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AsianJournalofResearchinBusinessEconomicsandManagement Vol.2Issue4,April2012,ISSN22497307

MICRO FINANCE, SELF HELP GROUPS (SHGS) AND THE SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL PEOPLE (A CASE STUDY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT OF ASSAM)
GUNINDRA NATH SARMAH*; DIGANTA KUMAR DAS**

ABSTRACT Development of a nation is very much dependent on the development of rural people. Today, the real problem faced by every developing country like India is the poverty. Poverty is a term with which many developing countries are suffering. Amongst the poor the most disadvantageous group are the women. Microfinance to Self Help Groups (SHGs) may be considered as a vital tool for meeting the financial requirement of those poorer sections of the society living in the rural areas. The present research paper is an attempt to analyse the role of Micro-Finance and Self-Help-Groups (SHGs) for the socio-economic development of the poor people in Lakhimpur district of Assam. For collecting the primary data a total of 50 SHGs and five (5) members from each SHG (50x5=250 respondents) were randomly selected covering the entire Lakhimpur district. From the study it has been found that after joining the SHGs the poor rural people can increase their income and improve their standard of living by performing economic activities independently. JournalofAsianResearchConsortium145 http://www.aijsh.org KEYWORDS: Microfinance, Self Help Group, Rural people and Socio-Economic Development. ______________________________________________________________________________ 1.1 INTRODUCTION

Development of a nation is very much dependent on the development of rural masses. But the real problem faced by the developing countries like India is the poverty. Poverty is a term with which many developing countries are suffering. Even after more than 50 years of planning, various poverty alleviation programmes, official estimates shows that around 26.1 percent of total population still lives below the poverty line in India. The financial requirement is one of the basic needs of the poor rural people of the society for their socio-economic upliftment. Amongst the poor the most disadvantageous group are the women and they constitutes almost half of the population of India. Now a day in India, the contribution of this women population towards the socio-economic development is vital. As per 2001 census 48.2 percent( 49.60 crores) of total population are women, while the 2011 census provisional figures released on 31st March 2011 reveals that the female population has risen by 18.12 percent to reach 586.5 million (58 crores). Microfinance to Self Help Groups (SHGs) may be considered as a vital tool for meeting the

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AsianJournalofResearchinBusinessEconomicsandManagement Vol.2Issue4,April2012,ISSN22497307

financial requirement of those poorer sections of the society living in the rural areas. In India, in the ninth and tenth five year plans proper emphasis has been given for the empowerment of women through SHGs by the planning commission. The NABARD is the main initiator of the SHG movement since 1986-87. Now a days both central and state governments, nationalized commercial banks, regional rural banks, cooperative banks, NGOs, non-banking financial corporation (NBFC) etc. have joined in the SHG movement as promoters. 1.2 CONCEPT OF MICROFINANCE

Microfinance has evolved over the past quarter century across India into various operating forms and to a varying degree of success. One such form of microfinance has been the development of the self-help movement (Reddy & Manak, 2005). Micro finance is a programme for the poor and by the poor to mobilize the savings and use them to meet their financial needs (Rao, 2010). The Task Force on Supportive Policy and Regulatory Framework for Micro Finance has defined Micro Finance as the provision of thrift, credit and other financial services to the poor in rural, semi-urban and urban areas to help raise their income levels and improve their living standards (NABARD,1999). Micro Finance is a participative model that can address the needs of the poor especially the women. The most common microfinance product is a micro credit or Loan. These tiny loans are enough for hard working micro-entrepreneurs particularly the rural women to start or expand their small business such as weaving, handloom & handicrafts, embroidery & tailoring etc. and sell the products in the markets for generating their income. 1.3 CONCEPT OF SELF-HELP GROUPS (SHGS)

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A Self Help Group is a registered or unregistered voluntary association of poor people of 10 to 20, from the same socio-economic backgrounds and it involves primarily in saving and credit activities. A SHG is formed independently without any political influences. It can be all-women group, all men-group or even a mixed group. However, it can be seen that over 90 per cent of these groups have only women members. The SHG provides not only savings mechanism, which suits the needs of the members but also provides a cost effective delivery mechanism for small credit to its members (Tangirala, 2008). These groups start with saving and not with credit; the group then uses its savings to give loans to members to meet their emergency and other needs. The members decide on savings per members, maximum size of loans, guarantee mechanisms in loan sanction (Kour, 2008). 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study aims to achieve the following objectives: 1.4.1. To study the role of SHGs in the rural development; 1.4.2. To study the respondents backgrounds; 1.4.3. To examine the extent of involvement of women in SHGs; 1.4.4. To analyze the impact of micro finance on the socio-economic development of the SHG members during pre-SHG and post-SHG period; and

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AsianJourn nalofResearchinBusinessEcon nomicsandMan nagement Vol.2Issue4,April2012,IS SSN22497307

1.4.5 To summarise the findings o the study and to m 5. of y make recom mmendations and s conclusio on the stu on udy. 1.5 METHODO M OLOGY OF THE STUD DY

The present study is based on bo primary a seconda data. The primary da were collected oth and ary e ata from fiel survey thr ld rough filled in questionn naire and dir interview method. A total numb of rect w ber 50 SHGs are random selected for the stud covering the entire L s mly dy Lakhimpur d district of As ssam. Again, f from the sa ample SHG five mem Gs mbers were randomly selected fr e rom each g group (50x5=25 responde 50 ents) for coll lecting the n necessary in nformation f the purpo of the s for ose study. The prim mary data were also sup w pplemented by the data collected f a from second dary sources like s District R Rural Develo opment Age ency (DRDA Department of Economics and S A), Statistics, Di istrict National Information Centre, Of n ffice of the B Block Development Offi icers etc. Th secondary data he y were coll lected from different jou urnals, book relevant d ks, documents, news papers and magaz s zines, records o Non-Gov of vernmental O Organisation (NGOs), Institute of Co-operati Manage ns f ive ement (ICM) et For analy tc. ysing the da tools, lik percentag simple a ata, ke ges, average etc. have been used. The back kground of the selected responden has also been analys with the help of si d nts sed e imple average or percentag with ref ge, ference to th heir income communit education qualifica e, ty, nal ation, occupatio family si age and marital statu etc. on, ize, us 1.6 SHG-BANK K-LINKAGE PROGRA E AMME

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The SHG Bank Lin Gnkage progra amme plays an importa role for t developm ant the ment of the rural poor in I India. With a view to li inking more and more n number of r rural poor, especially wo omen with the banks NAB BARD launch a Pilot P hed Project for L Linking SHG in 1992. As on 31 M Gs March 2010, the share of women SHG in the tota SHGs wit saving ba accounts was 53.10 lakh e w Gs al th ank s SHGs for rming 76.4 per cent as c p compared to the previou years sha of 79.5 pe cent. As o 31 us are er on March 2010, the CB lead with savings ac Bs h ccounts of 4 40.53 lakh S SHGs (58.3%) with sav vings amount o of 3673.8 crore (59.3 %) follow by RRBs having sav 89 wed vings bank a accounts of 1 18.21 lakh SHG (26.2% ) with saving amount o Gs gs of 1299.37 crore (21. .0%) and Co ooperative B Banks having sa avings bank accounts of 10.79 lakh S f SHGs (15.5 %) with sav vings amount of t 1225 5.44

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TA ABLE: 1.6.(I) PROGRESS OF THE M MICRO-FINAN NCE PROGRAM MME (AS ON 31 MARCH) SL. S No. N Self-Help Gro oups Particu ulars 2009 Number 1. JournalofAsianResearchConsortium148 http://www.aijsh.org Loans disbursed during the year g 42,24,338 2. Loan Outstanding O (9,76,887) 22,679.84 (5,861.73) 48,51,356 28,038.28 2 (12,45,394) ( (6,251.08) 19 915 5009.0 09 1659 [146] 13955.74 [3808.20] 16,09,586 (2,64,653) Amount 12,253.51 (2,015.22) 2010 Number 15,86,822 (2,67,403) Amount 14,453.30 1 (2,198.00) ( 20 009 Number N 58 81 Amou unt 3732.3 33 2010# Number 779 [88] Amount 10728.49 [2665.75] ( CRORE)

Micro Finance In M nstitutions (MFI) )*

61,21,147 3. Saving g Accounts with Banks B (15,05,581)

5,545.62 (1,563.39)

69,53,250

6,198.71 6

(16,93,910) ( (1,292.62)

Figures in paren F ntheses indicate the share of SH covered unde SGSY HG er *: * Actual Numb of MFI provi ber ided with bank l loans would be lower, as severa MFI availed l al loans from more than one bank e k

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#: Figure in parenthese indicate the as es es ssistance of SID to MFI. DBI Source: Annual Report 2010-11 NABARD. S 1, crore (19.8%) (N c NABARD,2009 The progress of Micro-finance Programme i India is show in Table 1.6.( 9). in wn (i). NABAR RDs SHG-Bank Linkage progra k amme witnessed a significant p d progress in the r recent past. As o March10 a s on sum total of 69,53,250 SHG were having 6 Gs 6198.71 cro savings with banks. The gro ore h owth rate is 13. .6% and 11.8% respectively. T agencyThe wise w financed to number of SH under microf o HG finance through SHG-Bank Lin h nkage model du uring the last thr years has been given as ree under [table 1.6.(ii)]. u TA ABLE 1.6.(II) JournalofAsianResearchConsortium149 http://www.aijsh.org AGENCY-W WISE NO. OF SHG FINANC CED ( ing Duri 2004-2005 SHG Gs Agency A CBs C RRBs R Coops. C Total T No. 3,05,051 1,57 7,848 76,4 466 539,365 % 57 29 14 100 Bank Loan B Amount A 19,042 8,213 2,687 2 29,942 2 % 64 27 9 100 0 During 2008 8-09 SHGs No. 10,04,587 4,05,569 1,99,430 16,09586 % 62.4 25.2 12.4 100 Bank Loan Amou unt 8060.53 3193.49 999.49 12253 3.51 % 65.8 26.1 8.2 100 IN CR RORE) During 2009-10 D 0 SHGs No. N 9,77,521 3,76,797 2,32,504 2 1586822 % 61 1.6 23 3.7 14 4.7 10 00 Bank Loan n Amount 9780.18 3333.2 1339.92 14453.3 % 67.7 23.1 9.3 100

Source: NABAR S RD

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AsianJourn nalofResearchinBusinessEcon nomicsandMan nagement Vol.2Issue4,April2012,IS SSN22497307

1.7

PROFILE OF SHGS IN LAKHIMP P O N PUR DISTR RICT

The stud district La dy akhimpur is a economic cally backward and zero industry d o district of As ssam. Lakhimp district is situated in the north e corner o Assam. To geograp pur s n east of otal phical area o the of district is 2277 sq.k km., out of which 20 sqkm. urban. The total population of the distr is rict 10,40,644 as per cen 4 nsus 2011 (p provisional). But accordi to 2001 census the p ing population o the of district is 8,89,010 out of which 68.69 perc s o h cent lived in rural areas having 118 villages i the n 85 in district. The district has two su ub-divisions namely No orth Lakhim mpur and Dh hakuakhana subd orth Lakhim mpur sub-div vision consi ists of 7 (se even) division and nine development blocks. No ment blocks namely Nar rayanpur, Bihpuria, Karu unabari , No owboicha, Te elahi, Lakhimpur developm and Bog ginadi. On the other han Dhakuak t nd, khana sub-d division cons sists of 2 (tw develop wo) pment blocks na amely Ghilam mora and Dh hakuakhana (Provisiona Census, 20 al 011). In the st tudy district Asomi, RG GVN, and B Bandhan are the major performing MFIs with their e branch o offices in th district. T Asomi a RGVN which beco he The and ome Non Banking Fina ancial Company (NBFC) in the name o Asomi Fin y n of nance Pvt. Lt and Nort Eastern M td. th Micro Finance Co. respectiv vely have been continuin their micr finance ac ng ro ctivities in t district. T Bandhan has the The n recently started their activities in the district. The Asom has financ more th 80 SHGs and r n mi ced han s disbursed more than of d 61,57,000/- loan w within the di istrict till September2010 Asomi Fin nance Pvt. Ltd., Lakhimpur Branch).Th RGVN has financed more than 5 SHGs an Joint Liab r he 500 nd bility Groups ( (JLG) and disbursed m d more than 2.5 cor of loan till Septemb res ber2010 (RG GVN, Lakhimp branch). On the oth hand the District Ru Develop pur her e ural pment Agen (DRDA has ncy A) financially assisted 10569 num mbers of SH HGs and inc curred expe enditure of 571.22 upto March20 011. A sizable number o Micro ent of terprises are also growin in the stu district b ng udy based on micro finance to SHG. (DRD Lakhimp o S DA, pur). There a numbers of NGOs vi Dicrong V are iz. Velly Environm ment and Ru Develop ural pment (DVE ERDS), Sarbu Gram Sew Sangha, D u wa Dony Polo Y Youth Society e acting as Self Help Promoting Institution ( etc. a (SHPI) unde the guidan and fina er nce ancial assistanc of NABARD. Nationa ce alized Banks and Grami Bikas Ban of the stu s in nk udy district also t have been providing guidance a financial assistant to the SHGs. and l o ck ysical progre of SHGs under DRD of Lakh ess s DA himpur distr during 1 rict 1999The bloc wise phy march-20 011are given in table 1.7 n 7.(i).

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AsianJournalofResearchinBusinessEconomicsandManagement Vol.2Issue4,April2012,ISSN22497307

TABLE-1.7.(I) BLOCK WISE PHYSICAL PROGRESS OF SHGS UNDER DRDA OF LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT DURING 1999- MARCH2011 No. of SHGs formed Name Block of Total since 1999 Narayanpur Bihpuria Karunabari Nowboicha Telahi JournalofAsianResearchConsortium151 http://www.aijsh.org Lakhimpur Baginadi Ghilamora Dhakuakhana Total 1599 586 1644 2112 1357 884 810 653 924 10569 No of SHGs that No of SHGs that No. of Women have passed have passed SHGs formed Grade-I Grade-II During the current Total year upto since the month 1999 143 37 100 197 77 77 34 29 39 733 190 134 256 390 245 209 170 108 211 1913 During During the the current Total current year upto since year upto the month 1999 the month 33 19 44 47 18 44 30 15 31 281 1025 344 875 1158 972 402 353 425 626 6180 0 32 65 206 6 68 142 21 85 625

During the current year Total upto the since month 1999 120 69 95 247 10 97 324 32 107 1101 762 353 804 1662 981 522 434 341 455 6314

Source: DRDA, Lakhimpur. The table-1.7.(i) shows the Block wise physical progress of SHGs under DRDA of Lakhimpur district. Among the nine development blocks Nowbaicha block is with the highest number of SHGs (2112) and Bihpuria block is the lowest number of SHGs (586). During the year no women SHG is assisted in the Narayanpur development block.

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1.8

SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF THE RESPONDENTS

Social class, family size, marital status, education, age and rate of interest etc are some of the variables that affect the rural people particularly the women in their socio-economic development. Table 1.8.(i) shows the socio-economic profile of the respondents. TABLE 1.8.(I) SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF THE RESPONDENTS Sl. No. Background Community: i. General & others ii. Schedule Caste iii. Schedule Tribes Total Family size i. Small ( 2-4) ii. Medium (4-6) iii. Big (6 and above) Total Marital Status i. Married ii. Unmarried iii. Widow Total Educational Qualification i. Illiterate ii. Below HSLC iii. HSLC pass iv. H.S. v. Graduate Total Age Group: i. 18-25 ii. 26-35 iii. 36-45 iv. 46-55 v. 56-65 Total Sources of information i. NGOs ii. SHPI No. of Respondents Percentage 160 25 65 250 48 117 85 250 189 48 13 250 22 93 68 43 24 250 28 65 51 58 48 250 29 32 64 10 26 100 19.2 46.8 34 100 75.6 19.2 5.2 100 8.8 37.2 27.2 17.2 9.6 100 11.2 26 20.4 23.2 19.2 100 11.6 12.8

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iii. Friends iv. Neighbors Total Rate of Interest i. 12 & above ii. 11 7 iii. 10 iv. 09 Total Opinion on the Interest Rate i. Very High 8 ii. High iii. Moderate iv. low Total Status of Respondents 9 i. House Wife ii. Self-Employments iii. Labour Total Source: Field Survey

107 82 250 21 131 58 40 250 20 83 123 24 250 134 86 30 250

42.8 32.8 100 8.4 52.4 23.2 16 100 8 33.2 49.2 9.6 100 53.6 34.4 12.0 100

Highest number of group member hails from general & other class representing 64 percent followed by Scheduled Tribes (26%) and Scheduled Caste (10%). JournalofAsianResearchConsortium153 http://www.aijsh.org 117 respondents have medium size family (4-6) representing 46.8 percent, whereas only 19.2 percent have small size family members. Most of the respondents were reported as married representing 75.6 percent (189 out of 250). 19.2 percent and 5.2 percent respondents were unmarried and widow women respectively. Very few respondents were found poor in terms of education and literacy development. Only 8.8 percent respondents were reported to be illiterate. But educated respondents were reported as 91.2 percent. 26 percent respondents (64 out of 250) were in the age group of 26-35 years and more than half (134 out of 250) respondents representing 53.6 percent were reported to be house wife. 152 respondents representing 60.8 percent are paying more than 11% interest on their borrowings. 98 respondents (39.2 percent) paying less than 10% rate of interest. 58.8 percentages of respondents were satisfied with existing rate of interest while 103 respondents representing 41.2 percent felt as high rate of interest.

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AsianJournalofResearchinBusinessEconomicsandManagement Vol.2Issue4,April2012,ISSN22497307

1.9

PARTICIPATION OF THE RESPONDENTS IN GROUP FUNCTIONING

The participation of the respondents particularly the women in their groups involving in various activities is shown in table 1.9. (i). 44 percent of respondents were joint in SHGs during 2005-2007. 75 members representing 30 percent formed in the year 2008 and 65 womens were joined after 2009. 175 respondents out of 250 representing 70 percent reveals that NGOs/Govt. officers and friends were the main motivators to join the group, whereas only 16 percent were the self motivated group members. 150 out of 250 respondents (60 percent) were ordinary group members while 30 percent and 10 percent members are acting as representatives and leaders of the groups respectively.

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AsianJournalofResearchinBusinessEconomicsandManagement Vol.2Issue4,April2012,ISSN22497307

TABLE 1.9. (I) PARTICIPATION OF RESPONDENTS Sl. No. Factors Joining in the SHGs i. 2005-2007 ii. 2008 iii. 2009 1 iv. 2010 Total Motivation to Join Group i. Self ii. Family Members iii. Friends 2 iv. NGOs/Govt. Officers Total Position in Group i. Ordinary members ii. Representatives 3 iii. Leader Total Frequency of Group Meetings i. Weekly ii. Fortnightly 4 iii. Monthly Total Participation in the Group Meeting i. Regularly 5 ii. Occasionally Total Source: Field survey No. of Respondents percentage 110 75 50 15 250 40 35 70 105 250 150 75 25 250 190 55 5 250 225 25 250 44 30 20 6 100 16 14 28 42 100 60 30 10 100 76 22 2 100 90 10 100

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190 respondents out of 250 representing 76 percent conveyed SHGs have been conducting weekly meetings. 1.10 INCOME STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS IN PRE-SHG AND POST-SHG PERIOD The income status of the respondents in Pre-SHG and Post-SHG period are analyse through table 1.10.(i).

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It is inferred that before joining SHG 15.6% of th responden were no income and none t t G he nts of the respon ndent had in ncome more than e 20 000/-.But aft joining S fter SHG there is no espondent without any income and 6% of the respondents crossed th income level w d s heir re ab bove 200 00/-.

TAB BLE-1.10. (I I) ME US E DENTS IN P PRE-SHG A AND POST-SHG STAG GE INCOM STATU OF THE RESPOND Monthly income ( No incom me Up to 1000 1001-150 00 1501-200 00 Above 20 000 Total Source: F Field survey. JournalofAsianResearchConsortium156 http://www.aijsh.org 138 responde out of 2 represen ents 250 nting 55.2 pe ercent have monthly inc come of 2000 after joi ining the gro oup. 1.11 IN NTERPRET TATIONS 10011 .) Pre-SHG 39 (15.6) 73 (29.2) 98 (39.2) 40 (16) nil 250 (100) Po ost-SHG Ni il 85 (34) 5 94 4(37.6) 56 6(22.4) 15 (6 ) 5 25 (100) 50

The majo interpretat or tions of the s study are sum mmerised as follows: s Any A person who is unem w mployed can become m n member of th SHGs as there is no age he s o cr riterion for SHG membe S ership. SHG member rship is for u unemployed and it is not for a specif age group education level t fic p, an even for a caste. nd Micro financ is directly oriented to the rural poor, as around 80 percent of the M ce 0 re espondents are below po a overty line. The T groups ch hange the at ttitude of the women like housekeep to organi e per iser, manage and er decision mak ker.

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After joining SHG the income levels of the respondents have increased and with the help of increased income level they could overcome the poverty. Loan facility is available for all the members without any restriction. Thus SHGs are formed with the idea of mobilizing small savings from the members. SHGs are not treated as financial system but they are formed with a view to social and economic change of the rural people especially for the rural women. 1.12 SUGGESTIONS

Based on the present study, the following suggestions are made: Proper emphasis should be given to group lending and SHGs formulation for alleviate poverty. In avoiding of any misuse of money, there should be a need of proper regulating authority at each level such as saving, depositing, and money lending. Periodical training programme at regular intervals to group members may be organised by the NGOs and other Government officials to aware about bank loan, proper accounts keeping, self management, decision making etc. Attendance at meeting and workshops should be made mandatory so that the members can enhance their group cohesiveness. Women should be properly educated so that they will enhance the capability to manage communities and community projects. The NGOs and the State government must also monitor at a regular interval the overall performance of SHGs and the members included in it. There is a need for establishing a computerized MIS for SHGs and SHG federations to monitor their performance on a regular basis. 1.13 CONCLUSIONS

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Microfinance is playing a significant role in alleviate poverty and rural development. Since women are the sole family caretaker, proper emphasis should be given to the rural women and for empowering the rural women finance is required. Microfinance to the rural SHGs is a way to raise the income level and improve the living standards of the rural women. The Self Help Groups have proved the way for economic independence of rural women. Thus, it can be concluded that the self help groups contribute substantially in pushing the conditions of the female population up and through that chip in poverty eradication as well. REFERENCES

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Borman Ratan and Chanu A. Ibemcha ,(2009),A study on some issues of microfinance programme in India, DGCCSs Journal of Commerce, vol. VI, no. 1, pp.58-68. Census data 2011 of Lakhimpur District, Country Focus: India: Assam: Lakhimpur District: District Profile, http://lakhimpur.nic.in/profile.htm , on 20th November 2011. Dhar P.K.,(2005), The economy of Assam including Economy of North-East India, chapter 3, Kalyani publishers, New Delhi. K. Sivachithappa,(2008), Success story of Poverty Alliviation Through Self-Help Groups, Kurukshetra, Journal on Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development, New Delhi, vol. 57 No. 2, December, pp.35-38. K. G. Karmarkar,(1999), Rural Credit and SHGs Microfinance Needs and Concepts in India, Sage Publication, New Delhi. Kour Amarjit, (2008), Self-Help-Group (SHG) and Rural Development, Kurukshetra, Journal on Rural Development, Vol.57, No. 2, December, pp. 25-29. Muhammad Anu, (2009), Grameen and Microcredit- a tale of Corporate Success, Economic & Political weekly, A sameeksha Trust Publication, vol. XLIV, no. 35, August, pp. 35-42. NABARD, (1999),Task Force Report on Supportive Policy and Regulatory Framework for Microfinance, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mumbai. NABARD (2007), Progress of SHG-Bank Linkage in India 2006-07. JournalofAsianResearchConsortium158 http://www.aijsh.org NABARD (2010), Progress of SHG-Bank Linkage in India 2009-10. NABARD (2010), Status of Micro finance in India 2009-10. Ramachandran T. and Balakrishnan S.,(2008), Impact of Self-Help Groups on Womens empowerment- A study in Kanyakumari District, Kurukshetra, Journal of Rural Development, Vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 31-34. Rao G.V. Jagapathi., (2010), Micro financing- a boon for the Poor, The Indian Journal of Commerce, Vol. 63, no. 1, January-March, pp. 81-88. Reddy, C.S. and Manak, S.,(2005), Self-Help-Groups: A keystone of microfinance in Indiawomen empowerment & social security, Mahila Abhivruddhi Society, Andhra Pradesh (APMAS), Hyderabad, October, pp. 3-19. Singh N. Tejmani, (2009)Microfinance practices in India: an overview, International Review of Business Research Papers, Vol. 5, No. 5, September, pp. 131-146.

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Singh S. Dilan,(2010), Saving approaches of Self-Help Group Members- a study with reference to Manipur, Prajnan, Journal of Social and Management sciences, vol. XXXIX, no. 1, April, pp.29-39. Subrahmanyam N.,(2009), Microfinance and SHG-Bank Linkage: Regional analysis and perspectives, Prajnan, Journal of Social and Management Sciences, vol. XXXVIII, no. 3, December, pp. 183-202. Tangirala, H.S.K.,(2008), SHG is a tool of Economic Development of Co-operatives and its members, Kurukshetra, Journal on Rural Development, Vol.57, No. 2, December, pp.22-24. Verma Renu, (2008),Microfinance and Empowerment of Rural Women, Kurukshetra, Journal of Rural Development, vol. 56, no. 11, September, pp. 3-5. Vinayagamoorthy A. and Vijoy Pithadia, (2003), Women empowerment through SHG: A case study in the Tamil Nadu, Indian Journal of Marketing, Vol. XXXVII No. 11. Yunus, M., (2002), Gramin Bank 11: Design to Open New Possibilities, www.grameeninfo.org. 16th June 2010. Yunus Mohammad, (2004), Grameen Bank-micro credit and millennium development goals, Economics and Political Weekly, vol. 39.

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