MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. C. P. JOSHI)
(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) to Lok Sabha Starred Question
No.363 for answer on 06.12.2010
(a)&(b): The Ministry of Rural Development is implementing the Swarnjayanti Gram
Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), a major self employment programme which involves the
participation of Self Help Groups (SHGs). SGSY focuses on organization of the poor
into SHGs and training of the SHGs. The SHGs are assisted in accessing credit from
banks, and subsidy from the programme is linked to bank credit, to enable the
beneficiaries to take up income generating microenterprise of their choice, where they
possess the requisite skills and for which backward and forward linkages are available in
their area. It also aims to provide comprehensive marketing support for the products of
the SHGs, including marketing intelligence, backward and forward linkages and
marketing infrastructure, wherever it is necessary.
(c): A statement indicating, State-wise, the total number of Women SHGs formed
under SGSY is at Annexure-I.
(d)&(e): SGSY has now been restructured as National Rural Livelihoods Mission
(NRLM) to cover all rural BPL families in a phased manner for targeted and time bound
delivery of results. NRLM would focus primarily on promoting women SHGs, their
federations, and other livelihoods collectives. It is expected to act as a vehicle for
women empowerment. NRLM will, on the one hand focus on building the credit track record of
the SHG members through strategic use of subsidy and their capacity building and
handholding and, on the other hand, ensure availability of credit at reasonable rates of
interest to SHG members both for meeting their consumption needs and for taking up
income generating activities. Towards this end, NRLM will engage pro-actively with the
banking sector for providing better credit access to SHGs. The details are at Annexure-II.
