Impact of Joining SHG on the Lives of Rural Women and their Families

Development of a country like India is impossible without developing the rural area and rural population, particularly women. In recent years SHGs have helped immensely in mobilizing rural women and drove them towards economic empowerment. The empowerment of rural women not only helped in uplifting their status but also the upliftment of the whole family and society. The fate of the women are not decided by others anymore and they can help themselves; this is the basic purpose of SHGs. The principle of SHG revolves around mutual cooperation and self-help for development. Keeping these things in mind the present study was conducted in Ranapur block of Nayagarh district in Odisha to understand the impact of joining SHGs on the lives of rural women and on their families. The sample size was 400. The major findings of the study suggest that after joining SHG, there was significant improvement in occupation and income status. The study also reveals the positive effects of joining SHG on the decision-making status of the women in the family, increased knowledge about basic banking activities and positive attitude towards entrepreneurship. It was also found that the availability of low-interest credit facility helped the family to carry out economic activity for family wellbeing.