Gendering Microfinance In India: A Study of SGSY

• Completion date जनवरी., 2007
• Sponsor NIPFP-NIBM GoI
• Project leader Lekha S. Chakraborty
• Focus

  The specific objectives of the project are the following six (i) to identify the access and utilisation patterns of microfince programmes across gender; (ii) to alyse the structure of interest rates, loan portfolio, pattern of collateral (if any), frequency of repayment terms, any evidence of Ponzi fince across gender; (iii) to alyse whether ‘peer monitoring’ instead of tangible asset-based collateral ensure better welfare of women borrowers; (iv) to alyse the determints of the Self Help Group formation process and their participatory magement in microfince programme in reducing the transaction costs of both banks and borrowers; (v) to alyse the feedback mechanism of microfince and economic activity, whether microfince is a strategic tool for income generating activities and poverty alleviation; (vi) to alyse whether access to microfince leads to economic empowerment of women through improving the bargaining power of poor women in intrahousehold and societal decision making processes; and (vii) to alyse that the fincial implications of microfince on bank branch business as attaining fincial viability and sustaibility are the two institutiol challenges of microfince programmes.

  The methodology adopted is Control Group Methodology through longitudil surveys across six banking zones of India in 12 blocks (out of which 6 are control blocks) to alyse the SGSY, the largest poverty linked microfince programme.

  The overall conclusion of the study is that any kind of subsidy targeted at the individual level must be stopped; instead the entire amount of central and state grant must be utilised for the development of human capital, viz., formation of SHG, training. This is based on the empirical evidence that subsidy seemed to be the major motivation factor for SHGs functioning under SGSY; therefore majority of SHGs have not generated economic surplus from their credit led assets. The recovery rate is barely 42 percent. The study emphasised that government machinery must take only a development role and leave credit decisions to banks. The gender lens applied to the study revealed that micro credit is not a pacea for economic underdevelopment; and it has not led to the economic and social empowerment of women in totality.