This presentation tells you about the SHGs in India. There is a Case Study of Tamil Nadu also.

1. Self Help
Groups
Women Empowerment

2. What is a Self Help
Group?
• A self-help group (SHG) is a village-based financial
intermediary usually composed of 15–20 local women.
• Most self-help groups are located in India, though SHGs
can also be found in other countries, especially in
South Asia and Southeast Asia.
• Members make small regular savings contributions over
a few months until there is enough capital in the group
to begin lending.
• Funds may then be lent back to the members or to
others in the village for any purpose.
• In India, many SHGs are 'linked' to banks for the
delivery of microcredit.

3. Why SHGs ?
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To Organize Women
Enhance Participation Level
To inculcate saving habits
Based on Principles of Coop.
Suitable Platform for women
Enhance capacities of Women
Successful base

4. Objectives of SHGs
• To create an appropriate & sensitive forum for
addressing the need of people
• To inculcate saving habits in the community
• To generate the sense of collective action
• To improve socio-economic status
• To access the outside resources

5. Some More Definitions
• Microcredit :- Microcredit is the extension of very
small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers
who typically lack collateral, steady employment
and a verifiable credit history.
• Microfinance :- Microfinance is a form of financial
services for entrepreneurs and small businesses
lacking access to banking and related services.

6. Stages of SHGs
Thrift & Credit
Social Oriented
Micro-enterprises

7. Benefits of Self Help
Programmes
Two types of claims are made about the benefits of
self help programmes :• First, it is suggested that self-help empowers its
participants more so than other externally directed
or implemented programmes.
• The second less vocal claim is the compatibility of
self-help with cost-reduction strategies: both in
terms of material costs and costs to the prevailing
social and economic structure.

8. Case Study-Gujarat
The SHG-driven micro-finance movement has
flourished in Gujarat also. Besides the Government
and other Public sector organizations like NABARD, a
large number of NGOs, including few nationally
recognized ones like
• Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)
• Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP)
and many other NGOs have formed women’s SHGs
with the support from various government
programmes.

9. Self Employed Women’s
Association
• The Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA)
is a trade union for poor, self-employed women workers
in India.
• It was founded in 1972 by the noted Gandhian and civil
rights leader Dr Ela Bhatt.
• It's main office is located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and it
works in several states of India.
• SEWA members are women who earn a living through
their own labour or small business.
• They do not obtain regular salaried employment with
welfare benefits like workers in the organized sector.
• They are the unprotected labour force of India and are
workers of the unorganized sector.

10. Aga Khan Rural Support
Programme
• The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) was
founded in the early 1980s in what is now GilgitBaltistan, Pakistan.
• Created by the Aga Khan Foundation, it worked on
agricultural productivity, natural resource
management, small-scale infrastructure and forestation.
• Its purpose was to improve agricultural productivity and
raise incomes in a very poor, remote and mountainous
part of Pakistan.
• The first GM of AKRSP was Shoaib Sultan Khan who later
on founded several Rural Support Programmes in
different geographical locations of Pakistan and similar
initiatives in several South Asian Countries such as
India, Bangladesh, and others.

11. Advantages of SHGs
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Initiative
Responsibility
Ownership
Capacity Building
Self confidence $ self esteem
Mutual help
Access to larger pool of resources
Channel of functioning