CONSTRAINTS FACED BY WOMEN INVOLVED IN SELF-HELP GROUPS AND SEEK THEIR SUGGESTIONS FOR BETTER INVOLVEMENT

A SHG is a small economically homogeneous affinity group of the rural poor voluntarily coming together to save small amount regularly, which are deposited in a common fund to meet members emergency needs and to provide collateral free loans decided by the group. The present study was conducted in Koksara block of Kalahandi district of Odisha. Ex-post facto research design was followed for the present study. The data was collected from 150 respondents. It was collected randomly from 10 villages using pre-tested structured interview schedule and analyzed using frequency, percentage & Ranking. From the data collection it was found that majority of respondents were facing major constraints such as loans were not sufficient followed by lack of knowledge and skills and so on. Suggestions offered by them were such as Women must be literate; there should be Family support for business & easy bank loan procedure and so on.