Self help groups are community based institutions aimed to mobilise their funds and involvement in income generating activity.

Role of SHGs: Mobilisation of marginalised section Economic empowerment Capacity building Rural development Employment generation SHGs can be used as a platform for civil development, entrepreneurship and income generation among marginalised section. Benefits: → Grassroot instituting thus better reach of initiatives → Consensus based approach thus better acceptance → Skill development in local crafts and activities → better capacity building → Peer learning model can be adopted → SHG → leave linkage program can be leveraged → funds → promote entrepreneurship and income generating → Easy to access loans on the basis of collective guarantee → Collective expertise of all members → better success of entrepreneurial venture eg. Lilijit Pappad → more income generating.

Challenges: → Limited capacity with SHGs → Limited access of funds for expensive cusup → Difficulty to build consensus → Most of involved in low income, primary activity based occupations → Burd household burden on women → Most SHGs limited to rural areas thus urban poor neglected → Limited role of NGOs in mobilisation and capacity building of SHGs → Lack of collateral based in getting access of loans But if the potential of SHGs is realised fully then they can be instrumental in poverty alleviation measures. Government schemes like NRLM, Startup India scheme should be leveraged to enhance capacity of SHGs.

— Nidhi Goyal · AIR 91