Two-Days National Level Conference Ono

INDIAN BUSINESS SCENARIO AND JOBLESS GROWTH

ORGANISED BY

INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES AND RESEARCH IN COMMERCE KUVEMPU UNIVERSITY,SHANKARGHATTA KARNATAKA, INDIA

A PAPER ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SHG

BY

Rakesh Shanubhoga.MS
E-mail: rakishanu@gmail.com

Anil kumar.HM
E-mail: anilkumarhm3@gmail.com

Annadanaiah.TM
E-mail: annadanaiah.22@gmail.com

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SHGS

You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its Women Jawaharlal Nehru Anil kumar. H M M.Com Student Department of Commerce Davangere University Davangere Rakesh Shanubhoga.M S M.Com Student Department of Commerce Davangere University Davangere Annadanaiah.TM M.Com Student Department of Commerce Davangere University Davangere

ABSTRACT

Self help Group is small affinity groups which are playing the predominant role in the development of women in the society. Empowerment of women has emerged as an important issue in recent times. The economic Empowerment of women is being regarded as a progress for a Country; hence, the issue of economic empowerment of women is of paramount importance to Political thinkers, social scientists and reformers. The Self Help Groups (SHGs) have paved the way for economic independence of rural women. The members of SHGs are involved in Micro Entrepreneurships. Through that, they are becoming economically independent and providing Employment opportunities to others. The womens are regretted in the society so they is a need of empowerment activities for the women in the society by training them under various institutions and groups like RUDSETI and SHGs by this they can change their mind from family to entrepreneurship activities. So this article deals with empowerment of rural women through SHGs and the advantages SHGs among the rural women. This paper is from the primary and also secondary sources like journals, books, internet sources etc.

INTRODUCTION :
The role and degree of integration of women in economic development is always an indicator of womens economic independence, social status and also a measure of womens contribution to economic development. Women population of a country is the most important segment of the population in terms of its economic participation and size. Therefore, women force could influence the pace and pattern of economic development and in turn, the process of economic development also influences the pace and pattern of economic participation of women. In India, women constitute around 48% of population. But their participation in economic activities is only about 34%.in India women form roughly 1/6th of the worlds population. the womens work explains that more than 10% are in unorganized sector. This necessitates a holistic approach to empowerment of women through the following strategies. 1. Educating girls and women 2. Facilitating their involvement in economic activities 3. Involving women in policy formulation and decision making. 4. Encouraging socio cultural change by exploring gender issues and promoting effective implementation of equal rights through legislation.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
INTRODUCTION

Empowerment of women assumed greater significance in the recent past due to the failure of the top-down, welfare oriented approaches to women development. Various antipoverty programs under implementation also could not succeed in effective mobilization of women. The participatory approaches gave new impetus with a new agenda. To enable women to the policy maker To build capacities among women in order to change power relations

To provide necessary support for them to gain control over resources and public facilities To energize them to organize, change and consolidate their power and upward mobility

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY EMPOWERMENT ? Empowering an individual or group means enabling the individual or group to direct their own life and reach a stage where they are more likely to succeed in whatever they attempt to do. Empowerment is an ongoing process and not an end by itself. NATIONAL POLICY ON EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN The government approved for the first time a national policy on empowerment of women in order to mainstream gender into all activities of govt and other agencies. The main objectives of the policy are Creating an environment through positive economic and social policies for the development of women to realize their own potential Enjoyment of all human right and fundamental freedom to women on equal basis in society with men Equal access to participation and decision making in the society Equal access to women health care, quality education, safety, social security,etc., Strengthening legal system aimed at elimination of all form of discrimination against women

SELF HELP GROUPS (SHG) :

The rural women are marginalized groups of our society. Due to the presence of socio economic constraints in the rural areas, women potential for development remained far from fully utilized and they have been pushed further back in to the social hierarchical system. MEANING A self help group is a small economically homogeneous and affinity group of rural poor, who voluntarily come together and make their own groups. It is a power full tool for socio and economic development.

BIRD VIEW OF SELF HELP GROUPS CONCEPT:

SHG is a local level institution Goal is socioeconomic sustainable development of all members SHG is having its own objective

Formation / composition All are poor 50-20 members Above 18 years Weekly/fortnightly/ monthly/meetings. Account opening in the name of the group. Rules and regulations of their own.

Self Help Group concept

Characteristics Homogeneity and affinity. Common interest Voluntary in a nature Non political Rotation of leadership Participatory.

Functions : Regular meetings Periodic savings Credit management Book keeping Common fund Awareness and training Linkage with banks, government bodies

OBJECTIVES OF SHG To promote financial and moral support to its members To extract the skills of members To empower themselves in all respect To increase the standard of living of its members To build up the confidence among the members themselves To make savings , mobilize that savings and generate the income

FUNCTIONS 1. Savings and thrift: The amount may be small but savings have to be regular habit for its members Savings first credit later should be the motto of every SHG. Group usually have fixed amount as savings, since, this may help in easy accounting and also ensure equality 2. Credit management: The savings to be used as loans for members The purpose, amount, rate of interest etc., to be decided by the group Proper accounting is maintained Most of the groups prefer initially lend only 50% of accumulated savings of shg

3. Regular meetings The members decided to periodically once a week In every meeting they collect savings and discuss about mobilization

4. Book keeping SHGs are trained by NGOs to maintain books of account That should contain these books Proceedings of meetings, attendance, rate of interest, savings, members pass book etc.,

5. Linking with the banks and govt. bodies The groups open a SB account in the name of SHG groups The RBI has issued instructions to all banks to permit SHGs to open an account

METHODOLOGY : The entire study is evolved under both primary and secondary data. The primary data is collected by interviewing the SHG members directly. And the secondary data is collected through various journals, magazines, newspapers and internet sources.

SHG-BANK LINKAGE PROGRAMME SHG bank linkage programme is gaining increate acceptance among banker and NGOs continuation of linkage programme to cover at least 1/3 of the rural population by the year 2006. This SHG bank linkage programme provides credit facilities and finance to rural through 2.2 million SHGs and their progress is seeing by us at the present. The below table shows only the data pertaining up to the year 2006 only in the kits of NABARD. SHG BANK LINKAGE (CUMULATIVE PROGRESS: RS IN MILLION)

Up to March of No of SHGs every year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Pooled 461478 717360 1079091 1618456 2238565 _

Growth (%) 74.90 55.40 50.40 50.00 38.31 53.80

rate Bank loan

Growth rate (%)

10263.39 20486.77 39042.08 68984.60 113975.43 _

113.40 99.60 90.60 76.70 65.22 89.10

Source: compiled from the reading material kits from NABARD

IMPACT OF SHGS ON THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE OF RURAL WOMEN The population of women in economic development, their coming out of the four walls of the home is no more matter there is an undoubtedly improvement of women status in the house hold and also in successful entrepreneurship. SHGs generate a small amount but even though it provides a loan to her with the support of banks, NGOs and with government help.

IMPACT OF SHG ON SOCIAL LIFE OF WOMEN SHGs implies to expansion of income and capabilities of women, which influence to control household activities and to improve their social lives. In earlier her contribution was just breaded to household activities but now a days her

contribution to social development is very supportive. Current globalised environment also seeking a synergetic approach from everyone both men & women. The following report typically indicates the comparative share of responsibility in the family. Table showing the comparative share of women in family

TABLE 1: THE COMPARATIVE SHARE OF BURDEN IN FAMILY

SL NO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Feeding of family Agro processing Storage Transporting Weeding Harvesting Sowing Poultry forming Marketing Furrowing Irrigating in the field 5 10 20 20 30 40 50 50 60 95 95 Activity Men (%) Women (%) 95 90 80 80 70 60 50 50 40 5 5

Source: kurukshetra 2007 The social life of women before introduction of shgs. she was only meant for (70%) household activities like feeding family arranging of fuel fodder and take care of old agers. But now there is a tremendous changes are seeing by us in the present.

TABLE 2: INDICATES THE WOMENS SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT BEFORE AND AFTER JOINING SHG

Sl no
1 2 3 4 5 6

Activity

Before shg

After shg

Administration field Education field Business activity Project performance Only household economic activities Social activities

3% 20% 15% 15% 55% 15%

22% 35% 40% 40% 25% 40%

Source: Central statistical organization.

This table shows womens social development before SHG and after SHG. There is a gradual increase in percentage of social development in after joining SHG groups in all the fields. TABLE 3: SHARE OF SUPPORTING SYSTEM IN POLICY.

SUPPORTING SYSTEM Post office Insurance company NGOs Nationalised banks Co-operatives Gramina Bank

CONTRIBUTION(%) 20% 10% 10% 25% 8% 27%

From the above we knew that the share of supporting of Gramina bank and nationalized baks are more preferable by the SHG groups. But they dont know about co-operative societies and other NGOs. So there is a gradual support from nationalized and Gramina bakn to SHG.

TABLE 4 : IMPACT OF SHGS ON THE STANDARD OF LIVING OF WOMEN

SL NO

Standard Permanents

of

living Probability

SHGs increase in Product the performance

01 02 03 04 05 06 07

Income Expenditure Savings Educational Level Special Status Political Status Family Upliftment

0.16 0.10 0.15 0.10 0.22 0.13 0.14

28% 20% 15% 35% 32% 15% 25%

3.99 2.75 2.69 7.74 7.96 3.01 2.70

Source: Kurukshetra 2007

Overall there is 30% increase in the standard of living of women with the SHGs. The key macro economic issue of standard of living is economic development. The government has an initiative role to make their dream true. SURVEY ANALYSIS : In this analysis we met five SHG groups at Davangere city and take the opinion of their members about the SHG performance to women empowerment. Those groups are, Vinayaka Self Help Group Tholhunse Self Help Group

Kalikamba Self Help Group Bhagiratha Self Help Group Ashakirana Self Help Group

This analysis has been made by considering the persons personal factors like age, standard of living, and their income level and also opinion of respondents about contribution of SHG in women empowerment, the benefits arised out of the SHGs, and about their savings and income generated by their SHG and lastly about contribution of SHG in Indian economic development.

FINDINGS :
It is found that there is overall 30% of standard of living of people after joining SHGs It is found that there is a gradual increase in social development of people after joining SHGs as compared to before. In this survey we found that majority of respondents belonging to the younger and middle age group of people. Majority of respondents have the savings of more than 500 per month as personal savings Majority of respondents have opinioned that their income has increased after joining the SHGs Majority of respondents stated that the chief objective of their SHGs is women empowerment Majority of respondents have moderate standard of living after joining SHG Majority of respondents are familiar with Grameen bank and Nationalized banks. Majority of respondents do not possess the knowledge about the assistance of cooperative societies and other NGOs. It was found that majority of respondents have got the benefit of savings and they self depended from their SHGs. Majority of respondents have opinioned that saving in SHG is comparatively better than other supportive system.

 It became evident that respondents have agreed that SHGs programmes is contributing for Indian economic development.

SUGGESTIONS :
We found that many respondents they unaware of supporting systems like co-operative bank, NGOs and other government bodies. For this they should conduct the awareness programmes and make policies and plans in order to make the people to be awared of all supporting systems. The group members should establish mutual coordination among them and discuss about their present status and actions to be taken in order to make their SHG successful. Every member of the group should participate in every activity of the group that helps to stay in the group for a longer span The group members should use their savings in a proper manner like economically benefitted investments to increase their standard of living. The family members should also support for SHGs because unless their support woman can not do anything The governments should also support the SHGs by providing necessary subsidies and etc

CONCLUSION :
The self help groups have been formulated to obtain mutual help and for promoting economic development of rural women. To succeed in this new era rural development is inevitable. Hence, these arouses a need for such, mechanism which could promote rural development by bringing the rural mass especially the women together, mobilizing their idle savings and encouraging them to participate in income generation activity. The SHG have been formed on the basis of Co-operation principle One for all, all for one , to obtain mutual help for promoting economic development of women in rural areas. The SHGs are

formulated by the rural women to get economic empowerment and to increase their standard of living to get confidence etc. Lastly conclude it is evidence that, SHGs have achieved success in many parts of the country by bringing the women to main stream of decision making and making her to contribute for the development of the country.