New Delhi, Aug. 24 -- India has nearly eliminated the gender gap in basic bank account ownership, but women continue to lag significantly behind men in the use of digital financial services, according to a joint policy brief by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).

The policy brief, titled Advancing Women's Digital Financial Inclusion in the Platform Economy, said women's bank account ownership in India increased from around 43 per cent in 2014 to approximately 89 per cent in 2024. For men, account ownership stood at about 88 per cent in 2024, compared with around 62 per cent in 2014.

However, the report said this progress in access to conventional bank accounts has no...