Publication:
SHG-Bank Linkage: A Success Story

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (7.37 MB)
2,472 downloads
English Text (35.51 KB)
85 downloads
Date
2020-03
ISSN
Published
2020-03
Editor(s)
Abstract
Access to adequate and timely credit at affordable rates is critical for the rural poor to alleviate high cost debt and invest in livelihood opportunities. Despite the government of India’s (GOI’s) best efforts, financial inclusion of the rural poor has been beset with multiple challenges. The SHG-Bank Linkage Programme (SBLP) was initiated as an action research by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1989 and was subsequently crystallized into a pilot project in 1992. The pilot project was conceived of as a partnership between SHGs, Banks and NGOs in which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed banks to lend directly to SHGs and NABARD committed to providing re-finance and promotional support. The SHGs have successfully leveraged about forty one billion US dollars loans from banks since 2013-2014. Advocacy with the RBI, digital financial services (DFS) and Indian Banks Association (IBA) and interventions at the field level have resulted in exemplary growth in the SHG-Bank linkage credit portfolio. The key outcomes are summarized in this report.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Kumar, Shantanu; Pinto, Alreena Renita; Arora, Amit; Roy, Sourav. 2020. SHG-Bank Linkage: A Success Story. South Asia Agriculture and Rural Growth Discussion Note Series;No. 3. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34725 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Self-Help Group Members as Banking Agents for Deepening Financial Inclusion
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03) Pinto, Alreena Renita; Arora, Amit; Roy, Sourav
    Due to the limited penetration of bank branches across rural India, access to formal financial services has been a pipe dream for millions of rural poor for decades. However, with the advent of branch-less banking channels and advancements in technology, this situation has improved considerably over the past decade. In 2013-2014, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and German agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) jointly implemented a proof of concept entitled self help group (SHG) members as Business Correspondent (BC) Agents under the rural financial institutions programme (RFIP) and successfully demonstrated that SHG members as banking agents or customer service points (CSPs) could deliver last mile banking services to the rural community in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. It was in this context, that the Bank Sakhi (female banker friend) model - a gender focused variant of the traditional BC model, was adapted by National rural livelihood missions (NRLM) and piloted in seven states - via special funds made available under the dedicated funding line created under the National rural livelihoods project (NRLP) in 2015-2016. This pilot initiative was scaled up by several State rural livelihood missions ( SRLMs), which charted different pathways to improve formal financial access for rural women-led households, and promoted linkages with public and private and non-bank financial institutions.
  • Publication
    Leveraging Institutional Platforms to Promote Convergence
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03) Kumar, Shantanu; Pinto, Alreena Renita; Gupta, Arshia
    The launch of NRLM to address rural poverty marks a paradigm shift in poverty alleviation because unlike other programs that preceded it, the NRLM focuses on training and capacity building, and enabling women to prepare and implement their livelihoods plans through own institutions and from banks. The importance of promoting convergence with other rural development programs, as well other ministries, is enshrined in the framework of NRLM.
  • Publication
    Transforming Rural Farm Livelihoods
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03) Singh, Anjani Kumar; Pinto, Alreena Renita; Singh, Paramveer; De, Alok
    The agriculture sector is the largest employer in India, providing direct employment to more than fifty percent of the nation’s workforce. Small and marginal farmers with landholdings of less than two hectares comprise eighty-six percent of all agricultural labour, reflecting high land fragmentation and low economies of scale. Mainstream extension and agriculture support services are not customized for these farmer segments, limiting their capacity to access improved production inputs and technology. The situation is even more complicated for women farmers who constitute nearly forty-three percent of India’s agricultural labour force. The DAY-NRLM farm livelihoods strategy evolved against this background to leverage the program’s social infrastructure of sixty-eight million households mobilized into exclusively women based self healp groups (SHGs) and higher federations, in order to deliver intensive and targeted capacity building of small farmers and streamline access to credit for farm needs. Key sub-sectors under the DAY-NRLM farm livelihoods portfolio include agriculture, livestock and non-timber Forest Produce (NTFP), supported through a combination of programs including the Mahila kisan sashaktikaran pariyojna (MKSP), National rural livelihoods project (NRLP) and Sustainable livelihoods and adaptation to climate change (SLACC). The farm livelihoods strategy under DAY-NRLM has evolved over the years from its initial focus on enhancing productivity through improved inputs and production methods, to a suite of interventions that address multiple entry points in the agriculture value chain.
  • Publication
    Moving Forward towards Rural Economic Transformation
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03) Acharya, Gayatri; Pinto, Alreena Renita; Kakkar, Deepti
    Overview of implementation experience and progress: the first phase of the National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP), which aimed to reach 4.8 million rural women, was implemented across 13 states, 162 districts and 580 blocks of the country. NRLP was meant to support the launch and expansion of the Government of India’s flagship program for poverty alleviation, the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) and provide additional pro-poor investments in 13 states with the highest poverty rates which accounted for almost 85 percent of the poor in India. This program marked a strategic shift within the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) from a focus on allocation, disbursement, and monitoring of central government financial resources, to the provision of skilled technical assistance to states under the aegis of the DAY-NRLM.
  • Publication
    Collective Action and Community Development : Evidence from Self-Help Groups in Rural India
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-07) Desai, Raj M.; Joshi, Shareen
    In response to the problems of high coordination costs among the poor, efforts are underway in many countries to organize the poor through "self-help groups" (SHGs) -- membership-based organizations that aim to promote social cohesion through a mixture of education, access to finance, and linkages to wider development programs. The authors randomly selected 32 of 80 villages in one of the poorest districts in rural India in which to establish SHGs for women. Two years of exposure to these programs increased women's participation in group savings programs as well as the non-agricultural labor force. Compared to women in control villages, treated women were also more likely to participate in household decisions and engage in civic activities. The authors find no evidence however, that participation increased income or had a disproportionate impact by women's socio-economic status. These results are important in light of the recent effort to expand official support to SHGs under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    World Development Report 2006
    (Washington, DC, 2005) World Bank
    This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.
  • Publication
    Remarks to the Annual Meetings 2020 Development Committee
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10-16) Malpass, David
    David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, announced that the Board approved a fast track approach to emergency health support programs that now covers 111 countries. Most projects are well advanced, with average disbursement upward of 40 percent. The goal is to take broad, fast action early. The operational framework presented back in June has positioned the Bank to help countries address immediate health threats and social and economic impacts and maintain our focus on long-term development. The Bank is making good progress toward the 15-month target of 160 billion dollars in surge financing. Much of it is for the poorest countries and will take the form of grants or low-rate, long-maturity loans. IFC, through the Global Health Platform, will be providing financing to vaccine manufacturers to foster expanded production of COVID-19 vaccines in both part 1 and 2 countries, providing production is reserved for emerging markets. The Development Committee holds a unique place in the international architecture. It is the only global forum in which the Governments of developed countries and the Governments of developing countries, creditor countries and borrower countries, come together to discuss development and the ‘net transfer of resources to developing countries.’ The current International Financial Architecture system is skewed in favor of the rich and creditor countries. It is important that all voices are heard, so Malpass urged the Ministers of developing countries to use their voice and speak their minds today. Malpass urged consideration of how we can build a new approach to debt restructuring that allows for a fair relationship and balance between creditors and debtors. This will be critical in restoring growth in developing countries; and helping reverse the inequality.
  • Publication
    Doing Business 2014 : Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises
    (Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2013-10-28) World Bank; International Finance Corporation
    Eleventh in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 185 economies, Doing Business 2014 measures regulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity: Starting a business, Dealing with construction permits, Getting electricity, Registering property, Getting credit, Protecting investors, Paying taxes, Trading across borders, Enforcing contracts, Closing a business, Employing workers. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2013, ranks economies on their overall “ease of doing business”, and analyzes reforms to business regulation – identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. The Doing Business reports illustrate how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. Doing Business is a flagship product by the World Bank and IFC that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 60 economies use the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 870 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception.
  • Publication
    Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21) Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Levin, Victoria; Liberman, Julia; Gala, Priyal Mukesh
    This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.
  • Publication
    World Development Report 2011
    (World Bank, 2011) World Bank
    The 2011 World development report looks across disciplines and experiences drawn from around the world to offer some ideas and practical recommendations on how to move beyond conflict and fragility and secure development. The key messages are important for all countries-low, middle, and high income-as well as for regional and global institutions: first, institutional legitimacy is the key to stability. When state institutions do not adequately protect citizens, guard against corruption, or provide access to justice; when markets do not provide job opportunities; or when communities have lost social cohesion-the likelihood of violent conflict increases. Second, investing in citizen security, justice, and jobs is essential to reducing violence. But there are major structural gaps in our collective capabilities to support these areas. Third, confronting this challenge effectively means that institutions need to change. International agencies and partners from other countries must adapt procedures so they can respond with agility and speed, a longer-term perspective, and greater staying power. Fourth, need to adopt a layered approach. Some problems can be addressed at the country level, but others need to be addressed at a regional level, such as developing markets that integrate insecure areas and pooling resources for building capacity Fifth, in adopting these approaches, need to be aware that the global landscape is changing. Regional institutions and middle income countries are playing a larger role. This means should pay more attention to south-south and south-north exchanges, and to the recent transition experiences of middle income countries.