Role of Self-Help Groups in Socio-Economic Empowerment of Women – A Review

Abstract

Microfinance has been suggested as a potential means of reaching the greatest number of rural poor people and reducing their poverty, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds such as women, small and marginal farmers, and landless farmers. India is fourth globally in terms of financial exclusion, with 135 million people. National Bank for agriculture and Rural development (NABARD) introduced a program in 1992 to combine impoverished individuals into groups of ten to twenty and connect those groups with banks. In general, the plan was identical to Bangladesh Grameen Bank. With the aid of banks, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and Panchayat members, the impoverished, especially women, were able to organize into Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The banks that financed these SHGs were then qualified for concessional refinancing by National Bank for agriculture and Rural development. Self-help groups are thought to be the means of empowering women and reducing poverty. What was once a trial experiment has evolved into a social empowerment movement, especially for impoverished rural women. Though there hasn't been a uniform implementation of the program across the country, a lot of research has been done on the idea. This paper will aim to examine the numerous facets and effects of self-help groups, which have been the subject of numerous studies on women's socioeconomic empowerment.