The Evolution of Government Social Welfare Policies Governing Self Help Groups (SHG) in India

This paper will attempt to outline the origin and growth of SHGs (Self Help Groups) in India, as a livelihood development and poverty alleviation mechanism. SHGs have since early 80s been used as a vehicle to organize women, help them in identifying their unseen potential to overcome poverty challenges faced by them utilizing their own resources. These efforts have been led by various NGOs such as MYRADA, Pradan, SEWA etc. which were in turn funded by a wide variety of agencies such as IFAD, NABARD etc. The state, at a national level, started organizing women in form of SHGs under the SGSY scheme of government of India (Suwarna Jyoti Gram Swarozgar Yojana). At state levels, various state governments had initiated various developmental schemes such as Velugu, DWACRA etc to organize women into SHGs and aid in their development. Inspite of the SHG ecosystem being active over the past 20 years, there is very less literature which documents the origin story of the SHG movement in India. This paper attempts to document the genesis and evolution of the SHGs in India, through the lens of various poverty alleviation welfare schemes. Thus providing students of social work a brief understanding of the evolution of social welfare policies governing SHGs in India