Mumbai, May 16 (IANS): Financial independence of women can help curtail violence against them by as much as 90 percent, National Commission for Women chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said here on Saturday.

"The NCW receives 250 complaints on daily basis... 70 percent are for domestic violence. We have noticed that when women own property or have financial backing, the violence against them drops by 90 percent," Kumaramangalam said.

She was addressing a day-long panel discussion on 'Championing Women Entrepreneurs with a Global Focus, organised by World Trade Centre, Mumbai and Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture.

Kumaramangalam also called upon women to invest in new financial schemes of the Indian government to enhance their social status and security.

Maharashtra Minister for Rural Development Pankaja Munde-Palwe urged the elite urban gathering to help other deprived women, especially in rural areas.

She pointed out how developed countries have only five percent women entrepreneurs while African and Asian countries have 40 percent women entrepreneurs, and Maharashtra with 50 percent is a leader in the field.

"I always address women who are illiterate and have been kept out of the mainstream... There is a paradigm shift in the reasons for women going out to work. Earlier, it was for financial or family compulsions, now it is to create their own identity," Munde-Palwe explained.

Other prominent speakers in the panel discussion included Rupa Naik, director, Project of WTC Mumbai, and Ritu Kumar, Shaina N. C., Amruta Ambekar, Neeta Arora, Dhanashree Hardas.

Two women leaders -- Neelima Mishra who operated a rural women's organisation and Sujata Sahu, who runs a NGO in Ladakh, were felicitated on the occasion.