National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Growth of Self-Help Groups in India

Abstract : Achieving inclusive growth through micro finance will be a catalyst for accelerating the pace of economic growth with equity. NABARD has intensified its efforts for roping in new partners for promotion and bank linkage in regions where the growth of groups has not been commensurate with potential. Priority has been assigned to awareness building and for identification of NGOs and other partners in 13 priority states, which account for 70 per cent of rural poor in the country. The phenomenal growth rate of micro finance sector, especially the SHG bank linkage programme has posed number of issues and challenges which need immediate attention. There is a huge amount of regional variation in both credit deepening and credit widening, though a lot of measures are being implemented by NABARD through various agencies. This indicates that there is still a long way to go for the SHG movement and also for NABARD to attain the goal of socio-economic empowerment and also inclusive growth in the country.