Minor Research Project : Executive Summary

"Micro-Finance for Women Self Help Group : An Empirical Study of Madhya Pradesh"

Minor Research Project
Funded by U.G.C.
F.No.: MH-93/102054/15-16-CRO/Gen
2016 - 2018

Introduction

Self Help Groups (SHGs) are considered as one of the most significant tools to adopt participatory approach for the economic empowerment of women, SHG is a group of people that meets regularly to discuss issues of interest to them and to look at solutions of commonly experienced problems. The group may or may not be promoted by Government or non-Government institutions. SHG is a holistic programme of micro-enterprises covering all aspects of self-employment, organization of the rural poor into self Help groups and their capacity building, planning of activity clusters, infrastructure build up, technology, credit and marketing. It lays emphasis on activity clusters based on the resources and the occupational skills of the people and availability of markets. SHG is a group formed by the community women, which has specific number of members like 15 or 20. In such a group the poorest women would come together for emergency, disaster, social reasons, economic support to each other have ease of conversation, social interaction and economic interaction. A SHG is an informal association to enhance the member’s financial security as primary focus and other common interest of members such as area development, awareness, motivation, leadership, training and associating in other social inter-mediation programmes for the benefit of the entire community.

The concept of microfinance entails provision of financial services to the poor, and is commonly used as a rural development initiative. Microfinance includes financial services such as microcredit, microsavings, and micro -insurance, and since the early 1990s, microfinance institutions (MFIs) also provide nonfinancial services such as literacy education, business training, and skills development. In an attempt to reach the poorest and most remote women, MFIs introduced the microfinance delivery method self-help groups (SHGs).

In old times money lenders were the only source who provide loans to poor from their own resources. The origins of microfinance were introduced before 1900. After independence, India faced an underdeveloped economy, high levels of indebtedness and lack of efficient financial services. India was searching for new financial approaches to reach the poor due. Due to indebtedness and lack of access to formal 151 credit independent India added Steel banking to the spectrum; nationalising commercial bank, expanding their branch network, cooperative banks and adding a network of regional rural banks as well as microfinance services to the poor. Microfinance offers a promising institutional structure to provide access to credit to the poor in India. Over the last years, microfinance has saved successfully and has good experiences in providing finance Tripura for income generating activities, small entrepreneur development and livelihood of poor people in India as well as in Madhya Pradesh better.

In India the poor have meagre holdings or access to land, little or no capital and offfarm employment is seasonal. It is almost impossible for farmers to secure credit and loans needed to purchase agricultural inputs except at prohibitive rates from private money lenders leading to risk prone farming. Markets area underdeveloped or difficult to access. Extension services Few and far between, main and development initiatives aimed specifically at their needs is sparse.

Further few employment opportunities and low level of education and skill results in low cash incomes. This intern affects ability to purchase basic needs such as medicines, education for children etc. Women and children in particular are the hardest hit especially when access to safe and adequate source of resources are low, resulting in high vulnerability in terms of health. The women are the most affected in such situations. They have to face the brunt both socially and economically.

Madhya Pradesh is a predominantly rural state and most of its population depends on agriculture and natural resources for their sustenance. Over time with population increase, natural resources particular land has become scarcer. Hence, those who are fortunate to have relatively larger land holdings with access to education and also perhaps education and other resources could improve their economic status. The rest continue to remain where they were or suffered deterioration in their economic as well as social status. As employment in farms and earning through agriculture has become scarce in villages, large number of people has started migrating to the cities in search of regular employment. The cities have become overburdened and cannot provide regular employment to all the people. Such people thrive on petty jobs and this situation drives them into to further poverty. The women at home at the mercy of the breadwinners and have to sustain with whatever little is available. Since they are not the main breadwinners of the family they have little say in the affairs of the family. They have become an instrument of exploitation and ultimately they feel over burdened with fulfilling others desires.

In the state of Madhya Pradesh microfinance and microcredit opportunities are mainly available through self help groups. viable community based solutions lakh the access to cheap institutionalize credit for the poor. The SHG-bank linkage programme was started as a pilot project by NABARD in 1992. The microfinance services are promoted to poor for small business activities. On behalf of microfinance, the state government also took some major initiative scheme. It was an effort to provide better livelihood to the poor, generate income and, boost productivity through enhance credit flow.

Access to financial services is a key elements process of socio economic empowerment. Micro finance encompasses the provision of broad range of services such as deposits, loans, promote savings, payment services, money transfer and insurance products to poor and low income households and micro enterprises. Microfinance allows replacement of high cost deaths from informal sources, thereby increasing disposable income. It inculcates financial discipline, resulting in ownership of assets and enhances the ability to withstand shock due to access to saving products, credits and insurance. In lower income groups with an inadequate institutional infrastructure, microfinance is an important development tool and has helped expand the depth of financial services. Micro finance is a model that seeks to provide financial services to the poor population in a viable and sustainable manner. Microcredit programmes have been depicted as an efficient tool not only for alleviating poverty but also for empowering women and fostering equality in society. It is a fact that women invest n families more than the men. Empowering the women helps uplift the family out of poverty. Women are the major target of microfinance companies because it is found that these programmes helped women to meet their practical gender needs; like buying food, educating children, repaying debt, and getting health care, the programmes also enable them to meet their strategic gender needs; financial security, individual dignity, and peace in the household. The present study is an effort to study the micro-finance for women self help groups of Madhya Pradesh.

Need and Importance of the Study

Self-help groups (SHGs) form the basic constituent unit of microfinance movement in India (Chakrabarti, 2004). Experiments in various developing countries have shown that the poor can be helped by organising them into small SHGs. To address the roots of poverty, women are considered the best agents. Hence, women SGHs have become the ray of hope to developmental practitioners. The SHGs employ a group-based approach that enables poor women to accumulate capital by way of small savings and facilitating their access to formal credit facilities (Shylendra, 1998). The concept of joint lending liability embedded in the SHGs enables the members to overcome the problem of collateral security, a major barrier to obtaining credit from formal institutions. It also leads to peer monitoring which improves the rate of loan recoveries (Stiglitz, 1993).

Some of the basic characteristics of SHGs such as small membership size and homogeneity of composition result in cohesiveness and effective participation of members in the functioning of the group (Fernandez, 1994). According to A. Rahman, (1999), there are three objectives of microcredit: first, increasing women’s access to credit is expected to increase their earning capabilities resulting in improvement in their socio-economic conditions and greater respect for them in the household; second, women form the majority of the world’s poorest. In its Human Development Report, the UNDP (1997) stated that almost 70% of the 1.3 billion people living on less than USD1 a day are women and Women face a higher rate of unemployment and are relatively more disadvantaged than men. Generally, women are paid smaller wages and are involved in informal work compared with men. In order to improve their economic and social conditions, women need effective access to financial services. Third, organising women into groups tends to improve their group solidarity thus, strengthening their socio-economic empowerment. By focusing on women and supporting them, microcredit becomes an effective empowering tool. In general, SHGs have been able to reach out to the poor, especially women, effectively and help them obtain easy access to facilities such as savings and credit.

Although policymakers and non-government organisations view SHGs as an instrument of change which increases socio-economic empowerment of women, evidence on the ground and empirical data on the success of SHGs are mixed. The 154 findings by Pitt and Khandher (1998), Khandher (2005), Schuler, Hashemi, Riley and Akhter (1996), Hashemi (1997); Mosley (2001); B. E. Coleman (2006); Datta (2004) and T. Islam (2007) show that microcredits are successful in elevating the socio- economic status of women. Works by Puhazhendi and Satyasai, (2001), Swain and Varghese (2009); Nagayya (2000); Rajeshwari (2002); and Vijayanthi, (2002) illustrated that despite the lack of resources, programmes implemented by SHGs have been quite efficient in improving socio-economic standing and empowerment of their beneficiaries. On the other hand, Abhjit Banerjee (2009), Hashemi (1996), Deininger (2009), R. Rahman (1999) say that the success of the programme has been highly inflated. Other studies (Bhat, 2002; Linda Mayoux, 2000; L Mayoux, 2002; Rao, 2002) highlight savings and credit for economic activities that improve the income and asset accumulations of women. Studies by Garikipati, (2008); Kabeer, (2001); Mayoux, (2000, 2001) show that an empowered woman who invests money in self owned enterprise, uses the income to improve the nutritional status of her family, educates her children and begins to actively participate in her family decision- makings (Ackerly, 1995; Hashemi, 1996; Hulme, 1996; Rahman 1999 ). This has led to greater respect for women within the households (Kabeer, 2001; Kumar, 2009) ; increase in their mobility, ability to articulate, self-confidence and esteem (Hashemi, 1996; Husain, Mukerjee and Dutta, 2012; Krishnaraj and Kay, 2002; Putnam, 2000) and; growth of collective identity and political awareness (Hashemi S.M., 1996). The incidence of violence against women has decreased to a great extent (Hashemi S.M., 1996; Husain et al., 2012). The SHGs, via microcredit, has played an important role in lessening the susceptibility of the poor towards poverty via the creation of assets, increasing income, and consumption by providing emergency assistance and empowerment and restoring confidence in women to take control of their assets (Umashankar, 2006). The IFAD report on mainstreaming gender found increased levels of self-confidence and self-esteem among women along with a capacity to articulate their needs and a rise in respect in their households. The studies by Paromita (2007), Razvi (2006), Jakimow and Kilby (2006), Reddy and Manak (2005), Vijayanthi (2002) showed positive impact on empowerment of women. It can be concluded that the common indicator used in microcredit for women’s empowerment are control over loans, decision-making abilities and mobility outside the household. It is widely perceived 155 that if women can achieve autonomy in these facets of their lives through access to microcredit, then the structures of inequality contributing to women’s subordination can be broken down. Undoubtedly, such indicators are useful in understanding the impact of microcredit in the process of empowerment. Empowerment can be seen in the context of individual development, group development, or the local community or issues related to the gender and politics. It is worth mentioning that the outcome differs from society to society.

Although SGHs have played a vital role in the in providing respite to the women, the question that lies at large is ‘Have the SHGs succeeded in empowering women?’ The SHGs play a role in uplifting the status of women by showing them ways to acquire microcredit facilities, mobilise their savings into capital and improve their skills and knowledge through various training programmes. However, literature findings show a big gap in the study of microcredit with respect to the urban poor, especially in the study area of Madhya Pradesh. It is important to analyse the performance of the SHGs and their contributions to the development of urban women from the lower strata and whether women are actually empowered after joining SHGs. Besides, the study will be useful in analysing whether the microfinance is really useful in women empowerment and poverty alleviation; it will be useful to the agencies such as NGOs, banks, NBFCs and MFIs in getting an insight into the real situation at ground level so that they can devise better methods to make the microfinance more fruitful and productive and in avoiding drop outs and better and natural loan recovery and re- allotment. The study will be particularly useful to the policy makers who will get aware to the ground realities and devise appropriate regulating measures and ensure its proper implementation in the benefit of the people at the receiving end so as to use the microfinance aspect as an important method of poverty removal.

Statement of the Problem

The present study is titled as “Micro-finance for women self help groups: An empirical study of Madhya Pradesh.”

Objectives of the Study

The present investigation was conducted with the objectives mentioned in the lines given below. 1. To analyse the effectiveness of micro-finance on women Self Help Groups (SHG). 2. To examine the contribution of micro-finance in empowerment of women Self Help Groups (SHG). 3. To investigate the problems and challenges faced by women SHG on microfinance in Madhya Pradesh. 4. To put forward some suggestive measures for the improvement of the women SHG.

Hypothesis

There will be no significant different in the opinion of the women regarding the usefulness of SHG. 5.5 Operational Definitions of Variables The operational definition of the terms gives an idea of the direction in which the study is moving. A brief description of the same is given.

5.5.1 Microfinance Micro-finance is a financial service of small quantity provided by financial institutions to the poor. These financial services may include savings, credit, insurance, leasing, money transfer, equity transaction, etc, that is, any type of financial service, provided to customers to meet their normal financial needs: life cycle, economic opportunity and emergency with the only qualification that transaction value is small and customers are poor.

5.5.2 Self Help Group Self Help Groups are small (membership 10 to 20), informal groups that have socially and economically homogeneous membership of poor people drawn from the same hamlet or from nearby hamlets. The composition is mostly male only or female only. The members are self-selected, meaning the potential members have a choice of being in this group or that group depending on their level of affinity with the other potential members. The group mobilizes savings among its members (only) and makes need based loans to the members (only) out of the pool of funds created. The rules and norms of the group are determined by the group members themselves. For the present study only those self help groups were included which have only women members.

5.6 Method of the Research As the present study aims to study the already existing situation and draw conclusions regarding the occurrence of the same, descriptive research approach is utilized. For the present study the target population is all the women who have joined a Self Help Group (SHG) of Madhya Pradesh state. For the present study stratified sampling method has been employed. From all the districts of Madhya Pradesh women who have joined SHGs in four districts namely, Bhopal, Vidisha, Raisen and Sehore have been taken as the sample. The sample consisted of a total of 200 women SHG members.

5.7 Tools used in the study The following data gathering tools were used to collect the data for the present study: c) Rating Scale for Measuring Effectiveness and Contribution of Microfinance on women Self Help Groups (SHG) d) Questionnaire for Women in Self Help Groups (SHG) 5.8 Data Collection, Tabulation and Analysis In order to collect the data first the districts and from these districts the self help groups which had only women members were selected. After the selection of the SHGs the authorities running the SHGs were contacted and a meeting was arranged in the presence of all the members and the authorities of the SHG. After clarifying regarding the objective of the research work, the date and time for the purpose was fixed. Then the investigator visited the place where the members of the women SHG had collected as per the schedule and collected the data. On the stipulated day first the Rating Scale for Measuring Effectiveness and Contribution of Microfinance on women Self Help Groups was administered then the responses of the women was collected using the Questionnaire for Women in Self Help Groups. The tools were administered on the women SHG members following all the procedures and directions of administration of the tools, strictly. On the completion of the data collection the responses of the women recorded in the answer sheets were scored following the prepared procedures for the purpose. The collected answers were tabulated and coded keeping in view the objective and hypothesis of the study. The investigator used different statistical techniques such as percentage analysis, chi square test and triangulation for analyzing and interpreting the results.

5.9 Major findings of the Study The following are the major findings of the present study: 1. There was found significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG provides regular source of income. To this statement 62% responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 31% said that the statement is true to a some extent and 7% said that it is not at all true. 2. Significant difference was found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG generate employment. To this statement 48% responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 43% said that the statement is true to some extent and 9% said that it is not at all true. 3. There was found significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG aids rise in income. To this statement 42% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 39% said that the statement is true to some extent and 19% said that it is not at all true. 4. Significant difference was found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG makes them able to provide good education to their children. To this statement 47% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 52% said that the statement is true to some extent and 1% said that it is not at all true. 5. There was found significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG has helped 159 them come out of poverty. To this statement 39% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 50% said that the statement is true to some extent and 11% said that it is not at all true. 6. Significant difference was found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG helps them become self reliant. To this statement 48% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 39% said that the statement is true to some extent and 13% said that it is not at all true. 7. There was found significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG ensures skill development. To this statement 70% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 30%said that the statement is true to some extent and none said that it is not at all true. 8. Significant difference was found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG aids access to good nutrition. To this statement 44% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 33% said that the statement is true to some extent and 23% said that it is not at all true. 9. There was found significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG aids access to better health. To this statement 32% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 47% said that the statement is true to some extent and 21% said that it is not at all true. 10. Significant difference was found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG aids in curbing borrowing from money lenders. To this statement 60% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 37% said that the statement is true to some extent and 3% said that it is not at all true. 11. There was found significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG has increased their credit worthiness. To this statement 62% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 37% said that the statement is true to some extent and 1% said that it is not at all true. 160 12. Significant difference was not found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG helps in inculcating banking habits. To this statement 13% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 19% said that the statement is true to some extent and 68% said that it is not at all true. 13. There was found significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG has aided in curbing exploitation. To this statement 43% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 36% said that the statement is true to some extent and 21% said that it is not at all true. 14. Significant difference was found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG helps in empowering the women. To this statement 64% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 27% said that the statement is true to some extent and 9% said that it is not at all true. 15. There was found no significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG ensures economic independence. To this statement 29% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 35% said that the statement is true to some extent and 36% said that it is not at all true. 16. Significant difference was not found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG helps in empowering the women. To this statement 41% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 34% said that the statement is true to some extent and 25% said that it is not at all true. 17. There was found significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG increases confidence in one’s own ability.

To this statement 65% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 33% said that the statement is true to some extent and 2% said that it is not at all true. 18. Significant difference was not found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG proper representation is given. To this statement 31% of the women responded that 161 the statement is true to a great extent, 29% said that the statement is true to some extent and 44% said that it is not at all true. 19. There was found no significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG helps develop sense of entrepreneurship. To this statement 34% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 28% said that the statement is true to some extent and 38% said that it is not at all true. 20. Significant difference was not found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG provides organizational skill to conduct business.

To this statement 25% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 33% said that the statement is true to some extent and 42% said that it is not at all true. 21. There was found significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG makes them able to mingle with people more socially. To this statement 71% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 26% said that the statement is true to some extent and 3% said that it is not at all true. 22. Significant difference was found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG encourages them to show increased participation in the community. To this statement 57% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 39% said that the statement is true to some extent and 4% said that it is not at all true. 23. There was found significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG makes them feels more secure. To this statement 52% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 32% said that the statement is true to some extent and 16% said that it is not at all true. 24. Significant difference was found in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG has helped women to be more mobile within and outside the place of residence. To this statement 70% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 26% said that the statement is true to some extent and 4% said that it is not at all true. 162 25. There was found no significant difference in the opinion of the women SHG members regarding the fact that microfinance loans through SHG makes them able to give employment to others.

To this statement 28% of the women responded that the statement is true to a great extent, 39% said that the statement is true to some extent and 33% said that it is not at all true. 26. 30% of the women SHG members said that they got the information about the existence of a SHG near them through NGO members, 65% said that they got his information from their neighbours while 5% got the information from other sources such as newspaper, relatives, television or panchayat office. 27. 45% of the women SGH members have joined an SHG in order to come out of poverty; 30% expressed that they have joined an SHG for becoming self dependent; 15% said that they have joined an SHG to support the family in earning and 10% of the women gave other reasons such as to have extra income, to fulfil small personal needs, to help poor parents etc. 28. 55% of the women SGH members have cited lack of confidence as one of the problems they face while joining an SHG; 10% expressed that they having no or low education is a problem they face while joining an SHG; 30% said that family pressure is a problem they face while joining an SHG and 5% of the women gave other reasons such as lack of time after household chores, already working as a labourer etc. 29. 40% of the women expressed that they faced problem in getting loans from bank because they ask for too many documents which they may not have due to their ignorance or illiteracy; 30% of the women said that the problem faced by them in getting loan was that they find the banking procedure very complex; 15% are of the view that getting loans from bank is difficult for people who are illiterate or have less education; and again another 15% of the women enumerated that they find that they find the authorities and personnels in the bank to be less cooperative and hence they find it difficult to get loan from the banks. 30. According to the data 55% of the women told that they were not sure that their loan will ever be sanction but it got sanctioned and they got the money and this was positive for them; another positive experience that 25% of the women felt was that they got the amount that was promised to them; no ambiguity regarding the rules of bank was another positive point that they expressed by 163 15% of the women, other positive experience which was 5% were easy access to bank, easy repayment of loan etc. 31. 40% of the women SHG members expressed that compulsion on fulfilling the formalities, 20% of the women said that they felt that the bank staff was non- cooperative was a negative experience for them.

35% women told that they were often not provided clear instruction. 32. 44% of the women SHG members expressed that micro finance through self help group has helped them in fulfilling desire of having an improved economic condition; 2% of the women were of the opinion that micro finance through self help group has helped them in fulfilling the desire of being able to support the family; 21% felt that micro finance through self help group has helped them in fulfilling the desire of being self dependent; and 7% of the women said that micro finance through self help group has helped them in fulfilling the desires of giving better education the children, having access to better nutrition for the family, having better social status, having disposable income in hand etc. 33. 33% of the women SHG members expressed that small interval of repayment; 38% of the women were of the view that the amount of the loan that was provided was not sufficient for starting any bigger business. Lastly 29% of the women said that they felt the rate of interest charged by the banks for microfinance loans was very high. 34. 43% of the women SHG members expressed that personal issues with the members; 25% of the women said that lack of awareness regarding the process of running SHG: 29% of the women are of the view that conflict among the members of the SHG and with the members of the NGO running the SHG; and 4% of the women also feel that ego problem among the members of the SHG and with the members of the NGO running the SHG are the problem faced while Interacting with the Members of the NGO running the Self Help Group 35. 43% of the women SHG members expressed that they have problem in fulfilling bank related formalities, 18% said that they experience lack of confidence and 37% of the women were of the view that they lack proper skills in their work are the major difficulties faced by the women due to their little no knowledge. 164 36. 23% of the women SHG members said internal conflict which is hinders the proper functioning of and SHG. 26% of the women said that social problems do SHG not allow the functioning of SHG. 49% of the women felt that there no space for marketing to be a problem and 3% cited other problems.

37. The women SHG members suggested that more SHG should be opened, more loan should be provided, the rate of interest should be lower, the period for repayment should be increased. 38. There should be proper coordination between the NGO members and the women SHG members. 39. The government should make efforts to provide greater awareness regarding the same, introduce new business policies and newer loans for startups, encourage more relief packages, should try to develop a sense of confidence for the women entrepreneurs, provide attractive incentives to successful initiatives and should make the rules more lenient so that the women are encouraged to take up microfinance loans. 40. For improvement in microfinance to women self help groups, more elaborate and comprehensive training programs should be arranged and complete knowledge about the concept should be given to the women. Proper records should be maintained and bookkeeping should be done. A healthy and sound environment should be provided by the government which is devoid of ambiguity. And regular advertisements of the benefit of microfinance loan through self help groups should be done in the newspapers, radios and televisions for better reach.

5.10 Conclusion 1. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans helps them in starting occupations and providing regular source of income. 2. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans helps them in generation of new employment opportunities. 3. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans helps in increasing the income of self and of the family. 165 4. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans has helped them in providing good education to their children. 5. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans has helped the women who have join a self help group come out of poverty. 6. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans has helped them become self reliant. 7. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans make them more skillful and helps their overall development. 8. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans helps them and their family and children in getting good nutrition. 9. the members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans has helped the women members access to better health facilities to themselves and their family members. 10. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans has stopped them from going to greedy private money lenders and set them free from their clutches of exploitation. 11. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans and returning it on time has increased their credit worthiness. 12. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans does not inculcate in them the proper banking habits. 13. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans as they are always accessing the credit in groups. 14. By becoming the members of an SHG and by having access to microfinance the women feel that they are more empowered. 15. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans does not ensure them economic independence. 16. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans does not provide them decision making power. 166 17. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans has helped them gain confidence in themselves. 18. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans does not help them in getting proper representation. 19. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans does not develop a sense of entrepreneurship to a large extent. 20. the members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans does not provide they organisational skills. 21. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans provides them the ability to mingle with people more socially. 22. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans show increase participation in the community. 23. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans make them more secure both physically and mentally. 24. The members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans has helped them to be more mobile within and outside the place of residence. 25. the members of women SHG feel that being part of an SHG and procuring microfinance loans does not give them enough resources and confidence to give employment to others. 26. almost two–thirds of the women said that they came to know about the existence of a SHG from neighbours 27. Almost 75% of the women SHG members have join an SHG to come out of poverty and to become self reliant. 28. More than half to the women SHG members stated that lack of confidence was a major hindrance in joining an SHG. 29. Necessity of documents is a problem that almost half of the women SHG members expressed as one which stops them from getting loans from banks. 30. More than half of the women SHG members said that they never hoped that their loan would be sanctioned. 167 31. Women experienced negative treatment form the banks when there was compulsion on fulfilling the formalities, the bank staff was non-cooperative and were often not provided clear instructions 32. Improved economic condition cherished desire of most of the women SHG members. 33. More than one third of the women SHG members felt that the amount received as loan was not sufficient for run a self sustaining business. 34. Almost half of the women SHG members felt that personal issues with the members was a major problem while interacting with the members of the NGO running the SHG. 35. Fulfilling bank related formalities is a difficulty that almost half the women SHG members face due to their little or no education. 36. Half of the women felt the most important problem that the women face in the functioning of the SHG was lack of space for marketing. 37. Efforts should be made to provide more microfinance loans at lower rates. 38. Better coordination between the members and authorities need to be established. 39. The government should take proactive measures to encourage microfinance loans. 40. Proper system of maintaining records and providing training should be developed.