Women empowerment through self help groups

Self Helf Groups are formed to empower women. With the help of these groups, women are able to support the family economically, able to live with dignity and able to take informed decisions.

1. WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SELF HELP GROUPS(SHGs ) BHAGYA LAKSHMI H.R. NAYANA NEHA PUTTABHADRAMMA D.N RAMYA K.N Under the g uidance of DR. M. PADMAVATHI

2. Introduction: The first prime minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru stated that, "when the women moves forward the family moves, the villages moves and the nation moves”. But after 69 years of independence, women in our country yet not getting equal status and they are still facing miseries like dowry, female infanticide, domestic violence etc.

3. Women are still depending on their husbands, they never take major decisions in the family and they do not have access to money. The concept of self help groups has emerged from a small country like Bangladesh to empower women and make them self dependent.

4. Self help groups first found in bangladesh in the year of 1976, first introduced by prof . Mohammed Y unUs of chittagong university. in india self help groups scheme was introduced in amravati in 1983.

5. HISTORY Bangladesh has been acknowledged as a pioneer in the field of micro-finance. Dr. Mohamed Yunus, professor of Economics in Chittagong University of Bangladesh, was an initiator of an action research project ‘Grameen Bank’. SHGs were started and formed in 1976 and it was formally recognized as a bank through an ordinance, issued by the government in 1983 . The Grameen Bank provides loan to the landless poor, particularly women, to promote self employment. At the end of Dec-2001 , it had a membership of 23.78 lakhs and cumulative micro credit disbursement.

6. In India NABARD had initiated in 1986-87. but the real effort was taken after 1991-92 from the linkage of SHGs with the banks . What is an SHG? An SHGs is a small economically homogenous affinity group of the rural poor voluntarily coming together to save small amount regularly, which are deposited in a common fund to meet members emergency needs and to provide collateral free loan decided by the group.

7. What are the basic principles upon which the SHGs function? The basic principles of the SHGs are group approach mutual trust organization of small and manageable groups women friendly loan peer group support in repayment skill training capacity building and empowerment.

8. CONCEPT Self help groups involves a small group of women working together to improve their financial status. It is generally a saving and credit-organization, composed of 10-15 farm women belonging to same area, religion or class. Self help groups are voluntary gathering of persons, who share needs or problems that are not being addressed by the existing organization, institutions or other types of groups.

9. Self help groups are voluntarily formed informal registered or unregistered groups of micro entrepreneurs having homogenous social and economic backgrounds, voluntarily coming together to save regular small sums of money, mutually agreeing to contribute to a common fund and meet their emergency needs on the basis of mutual help.

10. Today the SHG’s are the largest Micro-finance programme in the world which empowers rural women an reduce poverty and ensures sustainable and holistic limited credit, non loan.

11. Years Number of SHGs 2005-06 2238565 2006-07 2924973 2007-08 5009794 2008-09 6121147 2009-10 6959250

12. AIMS OF SELF HELP GROUPS Regular skill development training programmes. Better packaging Standardization of ingredients. pricing and to develop marketing skills. Habit of raising loans. Form savings. Inculcated with a sense of belongingness. Habit of thrift

13. Discipline among themselves. Social welfare programmes. Legal literacy. Multiple roles of women and poverty alleviation programmes. The concept of Self monitoring has been introduced by SHGs in a phased manner with the aim to make women totally own their movement and institutionalize its sustainability through networking. To educate their own members. Create self confidence and self reliance. To cut across social barriers.

14. STATE WISE SPREAD OF THE SHGs – BANK LINKAGE PROGRAMME- SAVINGS OF SHGs WITH BANK AS ON 31/March/2014 STATES SHGs % of SHGs % OF SAVINGS 1.ANDHRA PRADESH 1418676 19.09 35.36 2.KARNATAKA 709171 9.55 10.98 3.TAMILNADU 942469 12.69 10.62 4.PUDUCHERRY 24454 0.33 0.24 5.ARUNACHAL PRADESH 2588 0.034 0.02 6.SIKKIM 343 0.004 0.00

15. WORKING OF SHGs GROUP FORMATION MEETINGS GROUP SAVINGS GROUP COMMON FUNDS ROTATION OF GROUP FUNDS BOOKS AND REGISTERS ARE MAINTAINED TRAINING ANNUAL AUDITING

16. CONCLUSION The empowerment of women through SHG provides benefits not only to individual woman but also for the family and community as a whole. A number of SHGs have taken part in the implementation of various welfare and development programmes of the Government and are increasingly addressing various social issues.

17. The government should encourage and create awareness about utilizing the provisions provided by this program. On the whole, there is a significant ‘upward mobility’ of SHG women’s status and roles, when compared to before joining the SHG.

18. THANK YOU ALL