aDepartment of Agricultural Economics, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad-500 030, Telangana
bJawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishva Vidyalya, Jabalpur-482 004, Madhya Pradesh
Online published on 20 November, 2017.
The study has assessed the economic impact of microfinance on the investment, income, savings and employment status of rural women. The information was collected from a sample of 60 respondents from 10 selfhelp groups of Udumalpet block of Tiruppur district in Tamil Nadu. A number of income generating activities are being undertaken by the selected SHGs. The study has shown a positive changes in indicators of economic empowerment like expenditure (113–350%), annual income (128–382%), savings (425–892%) of the respondents after joining the self-help groups. Thus, the SHGs have played a crucial role in income and livelihood enhancement of the rural people. The four point continuum scoring revealed that the dimensions of socio-economic empowerment ranked on the first three positions were: access to credit, asset building and mobility. The decision-making related to child birth, access to sanitation and literacy were ranked lower. The economic constraint was the main reason identified for the inefficient functioning of SHGs regardless of type of their economic activities. The microfinancing through self-help groups can play a big role in the upliftment of rural women in Tamil Nadu.
Microfinance, self-help groups, women empowerment, Tamil Nadu
