SHG 4 Article On Shgs Fapcci December 2003

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SELF HELP GROUPS IN
ANDHRA PRADESH
The Government of Andhra Pradesh has taken up the theme of womens

empowerment as one of the strategies to tackle the socio economic poverty. Self
Help movement through savings has been taken up as a mass movement by women
a path chosen by them to shape their destiny for better. Development Agenda of
the State in the last few years placing the people, especially women in the fore -front
has enabled formation of a large number of Self Help Groups (SHGs) throughout the
State and majority of women are saving one rupee a day. The State government is
consciously making an effort to assist SHGs by providing Revolving Fund / Matching
grant under various programmes.
SHGs - A MOVEMENT IN ANDHRA PRADESH
There are about 4.65 lakhs women SHGs in Andhra Pradesh covering nearly
61.70 lakhs poor women. Andhra Pradesh alone has about half of SHGs organized
in the Country. The SHGs are also popularly called DWCRA Groups, ant this name
became popular after the DWCRA programme (Development of Women and Children
in Rural Areas) through which womens groups were assisted initially. The SHGs are
not only resorting to thrift but also are taking small loans out of the corpus available
with the group. The group corpus consists of savings, government assistance and
also bank loan. Members use the loan out of group corpus for their personal needs
initially. However in the long run such loans are utilised for income generation activities.
Since inception an amount of Rs.1556.90 crores is mobilized as corpus by these
groups.
MICRO CREDIT TO SHGs:

Micro credit summit conducted in 1997 in Washington resolved to reach 100 million
poor women by 2005 all over the world.
In Andhra Pradesh alone, 61.70 lakh
women were covered under micro credit with a saving of a rupee per day and the
financial institutions extending loans upto 4 times to the amount of group savings.
From the year 1997 to January 2003, Banks extended a loan of Rs.1345 crores to
SHG and the recovery of loans is more than 95%. Recently commercial banks have
reduced interest rate on the loans extended to SHGs from 12% to 9%.
BUILDING INSTITUTIONS FOR SHGs:
Womens savings movement started in 1993 as an off shoot of total literacy campaigns
successfully conducted by the pro-active government initiatives in the southern part
of Andhra Pradesh, poor women agitated against sale of arrack, organized themselves
into Thrift and Credit groups with one rupee saving in a day had now turned into a
mass movement in which 61.70 lakh members saved more than Rs.887.47 crores
which is rotated internally and lent amongst the members twice in a year as per the
interest rates fixed by the groups. Such amounts are used for their daily consumption
needs and also for production of goods for sales to earn incomes.
GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD:
All the villages in the state have at least one SHG and 75% of the villages have 1520 groups in each. Government felt the necessity of building institutions for SHG at
the village and mandal level (Mandal is an administrative unit equivalent 1/3 size of a
block). Village organisations and mandal federations are formed and the latter are
registered under the mutually aided co-operative societies Act 1995. Such federations
take up functions like pensions to old people, insurance services to members,
procurement of raw materials and marketing of finished products, accessing community
infrastructure facilities, providing market information and other services to the
members.
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF SHGS:
60% of the women take up economic activities related to agriculture and allied
activities. Land lease for growing agricultural crop is a common practice in the 9
Telangana districts.
Vegetable and Flower cultivation, food crops and pulses, oil
seeds cultivation are taken up on leased lands. Similarly rearing of calves, ram lamb,
chicks, piggery and duckery, dairy, value addition to milk and milk products are preferred
by women agricultural labourers. Illiterate and unskilled women engage in small

business activities. Nearly 20% of the SHG members are artisans and engaged in
making handicrafts and handloom products.
Public private partnership method is adopted in promoting economic opportunities to
SHG members by appointing them as dealers for the sale of prodcts manufactured
by companies like Hindustan Levers Limited, TVS, TTK-Prestige, Colgate-Palmolive,
Philips etc. Companies in return train SHGs in finance management, enterprise
development, packaging, branding and pricing of products. This partnership is a win
win model.
Andhra Pradesh is now engaged in intense pursuit of development prgrammes utilizing
information technology (IT) and to strategize as to how the benefits of IT could be
taken to rural areas.
SHGs are encouraged to get PCs and software for accessing information and
developing their business. Their products are photographed, scanned and displayed
on websites. These are put on the portals of e-commerce companies. Handicrafts,
herbal medicines and cosmetics, hand woven and embroidered curtains, toys, paintings
etc., are thus finding national and international markets. This would not have been
possible, but for the internet. The members are enabled to take a mobile telephone
and use it not only for the sales but as a public telephone.
IMPACT OF SHG MOVEMENT:
Various organisations evaluated SHGs.
NGOs universities, National Bank for
Agricultural & Rural Development (NABARD) and ORG-Marg. Some of the salient
features are.
98% of the members make savings regularly as the norms prescribed by the
groups.
All the groups meet at least once in a month to discuss various social issues
related to their day to day life.
98% of eligible members adopt small family norms.
100% children of SHG members are able to access immunization services

against the 6 diseases.
30% of the members have access to safe cooking fuels (LPG) under the
Government promoted scheme popularly known as DEEPAM.
80% of the total SHGs have accessed financial assistance from banks and
repayment is 98%.
10,000 SHG members were elected to the local bodies (3 term Panchayat Raj
Institutions) in 1997 November elections.
Members are engaged in 450 varieties of income generating activities.
Additional family incomes to member range from Rs.1000-3000 per annum

depending on the income generating activities.
Increase in self confidence and self esteem
Increase in awareness levels about the society and community. Voluntary

participation in community activities like laying roads, planting trees conserving
environment, construction of water harvesting structures, donations to the
victims of natural calamities helping to reduce crime against girls & women,
campaign against eradication of social evils like dowry, child marriages,
untouchability, AIDS, rescue and rehabilitation of orphaned children, counseling
adolescent girls, support to widows and destitutes are a few to mention.
SHG members learning from the past experiences are walking through the present
are marching ahead for a bright future. Government of Andhra Pradesh has rightly
realized that the involvement of the rural poor women in development will speed up
attainment of Swarnandhrapradesh and realising the Vision indeed!

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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SELF HELP GROUPS IN

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has taken up the theme of womens

SHGs - A MOVEMENT IN ANDHRA PRADESH

MICRO CREDIT TO SHGs:

In Andhra Pradesh alone, 61.70 lakh

Vegetable and Flower cultivation, food crops and pulses, oil

by women agricultural labourers. Illiterate and unskilled women engage in small

NGOs universities, National Bank for

98% of eligible members adopt small family norms.

100% children of SHG members are able to access immunization services

Members are engaged in 450 varieties of income generating activities.

Additional family incomes to member range from Rs.1000-3000 per annum

Increase in self confidence and self esteem

Increase in awareness levels about the society and community. Voluntary

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