Regional Progress of Self-Help Groups Linkage Programs of Financial Inclusion in India

Abstract

Self-help group (SHG) bank linkage programme plays a vital role in promoting financial inclusion in India. This paper is an attempt to examine the regional progress of SHGs linkage programs in India and represents the overall progress with respect to saving account, loan disbursement and loan outstanding under financial inclusion. The study is based on secondary data collected from the reports and websites of NABARD and RBI for the period of post pandemic 2021-22 to 2023-24. To achieve the objectives of the study trend analysis, growth analysis and regional comparative analysis have been used. The findings of the study represent that the SHGs savings, loan disbursement and the total loan outstanding with banks over the post pandemic period is increased. Additionally, the percentage of women’s of SHGs rose gradually with all respect. A comparison by region shows that SHG progress with savings, credit and loan outstanding linkage has increased in every region, with the southern region seeing the fastest growth. However, there is little growth in the northern-eastern region, which might be because the program was saturated. The study concludes that the SHG-bank linkage programme continues to serve as an effective instrument for financial inclusion, women empowerment and rural development in India.