Self-Help Groups

Agartala, Feb 10:Self Help Groups in Tripura are leading the way for women in India. Shipra Acharya works with the Self-Help Groups (SHG) in the Indiranagar area in the West Tripura District of Tripura had struggled a lot after her husband passed away.

It became impossible for her to run the family and her child’s education but after joining SHG, she got some support and now she alone manages her expenses by packaging the tea bags and selling them to the markets.

While sharing her part of the story Shipra Acharya who is associated with the SHG said, “when I had first moved to Tripura, the entire region was covered with jungle. However, since the Modi government took office, a lot of development has taken place. Since my spouse passed away three years back, I have been working in other people’s homes, and I have never had any issues making late-night returns. My husband leaves me alone with a son, who is enrolled in college. This causes some anguish, but the Modi government has greatly assisted us. We receive rations from the Modi government and have also recently joined a self-help group. I packed the tea bags and sell them at the market. I earn three and four thousand every month out of it.”

Small, impoverished groups of people form Self Help Groups (SHGs). An SHG’s members deal with similar issues. They support one another in problem-solving. SHG encourages its members to make modest savings.

The bank is where the savings are maintained. This is the common fund under the SHG’s name. The SHG uses its common money to make small loans to its members.

The SHG movement in India started in the 1980s when several non-government organizations organized and mobilized impoverished rural communities and provided them with institutional avenues for social and financial support.

For 25 years women have been working for the family, but since the Modi government took office, women got involved in numerous projects through self-help groups. Making an earning of four to five thousand a month is not difficult; it happens easily, said Sangeeta Debroy, the president of Self Helf Group in Indiranagar.

Sangeeta informs that “I’ve been a member of the SHG group for two years, and I’ve spent the last six months working at the GP Gramin Bank LTT branch. We handle the task of opening new accounts and obtaining loans for women. As a result of the fact that we have 30 groups overall with 10 women in each group, we are affiliated with 300 women in total. We all participate in field trips. Our current government has advanced us greatly through self-help groups and has made significant progress and women are quite satisfied with them while the former government did nothing for the women. For the past many years, we have been only doing household chores and taking care of the family but since the Modi government came into power, we have become involved in numerous projects through SHG and earn a good income out of it”.

Self-Help Groups

“Bamboo crafts are created, tea leaves are packaged, and we have some women in our rural village who make LED lights. There is a lot of work being done, and different groups are working on various tasks. Additionally, dried fruit processing and other related tasks are carried out here. Each group works on a separate project under SHG and by doing this they can easily earn 5000 to 8000 per month and help their family and in their child’s education”, further told by Sangeeta Debroy.

Tripura Forest Environmental Improvement and Poverty Alleviation Project (TFIPAP) popularly known as the ‘Tripura JICA Project’ is an Externally Aided Project (EAP) implemented in 7 (seven) Districts and 40 (forty) Blocks of Tripura State since 2007 through 463 Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) with the financial assistance from the Government of Japan.

“For the previous ten years, I used to cook at home. However, after joining an SHG group, now I pack and sell tea leaves on my own. I am now content with the fact that I am now receiving money for my expenses as a result of doing this. I can use the money I earn for myself without having to ask my husband for money”, Sandhya Deb, one of the workers of SHG, Tripura.

How is SHG used to organize people?

A local with some education who is also friendly must first assist the underprivileged in organizing into groups. He or she educates them on the advantages of group formation and practicing thrift. This individual is referred to as an “animator” or “facilitator.”

The animator is typically already well-known in the neighborhood.

Women animators can organize women’s SHGs more successfully. The groups cannot be organized by the animator on their own. He or she will require direction, instruction, books, etc.

In the current Financial Year, up to 28th February 2022, against the target of 7.80 lakh SHGs, 5.43 lakh SHGs have been formed and cumulatively.

A total of 74.80 lakh SHGs have been formed across the country (except Delhi and Chandigarh) under DAY-NRLM.

Swapna Debnath who works under SHG in Tripura mentioned that “I make LED lights and Self-Help Group has provided her a loan for the same. There has been a severe economic problem before, but after joining SHG, her life has changed and she is earning quite good out of that work and her confidence has grown.”

Self-Help Groups

All you need to know about Self-Help Groups (SHGs)

The ideal size of an SHG is 10 to 20 members. (In a bigger group, members cannot actively participate. Legally it is required that an informal group should not be of more than 20). The group normally consists of either only men or only women.

Mixed groups are generally not preferred. Women’s groups are generally found to perform better. The group should meet regularly. Ideally, the meetings should be weekly or at least monthly. Membership register, minutes register, etc., are to be kept up to date by the group by making the entries regularly. Simple and clear books for all transactions to be maintained.

The Project envisages achieving environmental improvement through afforestation, soil and water conservation, biodiversity conservation, and poverty alleviation of the Forest dwellers through 1,400 Self Help Groups (SHGs) formed within the Joint Forest Management Committees (JFM).

The total Project cost is Rs.367.00 crores, of this, major expenditure goes to employment generation to the poorest of the poor families in the most interior pockets of the State. The Project caters to the socio-economic development of 40,000 families in the Forest areas.

Gopa Devnath, associated with SHG said that “I do the work of making LED lights here. After finishing my household chores, I do this work. And whatever income is earned from this work and whatever my husband earns, we run our house together. When I got married and came here, there was no electricity here, but now there are electric lamp poles on the roads and electricity has come into every house. Clean water is also coming in all the houses, the government has done a lot for us.”

Self-Help Groups

Significance of the SHGs

  • SHGs play a crucial role in overcoming social evils like alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, etc.
  • Women SHGs make their members independent from social constraints and allow them to make independent decisions.
  • They can even actively participate in the gram Sabha.
  • SHGs can actively participate in the aspects of local governance. This would mean the inclusion of weaker and marginalized sections of society in the local governance.

This project has given wings to the people, Beauti Debnath said that “I can spend what I earn from this job, help my family, and also do something for my child’s education. I have been doing this for a long time today. This work has been started with a loan from SGH Group. Women have been given such an opportunity, we can do something out of it, we can help the family, we are improving, we are very happy, this money is helping our children and education.”

PM Modi’s dream is to see women become independent through SHG initiatives: Pratima Bhowmik

While talking to NorthEast Rising, First Lady Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik said “in a recent interview that in this budget session, she espouse the best for women. To make India self-sufficient, we need independent women. Rs 79,000 has been set aside for a self-help organization that would educate and empower women. Women will receive loans at reasonable interest rates ranging from Rs20,000 to Rs 20,000,000. Every house in Tripura would have a job because of this. India will become independent if women achieve their independence. The budget reflects the dreams of our prime minister.”

Economic Survey on Self-Help Groups for 2022–2023

According to the Economic Survey 2023, with 75% of women workers in rural India involved in agriculture, there was a need to upskill them and seek employment for them in allied industries like food processing. Self Help Groups (SHG) might play a crucial role in this.

The women-led self-help groups (SHG), which disburse billions of rupees annually, are specifically mentioned in the Economic Survey 2022-2023, which was delivered by the Union finance minister to Parliament on January 31.

India boasts 12 million SHGs, 88% of which are made up entirely of women. These teams often have 20 to 25 members, the majority of whom are village dwellers. As part of the SHG Bank Linkage Project or SHG-BLP, these organizations were connected to banks in 1992 to receive small loans for pursuing livelihood opportunities like raising cattle or establishing a tailoring business.

Self-Help Groups

These organizations will run what is thought to be the largest microfinance initiative in the world by 2022. Data from the Economic Survey 2022–2023 indicate that 142 million families are covered by SHG–BLP, with savings deposits totaling Rs 47,240 crore.


Also Read: Watch | Tripura’s bamboo industry receives huge boost; Artisans yet to get the profit

Information contained in the economic survey

Numerous times throughout the Economic Survey 2022–2023 report, it was stated that India’s commercial banks have sound balance sheets. Large-scale waiving off of non-performing loans is mostly to blame for this.

  • Over the past ten years (FY13 to FY22), the number of SHGs that are credit connected has increased at a CAGR of 10.8%, while the amount of credit disbursed per SHG has increased at a CAGR of 5.7%.
  • Notably, SHGs’ bank repayment rate exceeds 96%, demonstrating their sound credit practices and dependability.
  • It should be emphasized that the agriculture industry employs more than 75% of rural female workers.
  • This suggests that women need to get new skills and find employment in industries related to agriculture, such as food processing. In this situation, self-help groups (SHGs) can be extremely important in transforming the potential of rural women into tangible developmental outcomes including financial inclusion, livelihood diversification, and skill development.

States throughout the nation have declared special economic packages for SHGs as a part of comprehensive livelihood development initiatives. The government has set a goal of raising each SHG’s income to Rs 1 lakh by 2024 under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). The main tactic is microfinance coupled with livelihood improvement.

Under the COVID-19 pandemic stimulus plan, the government raised the cap on collateral-free loans for SHGs in 2021 from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. According to reports, this helped 68.5 million households and 6.3 million women’s SHGs.