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Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

National Rural Mission to link one woman from every poor family to SHGs
-The Hindu
 
“Need for regulatory space for MFIs so they function without affecting SHGs”

The National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) would connect at least one woman from every poor household across the country with self-help groups (SHGs) in five years, Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said on Friday.

“The objective of the programme is to ensure that in a five-year period one woman from every poor household becomes a member of SHG. Today we have three crore women who are members of SHGs, and we have to raise it to seven crore in five years,” Mr. Ramesh said.

“By the end of five years, one woman from every poor household will be SHG member. The programme is for rural Below Poverty Line (BPL) households, but I am in the process to remove this restriction between the BPL and poor,” the Minister said while delivering valedictory address on Micro-Finance and Livelihoods here.

Emphasising upon a flexible structure of guidelines in government programmes, Mr. Ramesh said operation guidelines for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme are being revised. “Flexibility is required to take into account the special requirements of the States. Very soon, we will be revising the operational guidelines for MGNREGS,” he said.

The Minister also underlined the need to create a regulatory space for micro-finance institutions (MFIs) so that they can function efficiently without adversely impacting the functions of SHGs.

Calling for leveraging the advantages of both MFIs and SHGs, he said they should be encouraged to produce social capital goods.

“Micro-finance cannot provide a definite answer to the challenges of poverty alleviation, but it can lead to financial inclusion by providing credit to the customer as per his own needs,” he said.

Referring to the SHG scenario in Rajasthan, he said there is still an enormous scope for growth in this sector as the major share of bank credits for SHGs is claimed by southern States.

“Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala account for 75% to 80% of the money provided by banks for supporting SHGs. Strong SHG network is a phenomena seen in south India and it is a challenge for us to make it pan-India feature,” he said.

The valedictory session of the two-day colloquium on Micro-finance and Livelihoods on the theme of “Enabling Poor, Impacting Lives” was also addressed by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) chairman Prakash Bakshi, who called for a change in the role of SHGs with the changing external environment.

Later in the day, Mr. Ramesh held a meeting with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. He told Mr. Gehlot that Rs.8,000 will now be given instead of Rs.3,200 to poor families in Rajasthan for constructing toilets under a sanitation programme.

Both leaders also discussed issues related with rural development and panchayati raj at the meeting in which senior State officials were also present. — PTI

Economists see a new role for micro-finance

Special Correspondent adds:

Micro-finance practitioners and financial experts participating in the colloquium threw new light on micro-credit, SHGs and marketing of products and services as crucial factors for chartering the course from micro-finance to livelihood promotion for lakhs of poor households across the country. Experts made important suggestions for expanding the SHG movement from savings and credit operations to creation of sustainable livelihood opportunities through some ground-breaking initiatives.

The two-day colloquium was organised jointly by Jaipur-based Centre for Micro Finance (CMF) in collaboration with Rajasthan Gramin Ajeevika Vikas Parishad.

Eminent economist and Rajasthan State Planning Board Deputy Chairman V. S. Vyas, who inaugurated the event, said the nationalisation of banks in 1969 had prompted them to address the needs of the rural poor and created an atmosphere leading to inclusive banking. Describing credit as a potent instrument for development and poverty alleviation, he emphasised the need to “graduate from micro-finance to livelihoods”.

Sir Ratan Tata Trust secretary F.J. Gandavia said the Mumbai-based Sir Ratan Tata Trust was supporting the livelihood promotion activities for the past 10 years and suggested that clusters and federations of SHGs be formed in the rural areas to get better results of their activities.

Centre for Microfinance chairman Anil K. Khandelwal said the potential of the SHG sector was very high and it could revolutionise the entire concept of poverty alleviation at the grassroots. He said the quality of SHGs should be improved and attention shifted from merely increasing their number.