Examining the relationship between financial assistance schemes and women- empowerment: a study of doctoral research in Indian higher education

The Indian higher education system has been growing at a faster rate along with the success of school education during the last two to three decades as a result of the universalization of school education in India, followed by Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyaan (2013). Research education in India does not appear as gloomy as higher education does. The quality of research in Indian universities has been somewhat questionable, especially compared with global research outputs from developing countries (THE World University Ranking, 2022-23). The gender gap is persistent in professional higher education and research education in India; nonetheless, in general, higher education has shown positive growth in terms of gender equality during the last decade. The present paper attempted to examine the status of women in higher education and research education at Indian universities in general and to perform a comparative study of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar for marginalized sections of society in particular, using primary data from the AISHE and researcher’s own survey-questionnaire. Furthermore, it also explores the gender parity and social category-wise enrolment of females in higher education and research education, leading to their achievement ratio in terms of further education or job attainment. Finally, an examination has also been conducted to explore the relationships among financial assistance schemes, their benefits, and the role they play in women’s empowerment from socioeconomic, political, psychological, and educational perspectives. The study’s findings suggest a policy decision to provide financial assistance for doctoral researchers, especially female researchers from marginalized communities.