A study on the impact of SHG-Bank linkage programme on empowerment of women

SHG-Banking is a programme that helps to promote financial transactions between the formal rural banking system in India comprising of public and private sector commercial banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks with the informal Self Help Groups(SHGs) as clients (SHGs are financial intermediaries owned by the poor). They usually start by making voluntary thrift on a regular mostly fortnightly or monthly basis (contractual savings). They use this pooled resource (as quasi-Equity) together with the external bank loan to provide interest bearing loans to their members. Such loan provides additional liquidity or purchasing power for use in any of the borrower's production, investment or consumption activities. The main focus of the study is on the performance of SHG Bank linkages on women and also sees how the effective measures adopted by the government and banks have enabled the women to raise their standard of living. The study also focused on the economic impact of Self- Help Groups with reference to; capital formation through savings mobilization, credit – savings ratio, interest rates and repayment performance, which is also the need of the hour.