1Assistant Professor, Sri Sri Institute of Management Studies, Goa, India.
2Senior Professor, VIT Business School, VIT University, Chennai
*Email id: fayexavier06@yahoo.co.in
Online published on 3 September, 2014.
Microfinance has become an imperative force to combat poverty across the world especially in developing countries. In India, microfinance has become a significant force with self-help group (SHG) model and bank lending to groups, mostly women, being an acknowledged part of rural finance. The main objective of SHG's is to enable the poor of the poorest to obtain funds and utilize their skills to improve their economic conditions. Also, it is meant to do away with unfair practices and empowering people to be self dependant. These groups usually have not more than 20 members ensuring dynamic inputs along with faster decision making and transparency.
Through this paper, an attempt is made to understand the SHG's in India with a brief introduction to microfinance at the global stage as well as in India. Also, the Indian system of SHG's is compared with the Bangladeshi Grameen system. It also throws light on the current trends of SHG's in India and also touches upon the Andhra Pradesh crisis.
Self help groups, Microfinance, Andhra Pradesh, Grameen, services
