people. Through practical lessons on budgeting, saving, goal setting, and understanding credit and investments, the programme seeks to normalise girls’ participation in financial decision-making at home and in schools.

Room to Read India country director Poornima Garg said, “Financial literacy gives girls more than economic skills, it gives them agency. Only 16.7 per cent of Indian adolescents can correctly answer basic financial questions, and fewer than 20 per cent of girls have ever made a personal purchase without permission. When girls understand money, they understand their worth and power to shape the future. Har Kadam Beti Ke Sang is our call to make that empowerment universal.”

Since 2005, the girls’ education program has supported over 396,050 girls, with a 98 per cent advancement rate. Around 80 per cent of alumnae have completed tertiary education across states including Chhattisgarh, Delhi NCR, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Previous editions have spotlighted critical adolescent issues such as digital inclusion, safety, and mental well-being.

The national seminar featured “My Financial Journey”, where adolescents shared candid stories on access and exclusion, and a panel discussion titled “Breaking Gender Barriers — Whose Space is Finance?” explored how financial literacy can challenge traditional norms. The event concluded with “Commitments for the Future”, underscoring financial literacy as a pathway to agency, power, and gender equality.

Through Har Kadam Beti Ke Sang 2025, Room to Read India reaffirms its mission to nurture a generation of girls who are educated, financially empowered, and ready to lead change for themselves and their communities.