A Multidimensional Study on Self Help Groups and Their Functioning: A Case of West Tripura District, Tripura

Marginalised people gain more strength by group formation and Self Help Group (SHG) is a potential vehicle for this. This study was conducted among the 50 SHGs functioning for more than five years in two blocks (Mohanpur and Lefunga) of West Tripura district of Tripura State with the objectives: 1) To study the socio-economic profile of the SGHs; 2) To assess the interrelationship of different causal variables; and 3) To draw inference and to suggest some measures for better functioning of SHGs. The data was collected with structured questionnaire during July-December, 2013. From the study it could be noted that SHGs were either in economic activity stage or capital formation stage. The SHGs had reached all categories of people i.e. Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and General category; and educational level of SHGs members skewed towards below secondary level. Total number of members to the each SHGs had positive bearing over the jobs/occupations of SHGs members; education level had escalating effect over their selection of occupation; and SHGs members receiving training, interaction and collaboration with banks had positive association. The Factor Analysis of twenty variables by following Principal Component Analysis showed that twenty variables were clustered in eight factors. The eight factors had represented about 70 percent of the total data variance. These factors were named as Decision making in on-farm activities, Loan Prayer and marketing support, Banking support to managerial skill development for financial management, Managing resources for marketing, Meeting leads to training, Fund management and group dynamics, Training for Book Keeping and Market linkage and banking support.