BANKING SECTOR DEVELOPS RURAL WOMEN THROUGH MICRO FINANCE: AN ANALYSIS

Abstract

The institutional credit agencies like commercial banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBS) and Cooperative banks have been playing a pivotal role in the formation, strengthening and development of the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) through micro nance in India. In fact, the banking institutions have become more instrumental in developing micro-enterprises by the women members of Self-Help Groups through providing nancial services. Self-Help Groups linkage programmes is suitable and an effective intervention in economic uplift met and nancial inclusion for the bottom of the pyramid.1 A proven platform initially conceived for increasing the outreach of banking services among the poor has since graduated to a programme for promotion of livelihoods and poverty the banking sector in rural and urban areas.2 An attempt is made her to analyze the different, nancial agencies such as CBs, RRBs and Cooperative banks in providing nancial services to the poor and marginalized sections for the promotion and strengthening of self-help groups in India. Micro-nance is an economic development tool whose objective is to assist the poor to work their way out of poverty. In fact, micro-nance is powerful weapon to remove the poverty in our country. There is a greater involvement of banks in providing the loans to the women members of the Self-Help Groups in the country. The institutional credit agencies have played a crucial role in the development of the poor women members of the SHGs.The Regional Rural Banks have covered more than 45 per cent of the women by way of providing loans and advances whereas the Commercial Banks have given the highest amount of loans to the women members of the SHGs. The Cooperative Banks are in the third position in providing the microcredit to the women members of the SHGs. On the whole, the banking sector has played a dominant role in the provision of the bank loans to the poor women of the SHGs in India.