This study was carried out in purposively selected Ranchi district of Jharkhand to assess the economic empowerment of Women Self Help Group members engaged in livestock rearing. Data were collected from 140 members of twelve randomly selected groups through structured interview schedule. The study revealed that half of the groups had taken pig rearing, one-third had taken goat rearing and rest (16.67%) had taken cattle rearing as their Income Generating Activities (IGAs). Involvement in livestock based IGAs provided an additional employment to the members. There was a considerable increase in the home appliances like radio, black & white TV, CD player and mobile phones of member households after joining the groups. The study also revealed that 17.14 per cent member households had converted their kutcha houses to semi pucca or pucca houses while 19.29 per cent member households had constructed kutcha sheds for their animals after joining the groups. About 19.29 per cent member households purchased vehicles after becoming the group members. Further, the study revealed that the annual income from livestock rearing and total annual household income of the members increased significantly (P < 0.01) from Rs. 2,896 to Rs. 6,752 and Rs. 20,338 to Rs. 26,173 respectively

Keyword: Economic empowerment; Income generating activity; Livestock rearing