ABSTRACT

In olden days, women’s were mainly rendering service to family

members particularly to husband and children. So women were not
allowed to go outside for earning income. In most areas they were
not allowed even to go for higher education. India being a country,
with 70% of its population belonging to rural sector, depends on
agriculture and allied activities. It faces many problems to generate
income to the rural mass. Due to climate, rainfall failure and some
other reasons the farmers do not generate adequate income to
meet their family needs and suffer a lot most of the time. The
villages strive hard to run their family and to satisfy their children’s
requirements. Due to this reason the women started to generate
income. At present women contribute much for the development of
all sectors of the country. Employment gives economic status to
women. Economic status increases social status and thereby
empowerment. By keeping this in view Indian government has
taken lot of initiative to strengthen the institutional rural credit
system and development problem. Viewing it in the welfare
programmes of Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) and shifting the
concept of development to empowerment. The Indian Government
adopted the approach of Self Help Group (SHG) for the upliftment
of rural poor women in the country. The growth of Self-Help
Groups (SHGs) is evidence of the fact that women are coming out
of their shells, and started to utilize their potential for the individual
and societal benefits. Earlier SHG was primarily focusing on less
educated women, but today even educated women are coming
forward to form SHGs because of its various obvious benefits. So,
as a part of SUPA I decided to analyze the various SHGs
operating in Coimbatore under Ramasamy Chinnammal Trust

1
OVERVIEW OF RCT

Ramasamy Chinnamal Trust (RCT) is a non-profit organization. It

was started with the aim of alleviating poverty and hunger. The
organization tries to achieve their mission by forming a Group and
provide them financial assistance with the help of banks and also
by providing Micro insurance with the help of Life Insurance of
Corporation (LIC).

The founder Managing Trustee is Er.V.R.Eswaran, Regional

Manager (Retd.), AGROFED, TamilNadu and Dr.Saraswathy
Eswaran, Ph.D., Asst. Professor (Retd.), TNAU, Coimbatore. The
office is located in Vadavalli area of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

MAIN ACTIVITIES OF TRUST ARE:

• Formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs)
• Skill Development Training (SDT)
• Promoting the habit of saving for better future.
• Micro insurance with LIC.

Apart from this, the organization indulge in preparation of bakery

and confectionary items and is sold under the brand RCT
Coimbatore in the Uzhavar Sandhai and women development
center at a reasonable price which is the source of income for the
organization.

GOOD PRACTICES ADOPTED BY THE RCT:

Good practices are the steps taken by the NGO to ensure that the
SHG initiated by it leads to empowerment of the women who are
its members. Below are the some of the practices adopted by the
NGO, which is followed by the SHG

When the formation of group is taken up, maintaining the right

focus of the activities is crucial. For empowerment to happen, the
focus should be on the women who need the most. It takes the
stable group to bring about any kind of empowerment of its
members. Often, women member migrating to another village due

2
to marriage depletes the membership of the group and have to
look for replacement with another member with whom the group
may not have much affinity. So, the groups formed under the NGO
will comprises of women who are married, middle aged living with
the family in the same village can lend some stability to the group.

Regular meetings are held by the organization on every Tuesday

where two members from each group are asked to attend with the
objective of expressing their problem, activities carried by the
group, source of knowledge sharing between the group.

Each group is given a LIC passbook where entries are made about
the payment in order to avoid any problem or act as a record for
future verification.

Hands on training in processing and preservation, bakery and

confectionary instant and fast foods and traditional crafts tailoring
and embroidery are conducted to develop skill for starting petty
business. These training are supported by NABARD and MSME.
Nearly 360 women members are trained.

EVENTS CONDUCTED BY RCT:

Traditional Food Mela: Two women group including a SC group

played an active role in traditional food mela at Bharathiyar
University. Variety enriched “Traditional Thali” (16 traditional
millet, pulse based preparations) was distributed to 400 members
by the group members.

Women’ Day Celebrations: Every year women’s day was

celebrated with pride and prosperity. Faculty speakers from
university, business developers, bank officials, address the women
on topics related to women. They perform traditional bound cultural
show as a part of women day celebration.

Saving for better future: LIC of India promotes two Micro

Insurance Scheme namely “Jeevan Madur” and “Jeevan Mangal”
for the insurance coverage of below poverty line people. The
vision thought was promoted by the trust to members of SHGs and
individuals. Apart from the habit of saving it provides security to
groups in turn to their families. RCT is ranked as a number one in

3
Coimbatore LIC Division in this regard.

MY CONTRIBUTION TOWARD RCT UNDER SUPA

PROGRAM

My contribution towards the RCT Trust as a part of SUPA was primarily

on women empowerment and role of SHG in it. Our SUPA activity was
more of identifying their problem and offering them suggestion that
would help in developing their organization.
The project that I was assigned were
a) To study on how SHG had an impact on Women Empowerment
b) To offer suggestions for further improvement of the Trust.
c) A study on producer company
For the purpose of study, the trust provided an opportunity to interact
with various SHG members residing in different blocks of Coimbatore
city. As a part of study, I prepared a series of questions and conducted
a survey based on the span of the group.

4
BRIEF UNDERSTANDING ON THE CONCEPT OF WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT

One of the first systematic interpretations of this concept is found

in the technical literature of the Human Development Report
(HDR) wherein it is referred to as the Gender Empowerment
Measure (GEM). The GEM uses variables constructed explicitly to
measure the relative empowerment of women and men in political
and economic spheres of society. The first two variables reflect
economic participation and participation in decision- making,
measured in terms of women’s and men’s percentage shares of
administrative and managerial positions and their percentage
shares of professional and technical jobs. These are broad, loosely
defined occupational categories. Because the relevant population
for each is different, the HDR calculates a separate index for each
and then adds them together. The third variable, women’s and
men’s percentage shares of parliamentary seats, is chosen to
reflect political participation and decision-making power.

However for the present study, we had to define empowerment

differently for the following reason

a) We look at empowerment in limited context of a woman’s

membership of the SHG and not the larger context of her
being a member of the society.

b) The above also implies that the women’s are from lowest
rung of the society and fairly predictable range of
occupational category and not from a wide range of socio-
economic strata.

Below are the components of the process of empowerment and

the factors influencing this process, either positively or
negatively. The instruments of data collection used during the
study covered both the aspects components as well as
influencers to provide a complete picture of the ongoing process
of empowerment among the SHG members

5
COMPONENTS OF EMPOWERMENT
A. Influence over economic resources of the family and
participation in economic decision-making.
B. Influence on her own development as an individual.
C. Influence over other decisions pertaining to general welfare
of the family.
D. Improvement in the technical and managerial skills of the
member

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ABOVE EMPOWERMENT

LEVEL
COMPONENT A: INFLUENCER
The economic factors that may determine the SHG member’s
power over the household’s economic resources are:

a) Her share in the gross annual household income

b) Nature of her income (stable and regular as opposed
to unstable and irregular income from rain-fed
agriculture)
c) Savings, investments, land and other assets existing
in her name (with the SHG, a bank and/or a Chit
Fund).
d) Whether she is literate enough to handle routine
transactions with the bank or the chit fund on her own
(e.g., signing the cheques, writing the standing
instructions, etc.)

COMPONENT B: INFLUENCER
The factors that may determine the SHG member’s power over her
own growth are:

a) General literacy level in the household, parental literacy,

etc., which would decide whether there exist any past
precedents of higher adult literacy or women’s literacy.

6
 b) Cultural environment, traditions and attitudes of the
household (e.g., whether it is considered appropriate for
women of the household to have a small business of
their own or do commercial deals with outsiders).

COMPONENT C: INFLUENCER
The factors that may determine the SHG member’s power over
other decisions pertaining to general welfare of the family are:

a) The extent to which she meets other women of her age

group in the local community and gets to know from them
information that can be of use to the general welfare of the
household (i.e., the degree of socialization)

b) Her educational level.

COMPONENT D: INFLUENCER:
The factors that may determine the level to which the SHG
member’s technical and managerial skills improve are:

a) How regularly has she been using the technical skills

acquired at the training program (e.g., hours spent
working at the production unit)

b) Intensity of involvement in SHG activities (number of

meetings attended during the last one year)

c) Whether she is literate enough to handle routine

transactions with the bank or the LIC fund on her own
(e.g., signing the checks, writing the standing
instructions, etc.)

d) Burden of household work on the member, which may

disrupt and shorten her attendance of training programs
and SHG meetings. Such household work includes
caring for children and elderly, cooking, sweeping,
cleaning, fetching water, milking, collecting firewood,
caring for cattle, harvesting and assisting the male
members in other farm activities.

7
DESIGN, SCOPE AND CHALLENGES OF PRESENT STUDY

For the purpose of study, I have decided to conduct a survey among

various members of the Self Help Group (SHG). For surveying, I have
selected 5 groups from each block. Total of 5 blocks have been
selected. The basis for selection of these blocks was random. For
deeper understanding about the impact of Self Help Group (SHG) on
women. I have classified the group on the basis of their span. I have
broad classified into a group of three i.e.
a) Less than 1 year
b) More than 1 year but less than 3 years
c) More than 3 years
Below are the details regarding the blocks, number of groups and
members surveyed

TABLE 1
SELF HELP GROUP AND THEIR BLOCK
S.NO BLOCK NO OF NO OF SELF
GROUPS GROUP MEMBERS
1 Vadavalli 5 15
2 Kuniamuthur 5 15
3 P.N.Pudur 5 15
4 Gandhi Park 5 15
5 Flower Market 5 15
TOTAL 75

From each group 3 members were surveyed (including the group

leader)

8
THEMATIC SCOPE:
Besides including the questions that covered both components of
empowerment process as well as the influencers the survey
instruments especially touched the following subjects:

a) An activity charting to quantify the member’s burden of

household work as well as the SHG related responsibilities
b) Member’s perception of the burden of the work they do and
fatigue caused by it
c) Husband’s/Senior Household Member’s awareness of the
basic facts about the self help group and its core objectives.
d) Problems faced by the SHG.
e) SHG’s linkage with other NGO and micro-Finance
Institutions
f) NGO leader’s perception about the best practices of the
organization with regard to SHGs
g) Nature of NGO’s relationship with bank.

CHALLENGES AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

a) The SHG members interviewed were simple village

women and many of them had never taken part in any sort
of interview or talked about their experience with self-help
before. Explaining to them the purpose of the interview
and rephrasing the language of questions at certain points
was the biggest challenge.
b) The interview schedule was prepared only for women
SHGs and not for 
 NGOs and other Government officials.
c) Only women SHGs were taken for the study though there
are a number of 
 men SHGs.
d) The schedule was prepared in regional language i.e. Tamil

9
 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
Manner Of The Presentation Of Findings
Most of the findings in the following pages are presented in the
form of tables and grids putting the data for young and old SHGs
next to each other. We have classified the span into 3 categories,
which was explained earlier. In all, most of the members were
older than 3 years.

FINDINGS:

SHG Members: Actual Coverage

The actual number of the respondents covered was 75, the

distribution of which was as follows: Table

< 1 YEAR OLD 1- 3 YEAR OLD > 3YEAR OLD TOTAL

BLOCKS
N % N % N % N %
3 12.5 6 28.6 6 20 15 20
Vadavalli
6 25 3 14.3 6 20 15 20
Kuniamuthur
6 25 6 28.6 3 10 15 20
P.N.pudur
3 12.5 3 14.3 9 30 15 20
Gandhi park
6 25 3 14.3 6 20 15 20
Flower Market
24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100
Total
Source: primary data

10
SHG Member: Profile Of Respondents

TABLE:

No. Of respondent by age group

Age Group < 1 YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL

OLD OLD

N % N % N % N %
18-25 years
2 8.33 2 9.52 0 0 4
26-35 years
10 41.67 4 19.05 6 20 20
36-45 years
5 20.83 7 33.33 8 26.67 20
46-55 years
6 25 6 28.57 7 23.33 19
>55 years
1 4.16 2 9.52 9 30 12
Total
24 100 21 100 30 100 75
SOURCE: Primary Data

TABLE
No. Of respondent by Marital Status
MARITAL < 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
STATUS OLD OLD

N % N % N % N %

MARRIED 19 79.1 18 85.71 26 86.66 63 84

DIVORCED 4 16.6 1 4.76 2 6.66 7 9.33

WIDOWED
1 4.16 2 9.5 2 6.66 5 6.67

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: Primary Data

11
TABLE
By Educational attainment Of the Respondent
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
EDUCATION OLD OLD
LEVEL
N % N % N % N %
LITERATE,
NO FORMAL 2 8.33 0 0 3 10 5 6.67
UP TO
PRIMARY 3 12.5 3 14.2 1 3.33 7 9.33

UP TO HSC 19 79.1 18 85.7 25 83.33 62 82.6

OTHERS 0 0 0 0 1 3.33 1 1.33

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: Primary Data

TABLE:
Type Of Family
TYPE OF FAMILY NUMBER OF PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENT
NUCLEAR 63 84
JOINT 12 16
TOTAL 75 100
Source: Primary Data
TABLE:
Four Leading Sources Of Information
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
SOURCE OLD OLD

N % N % N % N %

NGO STAFF 2 8.33 1 4.76 4 13.33 7 9.33

PEER
GROUP 20 83.3 18 85.7 22 73.33 60 80
FAMILY
MEMBERS 2 8.33 2 9.52 4 13.33 8 10.6

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

12
TABLE
Reasons for Group Formation
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
REASON OLD OLD

N % N % N % N %
TO SAVE MONEY
REGULARLY 4 16.6 10 47.6 9 30 23 30.6

TO MEET
REGULAR
DEMANDS 19 79.2 8 38 15 50 35 46.67

TO TAKE PART
IN INTERNAL 0 0 1 4.76 3 10 4 5.33
LENDING

TO GENERATE
INCOME 1 4.16 2 9.52 3 10 6 8.00

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: Primary data

From the above table it is evident that the major reason for the
formation of group is to meet the demand regularly with nearly
46.67% of people stating it. Followed by saving money regularly
which was said by nearly 31% of people.

13
Responses of SHG members on empowerment issues
Influence Of SHG on various aspects of life

Being a part of the SHG seems to have changed the lives of the members,
especially in the older groups, in a significant way. As for its influence on the
financial status of these women, in the old groups, 90% interviewees agree
that their financial position has changed for the better since they joined the
SHG, as against only 79% in the younger group

Table:
Change In personal Financial Position
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Type Of OLD OLD
Change
N % N % N % N %
It has
improved 19 79.1 18 85.7 27 90 64 85.3

Remained the 4 16.6 2 9.52 2 6.67 8 10.7

same
Cant say 1 4.16 1 4.76 1 3.33 3 4

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: Primary Data
Table:
Change In Share In Family Income
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Type of OLD OLD
change
N % N % N % N %
Increased 12 50 12 57.14 24 80 48 64

Remained the 9 37.5 7 33.3 5 16.66 21 28

same
Cant say 3 12.5 2 9.52 1 3.33 6 8

24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

TOTAL
Source: Primary Data

14
Change In Role In Financial Decision
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Type Of OLD OLD
Change
N % N % N % N %
Participate more
than before 15 62.5 12 57.2 21 70 51 68
Participate just
as much as 4 16.7 5 23.8 4 13.3 13 17.3
before
Participate less
than before 1 4.16 0 0 0 0 1 1.3
Continue as main
decision maker 0 0 4 19 5 16.66 6 8

Cant say 1 4.17 0 0 0 0 1 1.33

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: Primary data
Table:
Degree Of Difficulty In Doing a Certain Task
Activity Level of < 1year 1-3 Year >3 year Total
difficulty
N % N % N % N %
Basic No difficulty 7 29.16 12 23
Arithmetic Some
9 37.5 6 14.28 4 33.3 14 18.6
difficulty
Lot of 8 33.33 3 3
difficulty
Reading No difficulty 6 25 7 12
Newspaper Some
10 41.67 9 19.1 10 53.3 23 30.2
difficulty
Lot of 8 33.33 5 8
difficulty
Reading No difficulty 7 29.16 6 18
Bank Some
9 37.5 10 47.6 8 46.67 35 46.67
Forms difficulty
Lot of 8 33.33 5 4
difficulty
Reading No difficulty 6 25 8
pass book Some
10 41.67 7 19.1 0 13 17.33
entries difficulty
Lot of 8 33.33 6
difficulty

15
POWER OVER ECONOMIC REASONS

Table:
Nature Of Contribution To Family Income
< 1YEAR 1-3 > 3 YEARS TOTAL
YEARS OLD
OLD

N % N % N % N %
Give some amount
regularly 9 38 4 19 5 16.6 18 24
Give same amount
regularly 8 33 6 28 15 50 29 38.6
Give whenever I
had money 7 29 52 10 33.3 28 37.3
11

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: Primary Data

Table:
Extent of income contributed
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Proportion of OLD OLD
Income
N % N % N % N %
< ½ of my
Income 6 25 3 14.2 2 6.67 11 14.6
½ - 3/4th of my
Income 7 29 7 33.3 8 26.6 22 29.3
th
>3/4 to whole
of my Income 11 45 11 52.3 20 66.6 42 56.0

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: Primary Data

16
Table:
No.Of Respondent by Status in the family
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
OLD OLD

N % N % N % N %
Earning 13 54.16 12 57.14 24 80 49 65.33
Member
Non-Earning 11 45.84 9 42.86 6 20 26 34.67
Member
24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100
TOTAL
Source: Primary Data

Table
Ownership Of House
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Ownership OLD OLD

N % N % N % N %
Self / jointly with 0 0 1 4.76 1 3.33 2 2.67
others
Husband 3 12.5 5 23.8 2 6.67 10 13.3

Rented House 21 87.5 14 66.6 25 83.3 63 84.0

Others 0 0 1 4.76 1 3.33 2 2.67

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: Primary Data

17
Table:
Having an Account
< 1year 1-3 Year >3 year Total
N % N % N % N %
Have a saving Yes 14 58.33 16 76.20 24 80 54 72
account in bank No
10 41.66 5 23.80 6 20 21 28
Have a deposit Yes 12 50 12 57.15 21 70 45 60
in post office No
12 50 9 42.85 9 30 30 40
Have any gold, Yes 24 100 19 90.5 27 90 70 93.33
jewel or silver No
0 0 2 9.5 3 10 5 6.66
Is a nominee in Yes 13 54.16 15 71.4 21 70 49 65.33
insurance policy No
11 45.83 6 28.6 9 30 26 34.67
Source: Primary Data

Table:
By awareness of SHG’s bank a/c
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Purpose OLD OLD

N % N % N % N %
Yes
18 75 21 100 30 100 69 92
No
6 25 0 0 0 0 6 8

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: primary da

18
Table:
By frequency of operating a/c by self
< 1YEAR 1-3 YEARS > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Ownership OLD OLD

N % N % N % N %
Yes, mostly 6 25 8 38.1 21 70 35 46.67
Yes, sometimes 5 20.83 6 28.6 5 16.66 16 21.33

Never 13 54.17 7 33.3 4 13.33 21 28

Total 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: Primary Data

POWER OVER HER OWN DEVELOPMENT

Table
Change In Role In Decision About Self
< 1YEAR 1-3 > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Type Of Change YEARS OLD
OLD

N % N % N % N %
It has increased 18 75 15 72 10 3.33 43 58
Remained the
same 4 16 3 14 15 50 22 29.3
It has decreased 0 0 1 4.7 3 10 4 5.33

Cant say 2 8.3 2 9.5 2 6.67 6 8.00

TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

19
Power over decision pertaining to general welfare of the
family

Table:
Change in Role in Decision Related to General Good
< 1YEAR 1-3 > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Type Of Change YEARS OLD
OLD

N % N % N % N %
Participate more 10 41.7 13 61.9 24 80 47 62.67
than before
Remained the 7 29.2 3 14.3 1 3.33 11 14.67
same as before
Participate less 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
than before
Continue to be the 7 29.2 5 23.8 5 16.66 17 22.67
key decision
maker
24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100
TOTAL

Table:
Participation in SHG activities
Activity Level of < 1year 1-3 Year >3 year Total
difficulty
N % N % N % N %
Weekly/monthly Yes, 10 41.67 10 47.6 22 73.33 42 56
SHG meeting regularly
8 33.33 6 28.6 5 16.66 19 25.33
Yes,
when I 6 25 5 23.8 3 10 14 18.66
have time
Never
Meeting with Yes, 11 45.83 9 42.9 21 70 41 54.67
local Bank regularly
8 33.33 7 33.3 6 20 21 28
branch Yes,
when I 5 20.83 5 23.8 3 10 13 17.33
have time
Never
Meeting with Yes, 12 50 11 52.4 24 80 47 62.66
NGO regularly
8 33.33 5 23.8 4 13.33 17 22.66
Yes,
when I 4 16.66 5 23.8 2 6.67 11 14.66
have time
Never

20
Improvement in technical and managerial skills
Table:
Change in professional and Technical Skills
< 1YEAR 1-3 > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Type Of Change YEARS OLD
OLD

N % N % N % N %
Have improved 12 50 12 57.14 22 73.33 46 61.33
Have not changed 10 41.67 8 38.1 6 20 24 32
much
Cant say 2 8.33 1 4.76 2 6.66 5 6.67
24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100
TOTAL

ESTIMATE OF THE BURDEN OF HOUSEHOLD WORK

About the positive impacts of SHG formation on the members’

lives, one must not ignore that there may be negative impacts too.
Often, one of the factors, which weakens the position of the
woman in the household and limits her social activities, is the
burden of household work imposed on her (in terms of the time it
takes as well as the intensity of work). To this, if we add the
burden of attending to the SHG work, she is left with even less
time and a negative – and rather unintended influence – may be
that she may lose the support of her family members as she
cannot devote time and attention to them.
Table
Time spent in Household Work
< 1YEAR 1-3 > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Time spent YEARS OLD
OLD

N % N % N % N %
< 2 hours 0 0 0 0 2 6.67 2 2.67
2-4 hours 8 33.3 6 28.6 12 40 26 34.67
>4 hours 16 66.6 15 71.4 16 53.33 47 62.67
24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100
TOTAL
Source: Primary Data

21
Table
Members who Influenced her Decision to Join
< 1YEAR 1-3 > 3 YEARS TOTAL
Time spent YEARS OLD
OLD

N % N % N % N %
Husband 9 37.5 8 38.1 6 20 23 30.67
Sister 4 16.67 3 14.3 5 16.67 12 16
Brother 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Father 1 4.16 2 9.5 6 20 9 12
Mother 2 8.33 1 4.8 3 10 6 8
None, Myself 5 20.83 4 19.04 6 20 15 20
Others 3 12.5 3 14.28 4 13.33 10 13.33
TOTAL 24 100 21 100 30 100 75 100

Source: Primary Data

22
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

This section presents the summary of the findings given in

foregoing chapters and identifies the overall trend captured by the
study.

In a nutshell, the profile of interviewees was that the sample mainly

covered young (26-45years of age) married women.

More Old Group members were aware of another SHG working in

their own village or elsewhere. We started by asking the
respondents to measure the changes in various spheres of their
lives as an impact of the SHG. In Old Group, interviewees agreed
that their financial position had changed for the better. More
members in the older groups than in the younger groups reported
a positive influence on their share in the family income during this
period. The average share of earning SHG members in the family
income was also higher in the older SHGs; the reason for which
may be that over 80% of these members are either earning
members in their families.

We tested the level of confidence of respondents on several tasks

of varying difficulty. On all the tasks specified, the Old Group
members expressed a higher level of sense of ease. In the Old
Group, more members reported a positive influence on confidence
level in dealing with people and institutions.

Over 70% Old Group members say that they themselves operate
their accounts frequently. More Old Group members said that their
control over their own lives had improved. Also, more Old Group
members said that they themselves decided on the matters
pertaining to general welfare of the family. More Old Group
members said that their advice and views are respected more now
than before. The Old Group has definitely imparted newer
professional and technical skills to more of its members. More
members in the Old Group than in the New Group report that they
have learnt the managerial skills required for efficient operation of
SHGs. More old groups felt that their newly acquired skills had
benefited their families. In the older groups, the percentage of
women spending more than 4 hours in household work is lesser

23
than in the newer groups.

Thus, on parameter after parameter, members of the Old Group

emerge as more confident, financially more secure, more in control
of their lives, and in a stronger position vis-à-vis their family
members. Hence, we can conclude that, if the responses from the
New Group are taken as the benchmark, the process of
empowerment seems to have started in the Old Group.

In some of the areas the change has not been positive enough:
a) The penetration of mass media is not sufficient. A very large
percentage of respondent are not able to read newspaper
b) Besides, not many members expect the SHG movement as
a source of creating a regular income for them. They look it
as means of mobilizing savings and loans
c) The habit of saving with bank has not taken roots in any of
the SHG

SUGGESTIONS

a) Every group should frame a policy on how to manage the

savings of the members so that the money is utilized in a
efficient and fruitful manner
b) Strong members of old groups can be motivated to take up
promotional and conflict resolution responsibilities in the new
SHGs. They can visit problematic/sick groups to explain and
resolve various issues for smooth functioning of the new
SHGs.
c) The group in consultation with the NGOs should do annual
Plans for the SHGs activities. The group leaders from
different villages can meet once in a month and present the
progress of their groups. Such review by all the groups will
promote mutual learning.
d) Banks should encourage the self-help groups who have
higher savings among the groups for getting the loans and
subsidy.
e) The commercial bank should give wider publicity on the
availability of the credit facilities that can be offered to the
SHGs. Government should also play an important role in that
and it can give information to the public through the District
Development Authorities and the lead bank. The bank
officials can give more information on the procedures in
getting the loan, utilization of loan amount repayment and

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 other related information in securing the credit. Simple
procedures and the right encouragement from these bank
officials may enable women to form more SHGs in their
locality.
f) The NGO faces a problem of transporting their goods
produced to the market. So, it would be a better endeavor to
come up with a mobile transporting vehicle with the help from
NABARD so that goods produced can reach the mass and
turn out to be a source of income to the organization.
g) Only source of income to the NGO is from the commission
they receive from the LIC and from the product they sell.
So,it would be a better if funds are entertained from outside.
h) The groups should be encouraged to take part in the training
program held by the organization and its importance should
be clearly explained by the members who have taken part in
the program.
i) A proper infrastructure facility should be given to the micro
credit beneficiaries for the effective implementation of
schemes like sheep and goat rearing, small dairy farming
and other processing and the like.
j) While providing loan to the group members the following 4
steps can be adopted:
a) Formation: For the first 2 months, the members can be
oriented and educated about the importance of saving.
b) Stabilization: During the months 5-12, small loans can be
advanced to the member.
c) Growth: During the months 13-24, loans are promoted
and bigger loans can be sanctioned. As the loan size
increases, the members are sensitized to the importance
of credit discipline and spending the loan amount on a
micro- enterprise activity.
d) Self-reliance: This is a stage during which the member is
expected to be truly empowered.
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