Reliance Foundation has launched an initiative to provide financial education to over five lakh women living in slums.

The programme was kicked-off on Monday to mark the 83rd birth anniversary of late Dhirubhai Ambani, the patriarch of the Ambani family, Reliance Foundation said in a statement.

The programme, in joint collaboration with Crisil, aims to empower the women towards making informed financial decisions and get them to inculcate a savings habit.

Crisil and Reliance Foundation carried out an extensive study across slums in Mumbai which showed that these women from marginalised sections of the society are usually kept out of financial decision-making process by men, the statement said.

Even the employed women among them hand over their salary to their husbands or fathers who manage the money, according to the study.

Reliance Foundation will also help women open a bank account under Jan Dhan Yojana, as well as connect older women to the Atal Pension Yojana, the statement said.

“By educating women from marginalised sections of the society on financial matters, we will be empowering them to make informed decisions for the financial well-being of their families,” Reliance Foundation COO Jitendra Kalra said.

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