Consider the following statements: 1. The Self-Help Group (SHG) progr

Consider the following statements:

1. The Self-Help Group (SHG) programme was originally initiated by the State Bank of India by providing microcredit to the financially deprived.

2. In an SHG, all members of a group take responsibility for a loan that an individual member takes.

3. The Regional Rural Banks and Scheduled Commercial Banks support SHGs.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Only one
Only two
All three
None
This question was previously asked in
UPSC IAS – 2023
Statements 2 and 3 are correct, while statement 1 is incorrect. The SHG programme evolved from various initiatives, not solely initiated by the State Bank of India.
– Statement 1 is incorrect. While SBI and other banks have been actively involved, the SHG movement in India was fostered by various actors, including NGOs, NABARD (which spearheaded the SHG-Bank Linkage Programme), and various government poverty alleviation schemes. It was not originally initiated *solely* by SBI.
– Statement 2 is correct. A core principle of SHGs is collective responsibility or joint liability. Members guarantee each other’s loans, which encourages timely repayment and peer pressure.
– Statement 3 is correct. The SHG-Bank Linkage Programme is implemented by commercial banks (including Scheduled Commercial Banks), Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), and Cooperative Banks, linking SHGs to formal financial institutions.
The SHG-Bank Linkage Programme, widely recognized as a successful model for financial inclusion, has been instrumental in providing microcredit and other financial services to poor households, particularly women, in rural and semi-urban areas of India. NABARD has been a facilitating agency in this programme since the early 1990s.