Formation Of Self-help Groups Research Articles

An Analytical Study of Micro Finance and Women Empowerment

Self Help Groups enhance the equality of status of women as participants and decision makers in the democratic, economic, social and cultural sphere of life. The basic principles of SHG are group approach, mutual trust, organization of small and manageable groups, group cohesion, Thrift spirit, demand-based lending, collateral free loans, peer group pressure, skill training, capacity building and empowerment. At present, 1.40 lakh groups are functioning with 23.83 lakh members. It was found that Self Help Groups suffer due to lack of management skills, training, marketing, obtaining financial assistance, government support. Keeping this in mind, the present study is conducted to examine the efficacy of Self-Help Groups in the study area. It is found that 85 (34%) respondents have completed only primary education. It is found that 140 (56%) respondents have monthly income between Rs 10,001 to Rs 15,000. Therefore, it is suggested that informal groups can be formed on their own to create a reliable and potential source of income, increasing the earning capacity of SC women in Self Help Groups. It is concluded that formation of Self-Help Groups is part of the empowerment process and a micro-credit project.

POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN IN SELF-HELP GROUPS: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MUTUKKADU VILLAGE IN CHENGAPATTU DISTRICT A CASE STUDY

Of the world's 1.3 billion individuals who are relegated to lives of abject poverty, women make up about 70 per cent of the total. Women in India generate 30 per cent of all food commodities but only receive 10 per cent of the country's property or wealth. This disparity exists even though women in India are the primary breadwinners. Despite the considerable contribution that rural women make to their households and the country's economy, they have historically been undervalued and discriminated against in all aspects of life. This makes it evident that women's rights and the protection they receive from societal disparities are insufficient. As a result, specific feasible remedies must be acknowledged and, more crucially, put into action. For economic development projects to be practical, they need to incorporate initiatives that boost the financial standing of women and work to improve their status. Especially among women, developing Self-Help Groups (SHGs) is one of the most effective strategies for empowering women and reducing poverty. SHGs can also help alleviate poverty. SHGs are groups of low-income women who manage themselves and come into being for the primary purpose of aggregating financial resources through the members' savings and lending those resources to one another to satisfy the members' requirements for credit. The typical membership of a SHG is from fifteen to twenty low-income married women residing in the same geographic area. Each SHG operates based on the concepts of self-help, shared trust, and cooperative effort, and each one has its one-of-a-kind method for organizing and managing its own money.
 Aside from that, routine transactions such as savings, granting loans, and collecting payback occur at specific intervals where all members are present, and decisions are made collectively. These are their primary operations. SHGs not only function as a forum for social interactions but also as an alternative social structure for engagement at the peer level. Most of the monies contributed to SHGs were initially put toward satisfying short-term consumption and meeting urgent needs. In recent years, the formation of SHGs has received growing attention as a potentially significant development mechanizing for generating income and employment opportunities among the less fortunate. The Self-Help Groups contribute to an improvement in the status of women as participants, decision-makers, and beneficiaries in the democratic, social, and economic sectors of life, as well as the cultural sphere. The self-help groups have given the women living in rural areas a greater sense of self-assurance, which has helped them do better in their day-to-day lives. This article explores training sessions, members have access to loans for personal needs, education, and business purposes. However, have we considered that some members may struggle to pay back the loans, leading to financial difficulties? While the SHGs have been successful in increasing women's literacy levels, what about women who are unable to participate due to family obligations or other reasons? How can their economic empowerment be addressed? Fishing may be the primary occupation in the studied area, but what about other potential sources of income? Have the SHGs explored other economic opportunities for the members, or are they limited to the fishing industry?

A Study on Socio-Economic Condition throgh Self Help Groups with Special Reference to Chamarajanagara District

Women are the most vital part of Indian economy, constituting one-third of the national labour force and a major contributor to the survival of the family. In order to have a stable and independent position in the society women are mobilized to organize into groups for undertaking mutually beneficial social and economic activities. These groups are basically known as the self help group which serves as a small voluntary association for poor and marginalized women in the society. They come together for the purpose of solving their common problems through self help and mutual help. Self help groups may exist separately or as part of large organizations. The formation of self help groups aims for the development of socio-economic conditions of the group, their quality of life and to help the group to become self-dependent which indirectly relates to the socio-economic development of the country.

“After the rains” – A qualitative study exploring flood-related experiences, community response, coping mechanisms, and strategies from Kerala

Background: Natural disasters can result in various physical and psychological effects on victims. Kerala witnessed one of the worst floods in 2018. Objective: To explore the flood-related experiences, the role of the community in dealing with the disaster and strategies used for the management of floods in the selected districts of Kerala. Methodology: This qualitative study was done among flood-affected victims residing in three selected districts of Kerala from December 2018 to June 2019. The qualitative data were collected through 16 in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions using a topic guide till data saturation. A sociogram was plotted, and the thematic analysis of data with data triangulation was done to validate the findings. Results: The study identified natural, man-made and supernatural causes of floods. Most respondents described the event as the “Most unexpected disaster of the century.” Floods caused severe psychological trauma to the victims. The elderly and children were the most affected age groups, with behavioral changes noted among children. Fishermen came as “life saviors.” The majority of the victims were shifted to relief camps and were extremely happy with the facilities provided in the camp. The most difficult challenges faced were moving people at night during the flood event and post-flood cleaning. The support provided by government, nongovernmental organizations, and the local community was very much appreciated. Many were grateful for the initial response by the local youth community in their areas. Participants shared that they understood the true meaning of unity and realized the temporary nature of worldly possessions. Self-help group formation and prayer were identified as the most commonly used coping strategy. Conclusion: Addressing man-made causes of floods, empowering local communities, ensuring disaster preparedness, providing psychological support, and preserving the environment are the major strategies that emerged for the effective management of floods in future.

How Bridging Social Capital Development Connecting Members of Village Savings and Loan Associations in Community Through Microfinance Activities

The study indicated how Vietnam Bank for Social Policies’s microfinance activities with Village Savings & Loan Associations model have contributed to the development of social capital in the community. After surveying 356 associations’ members (questionnaire and in-depth interviews), the result showed there has been an increase in social capital; and with it, relationships between members have improved, as evidenced by the formation of self-help groups, increased participation in social organizations, and members' ability to establish relationships and business connections using the human resources acquired via the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies in community. One of the unique and significant findings is the diversity in how the members developed said capacity and how much they have accomplished. This result brings great meaning by demonstrating the effective social impact of the social welfare policies to its beneficiaries. The study also proposed solutions to promote the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies activities and social capital toward a sustainable community development.

Constraints in Operationalizing FPOs in Punjab and Strategies to Mitigate Them

Background: Majority of the Farmer in Punjab is of small holders and these farmers face a lot of problems in the process of inputs as well as output marketing. In order to provide solutions to the marketing problems of the such small holder farmers the union government came up with the idea of strengthening or initiating the formation of self-help groups, farmer interest groups, farmer cooperatives and clubs etc. for further integrating these entities into the farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). Methods: For this study data were collected from 150 randomly selected respondents belonging to functional as well as non-functional FPOs. Garrett’s ranking technique was used to identify the most important constraints faced in the process of running FPOs. Result: This study attempted to identify the constraints in the process of operationalizing the FPOs in Punjab and it was found that managerial, socio-psychological, economic and marketing constraints were the major ones. Moreover, lack of trust, cooperation, financial crunch, lack of business management skills, unequal work delegation, ineffective group leadership, delayed payments were the major constraints. Mitigation strategies adopted by the executives of the FPOs were transparency of records, strong association with resource institutes, participatory decision making, efficient conflict management etc. The suggestions of the respondents for making FPOs more vibrant and sustainable were accountability of the resource institutes, capacity buildings of the stakeholders, dissemination of awareness about the functioning of FPOs among the members etc.

​Reinforcement of Women through Self Help Group (SHG): A Case Study of Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh

The objective of this case study is to see the impact of SHG, Village Organization and Mandal Samakhaya formation on the their members which is strongly promoting women’s empowerment in the Andhra Pradesh. For said purpose Information’s were collected through Personally interaction with the members of SHG in Village Organization Meeting during Five days exposer visit (25 Nov to 30 Nov, 2013) which was supervised by National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD and PR), Hyderabad (A.P.) Staff members on the recommendation of Deendayal Upadhyaya State Institute of Rural Development, Lucknow (U.P.). Result can be concluded in terms of the SHG formation and their rules are playing important role for the women empowerment and income generation in Warangal district.

Nativity vs factors towards empowerment-T test

Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives communities and in their society, by acting on issues that they define as important. Empowerment occurs within sociological, psychological economic spheres and at various levels, such as individual, group and community. Empowering women puts the spotlight on education and employment which are an essential element to sustainable development. One of the powerful approaches to women empowerment and entrepreneurship is the formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs) especially among women's SHG is conceived as a sustainable people's institution that provides the poor women with space and support necessary for them to take effective steps towards achieving greater control of their lives. Women played various managerial and non-managerial roles in the decision making process. Women constitute one-half of the segments of population in India and women are vital and productive workers in Indi's national economy. Hence an attempt is made to analyse whether there is any significant difference between Nativity and Factors towards empowerment.

An appraisal of scope for women-led entrepreneurship in dairying

This study assessed the scope of women-led entrepreneurship in dairying and allied enterprises by using a structured interview schedule. The sample size consisted of 162 respondents who were working as field extension functionaries, academicians and agro-based entrepreneurs across the country. The study revealed that the most of respondents belonged to middle age group (36-50 years) followed by young age group (upto 35 years). Half of respondents had working experience of 11-20 years. Commercial dairy farming (60%) under production domain, preparation of value added milk and milk products (59.9%) under processing domain and establishment of milk parlour in urban areas (77.16%) under marketing domain were perceived by respondents as potential areas for entrepreneurship in dairying. The respondents considered low level of education/knowledge (58.6%), lack of family and financial support (56.8%) and household responsibility (30.2%) as hurdles for participation of women in entrepreneurship. They opined that better remunerative prices (30.9%), government support (28.4%) and providing education and need-based training (25.3%) could motivate women to take up entrepreneurship. They suggested that providing education and training (47.5%), awareness through exposure visits and motivation camps (42.6%) and development of market facilities/linkages (24.1%) would be effective strategies to motivate youth and women in agro-based entrepreneurship. Support systems like creating awareness among women about available opportunities (35.2%) and formation of self help groups (29.6%) along with providing subsidies and incentives (45.7%) would strengthen the hands of women for venturing into agri-business. The study concluded that dairying has very large scope (54.9%) for women-led entrepreneurship provided with proper hand holding support, training and motivation.

Vulnerabilities of River Erosion–Affected Coastal Communities in Bangladesh: a Menu of Alternative Livelihood Options

In the context of generally limited research on the subject, this study aims to (i) unravel the nature, forms, and manifestations of socioeconomic and psychological vulnerabilities of the river erosion–affected coastal communities in Bangladesh and (ii) suggest a number of alternative livelihood options in order to reduce the vulnerabilities. It draws on a mixed-method approach. The fieldwork was conducted in three unions representing three upazilas (sub-districts) of the Bhola District. Quantitative data were collected using a structured interview schedule from 371 household heads, while the qualitative data were generated through in-depth case interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The results show that the river erosion wreaked havoc on the communities’ physical resources and increased their psychosocial vulnerabilities such as forced displacement, social insecurity, food insecurity, breakdown of socio-cultural bondage and networks, and decreased social esteem. The lack of livelihood options coupled with poor and fragile household conditions contribute to the reduced ability of the communities to cope with the post-disaster problems. The low level of participation of the river erosion–affected people in disaster construction, planning, and programs results in a weakened state of community resilience which further increases vulnerability in the future. Based on the overall observations of the study, a number of community-led alternative livelihood options are then suggested including adoption of innovative production and processing measures, formation of self-help groups, entrepreneurship development, priority basis livelihood options based on local context, and use of indigenous knowledge and skills-based coping strategies. The findings may provide useful lessons and ameliorative clues to the policy makers, and (disaster and development) practitioners.

Descriptive assessment of entrepreneurial attributes of women's groups in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh

Women's groups have become a source of inspiration for women welfare. Nowadays the formation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) is a viable alternative to achieve the objectives of rural development and to get community participation in rural development programmes. These groups are also a viable organized set up for disbursement of micro-credit to the rural women and encouraging them to enter into entrepreneurial activities. Entrepreneurship is at the forefront of economic development. Entrepreneurs play a significant role in expansion of nation's economy. It is the central component of capital investment and the primary mover of progress. In developing countries like India, where there are enough potential to use inventions to utilize the available capital, the role played by entrepreneurs is crucially noteworthy. Thus, the emphasis is increasingly on people's entrepreneurship ability. Based on this criteria the present study was carried out by assessing entrepreneurial attributes of women member of self-help groups. The research survey was conducted in the Raipur district of Chhattisgarh state. Three villages were chosen from two selected blocks viz. Arang and Dharsiwa, and five women groups were selected from each village. Ahundred and twenty respondents from thirty women groups were interviewed to measure Entrepreneurial Attributes (EA). Around seventy per cent of the women members of the women's group had medium overall Entrepreneurial Attributes (EA). Majority of the respondents were found in the medium category for all dimension of entrepreneurial attributes such as innovativeness, decision making, risk orientation, level of aspirations, achievement motivation, scientific orientation, entrepreneurial knowledge, competitive orientation, managerial orientation, leadership ability, self-confidence, credit orientation.

Developmental Initiatives for Person with Disabilities:Appraisal on Village Based Rehabilitation of Amar Seva Sangam

Disability is the type of impairment. Person with disabilities is the people who are physically and mentally affected with some of the impairment whether it may be partial or temporary. It significantly distresses a person's life happenings and might be current since birth or else arise during a person's period. Formation of Self-Help Groups is a major approach used to facilitate target population work as a single unit with greater bargaining power. Disabled persons are giving various developmental initiatives to uplift their livelihood. Factually, people with disabilities partake mostly remained on condition that for concluded resolutions that separate out them, such as housing organizations and special schools. Policy consumes now a days removed in the direction of public and educational insertion, and medically intensive solutions have given mode to extra collaborating method recognizing that people remain disabled by eco-friendly issues as fine as by their bodies. This study developmental initiative among person with disabilities was chosen by how they are facing problems in the society, their livelihood needs and how they are excluded from the society. This study aims to identify the needs and their difficulties that are faced in the society and helps to solve them. This study also reveals the exclusion of person with disabilities in the current scenario. This study finally helps to solve the problems of the disabled and provides some developmental initiatives for the livelihood.

Group lending through an SHG bank-linkage programme in India: transaction costs and social benefits

ABSTRACTGroup lending is useful in channelling credit to the self-employed poor in developing countries, to whom banks usually prefer not to lend, and formation of self-help groups (SHGs) helps facilitate this. In India, SHGs can access credit through private microfinance organisations or can approach banks through a state-led bank-linkage programme. Scholars argue that transaction costs are high while borrowing from banks despite relatively lower interest rates, making this uneconomical. This article uses a field survey to estimate transaction costs, presents other social benefits of the programme, and finds empirical justifications for strengthening the bank-linkage programme.

Impact of Self-Help Group Formation on Social Indicators of Sustainability

Vegetable production has emerged as an important source of farm income from small farms in hilly states like Himachal Pradesh in India. Various researchers have studied agricultural sustainability taking into consideration three dimensions i.e. economic, environmental and social. Keeping in view the importance of the social sustainability which measures extent of social capability of farming system, present study was conducted in Himachal Pradesh to find out the ways to strengthen farm sustainability. Farm sustainability of self-help group member farmers and non-member farmers was studied and compared. Study revealed that the social sustainability of vegetable growers who were members of self-help groups was significantly higher when compared to non-member farmers.

Maternal depression and child severe acute malnutrition: a case-control study from Kenya

BackgroundDepression is the leading cause of disease-related disability in women and adversely affects the health and well-being of mothers and their children. Studies have shown maternal depression as a risk factor for poor infant growth. Little is known about the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of our study was to examine the association between maternal depression and severe acute malnutrition in Kenyan children aged 6–60 months.MethodsA matched case-control study was conducted in general paediatric wards at the Kenyatta National Hospital. The cases were children admitted with severe acute malnutrition as determined by WHO criteria. The controls were age and sex-matched children with normal weight admitted in the same wards with acute ailments. Mothers of the cases and controls were assessed for depression using the PHQ-9 questionnaire. Child anthropometric and maternal demographic data were captured. Logistic regression analyses were used to compare the odds of maternal depression in cases and controls, taking into account other factors associated with child malnutrition status.ResultsThe prevalence of moderate to severe depression among mothers of malnourished children was high (64.1%) compared to mothers of normal weight children (5.1%). In multivariate analyses, the odds of maternal depression was markedly higher in cases than in controls (adjusted OR = 53.5, 95% CI = 8.5–338.3), as was the odds of having very low income (adjusted OR = 77.6 95% CI = 5.8–1033.2).ConclusionsKenyan mothers whose children are hospitalized with malnutrition were shown in this study to carry a significant mental health burden. We strongly recommend formation of self-help groups that offer social support, counseling, strategies to address food insecurity, and economic empowerment skills for mothers of children hospitalized for malnourishment.

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SOCIO VARIABLES (RELIGION, COMMUNITY AND NATURE OF RESIDENCE) AND THEIR SATISFACTION AND PROBLEM TOWARDS SELF HELP GROUPS

Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives communities and in their society, by acting on issues that they define as important1 . Empowerment occurs within sociological, psychological economic spheres and at various levels, such as individual, group and community. Empowering women puts the spotlight on education and employment which are an essential element to sustainable development. One of the powerful approaches to women empowerment and entrepreneurship is the formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs) especially among women’s SHG is conceived as a sustainable people’s institution that provides the poor women with space and support necessary for them to take effective steps towards achieving greater control of their lives2 . Women played various managerial and non-managerial roles in the decision making process. Women constitute one- half of the segments of population in India and women are vital and productive workers in Indi’s national economy. Hence an attempt is made to analyse whether empowerment leads to satisfaction of SHG members

Socioeconomic status of riverine fisher communities in India

The inland traditional fishers, such as those from riverine, estuarine, reservoirs, and wetlands of India, are primarily dependent on natural waters for their livelihoods. Governments at various levels have made several efforts, including decentralization of management rights, promotion of cooperatives and formation of self-help groups, to develop the fisheries. Despite these efforts, production from most of the culture-based inland fishery waters (particularly adopting fish stock enhancements) is below potential, as a vast gap is observed between the potential and existing fish production. There is immense potential for increasing the fishing effort, production and income. Capture fishery resources, particularly in the riverine fisheries, are declining due to resource degradation and excessive exploitation. The impact of fisheries developmental programmes instituted by government agencies like the National Fisheries Development Board are hardly recognised on fisheries communities due to the multiple-use common pool resource nature of the fishing resource. Comprehensive investigations on the socioeconomic status of riverine fisher communities are rare. The present investigation studies the socioeconomic conditions of riverine fisher communities in different regions of India. The study covered six states of five regions in India: Uttar Pradesh in the North; Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the South; Orissa and West Bengal in the East; Gujarat in the West; Assam in the northeastern region. The overall socioeconomic index results concluded that almost all the regions have achieved only 46% to 52% of the socioeconomic criteria studied. Institutional financial support for alternate income generation activities; organisation under self-help groups, and vocational training for fisherwomen to undertake alternate income-generating activities during the closed/off season are some of the suggestions resulting from the investigation.

Empowering Rural Women through Micro Finance: An Empirical Study

Objectives: The study is to understand and analyze the role of microfinance in women empowerment through Self Help Groups in Chidambaram taluk, to understand the demographic profile of Self Help Group members and to give suggestions for the improvement of performance of microfinance toward women’s empowerment through self help groups. Methods/ Analysis: This study is both empirical and descriptive in nature. Both Primary and Secondary data have been made use of the analysis. Primary data will be collected through field survey and questionnaires. Personal interviews with the officials concerned are also conducted to get the needed information for the analysis. Here structured questionnaire is used as a tool for data collection from SHG members. The overall progress of the project is being assessed with the help of secondary data which are collected from published sources like annual reports, records of CREED (Centre for Rural Education and Economic Development) office, internet, books etc. A proportionate random sampling method has been used for selecting the respondents from the total SHG’s. The population of this study is the total SHG members in Chidambaram Taluk, which is a finite population. There are 680 number of SHG members in Chidambaram Taluk. It refers to the number of items to be selected from the universe to constitute as a sample. In this study 200 number of SHG members in Chidambaram Taluk would be selected as size of the sample. The total sample comprises of 50 SHG members from each 4 blocks of Chidambaram Taluk (Chidambaram urban, Chidambaram rural, Vallampadugai, Kattumanarkoil). This study is conducted for duration of two months from 28th April 2015 to 30th of June 2015.The statistical tools used for analysis are as follows, Percentage Analysis Method, Weighted Average Method, and Paired ‘t’ test. The data analyzed used SPSS Version 16 software. The study has the following limitations, some of the respondents might have answered in biased manner, the Study was limited and confined to Chidambaram Taluk only and time was a major constraint due to which the sample size is limited. Findings: The study reveals that there is a significant difference observed between income generation, contribution to house hold income, participation in house hold financial decision, improvement in standard of living, change in social status, awareness about social issues, involvement in social issues at locality, improvement in basic house hold facilities and amenities, ability to solve family related problems, self-confidence, attainment of knowledge and skills, decision making capability and ability to tackle family problems before and after microfinance usage and participation in Self Help Group. Hence, the study concludes that women are empowered because of the usage of microfinance and participation in Self Help Group. Novelty/Improvement: In every economy, women play an integral part. For achieving all round development and harmonious growth, women should also be given equal rights. In order to achieve economic development, importance has to be given to the women labor. Nowadays SHG are voluntary organizations, through which members are given micro credits and it ease them to become entrepreneurs. The empowerment of women in rural as well as urban areas can be achieved through formation of Self Help Groups (SHG) of women. The economic empowerment, which is dependent on the overall empowerment of women, can be achieved through these SHGs which involve women in the areas like health, sanitation, nutrition, agriculture, forestry etc., apart from involving them in activities pertaining micro credit.

Self-help Group Participation & Women Artisans of Shantiniketan Leather Cluster, West Bengal: An Empirical Analysis

Micro-finance refers to small savings, credit and insurance services. These services are extended to socially and economically disadvantaged segments of society. The women artisans from Shantiniketan leather cluster, who have a long tradition of manufacturing leather bags and other accessories, have changed their lives and their socio-living condition in many aspects, by adopting the ways of self-help group formation under different coordinating agencies (specially the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) since 1992). These self-help groups have been extended soft loans of various natures; through the respective coordinating agencies. These initiatives have added different and new positive dimensions in respect to the lives of members of such groups. This structured and questionnaire based feedback empirical study, attempts to evaluate the level of positive changes that occurred in the lives of under-privileged rural women artisans, engaged in leather craftsmanship under several self-help groups, coordinated by different NGOs at the grass-root level.

Economic Empowerment of Tribal Women in the Nilgiris District of South India

The study is about the status of tribal women in their community and the way how they empowered themselves through Self Help Groups and other organisations. It gives a brief description about the tribal population in the district. The study reveals the traditional customs which were considered as the hurdles for women empowerment. It also sketches the tribal habitat in the Nilgiris district of South India. The study states that the upliftment of women in tribal community brought a tremendous change in their economy. It has been evident that after the formation of SHG (Self help groups), there was a notable change in the status of tribal women. It has also been suggested that the government has to take positive measures in educating the girls of the upcoming generation in the tribal community. The study has a conclusion that the tribal woman has to be given proper awareness about the schemes provided for the women development by the voluntary groups. There should be more development in the Self Help Group projects.