Abstract:
In the era of lopsided growth and development across the world and especially in our country, the
Microfinance happens to be considered as the panacea of the malice and the harbinger of inclusive growth
where the system of granting credit to the underprivileged sections of the society is encouraged for unleashing
their skill and potentialities towards helping them to reach the path of the holistic empowerment. In order to
comprehend the importance of togetherness and mutual support in withstanding the unknown world of
finance the significance of formation of self-help groups (SHGs) by the women is the sine qua non for
materializing the benefits of microfinance. Against the backdrop, the present study is undertaken to study the
impact of socio-economic changes on the women of rural areas of south Howrah after joining the SHG
movement. It has been revealed from the study that microfinance initiatives motivate the rural poverty-ridden
population especially women to become self-dependent, develop their income and standard of living reflecting
their importance in family and society. Moreover, it was also revealed from the study that the fact of the
attachment of women members in SHGs by virtue of microfinance initiative had helped them to change the
locus of household decision making power as well as decision for capital asset acquisition in favour of the
women thereby paving the path of their holistic development.
Description:
Thirteenth Biennial Conference on Entrepreneurship/ Edited by Sasi Misra, Sunil Shukla, Ganapathi Batthini
