Paper Details

Name: Harsha B D
Country: India

Year: 2025
Volume: Volume-12, Issue-1 (January-June)
Page Number: 150-162
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17649448

ABSTRACT:
SHGs act as powerful agents of rural women empowerment by creating opportunities for
income generation, fostering financial independence, building social networks, and enhancing
decision-making abilities. They transform women from passive dependents into active
contributors to household income and community development. This study examines the
evolution, growth, and financial performance of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in India between
2012–13 and 2023–24, while also evaluating their role in empowering rural women. The
analysis covers employment opportunities, income generation, savings behaviour, and access
to credit among respondents in the study area, using a mean impact score approach. The
results indicate that SHGs have contributed to increased economic participation of women,
enhanced household income, strengthened saving practices, and improved access to formal
credit, thereby reinforcing their role in advancing rural women’s empowerment and financial
inclusion. In this study explores the origin, growth and economic performance of SHGs in
India from 2012–13 to 2023–24 using recent data, and also impact of SHGs on Rural
Women’s Autonomy assesses the Impact of SHGs on respondents’ Employment, Income
Generation, Savings/Deposits and Credit access in study area through a Derivation of mean
impact score. Findings reveal that SHGs in India grew steadily during Between 2012–13 and
2023–24, SHGs nearly doubled from 73.18 lakh to 144.22 lakh (CAGR 5.82%), while
savings with banks rose sharply from ₹8,217 crore to ₹65,089 crore (CAGR 18.82%),
reflecting stronger financial participation. Loan-linked SHGs expanded from 12.20 lakh to
54.82 lakh (CAGR 13.34%), and bank disbursements surged from ₹20,585 crore to ₹2,09,286
crore (CAGR 21.32%), making SHGs a key channel for rural credit delivery. Outstanding
loans also grew from ₹39,375 crore to ₹2,59,664 crore (CAGR 17.02%), raising concerns
over repayment risks. The mean impact scores show that SHGs had the greatest effect on
enhancing savings and deposits (1.3), followed by household facilities (1.25), financial
decision-making (1.2), and social status (1.1). Moderate impacts were noted in standard of
living (1.08) and income generation with self-confidence (1.05), while financial literacy
scored lowest (0.95). Overall, the decade shows not just numerical expansion but deeper
financial linkages, positioning SHGs as a vital instrument of empowerment and inclusion,
though requiring stronger monitoring and capacity building for sustainability. SHGs have
made a significant positive contribution to the empowerment of rural women in the study
area.
Key words: Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Economic Performance, Rural Women
Empowerment.