A Study on Socio-Economic Condition of Self Help Group Members in Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu

ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management Research Vol.2 Issue 2, February 2012, ISSN 2249 8826 Online available at http://zenithresearch.org.in/

A STUDY ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITION OF SELF HELP GROUP MEMBERS IN TIRUNELVELI DISTRICT, TAMIL NADU

A. ANGEL ANILA*

*Assistant Professor of Economics, St. Johns College, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India.

ABSTRACT

SHGs are a viable alternative to achieve the objectives of rural development. SHG placed a pivotal role in social transformation and social economic betterment of rural women. Unlike city levels, where scope for employment is abundant, Tamilnadu is a drought prone area where people cannot depend purely on agriculture all through the year. Moreover Tamilnadu is based on its agro-economic climate conditions. Thus non-form activities like handicrafts, rope making, embroidery, catering services, repair shops, soft drink stalls etc., give immense scope for women to earn their livelihood when they do not have income through agricultural activities. Banks in association with NGOs give training to SHG members in all these activities. The government of Tamilnadu encourages the SHG activities and marketing of their products.

The main objectives of this paper are to examine the role of SHG in developing socio economic status of rural women, and to identify the satisfaction level of self-help group members in SHG activities. There are 18985 SHGs in Tirunelveli district. Consisting of 19 blocks, among the block, Nanguneri block was selected for this study, the researcher has selected 12 groups at random. From these selected SHGs, 120 members have been selected to collect the necessary primary data. The chi-square test and average method is used as statistical tools for analyzing the data and testing the hypothesis. The conclusion of this paper is Self Help Group is an important tool which helps the rural women to acquire power for their self supportive life and nation building efforts

KEYWORDS: Women Empowerment, Women Entrepreneurship, Satisfaction Level, Self- help groups. ______

INTRODUCTION

Moreover Tamilnadu is based on its agro-economic climate conditions. Thus non-form www.zenithresearch.org.in activities like handicrafts, rope making, embroidery, catering services, repair shops, soft

drink stalls etc., give immense scope for women to earn their livelihood when they do not

216

ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management Research Vol.2 Issue 2, February 2012, ISSN 2249 8826 Online available at http://zenithresearch.org.in/ have income through agricultural activities. Banks in association with NGOs give training to SHG members in all these activities. The government of Tamilnadu encourages the SHG activities and marketing of their products.

SELF- HELP GROUP

A self- Help group is a small voluntary association of poor people preferably from the same socio-economic background. They come together for the purpose of saving their common problems through self – Help. The number of members in one SHG does not exceed 20 (Surender and Manoj Kumar, 2010). The size is limited to 20 because any group larger than this would need to be registered under the India legal system. Voluntarily coming together to save small amounts regularly. They mutually agree to contribute to a common fund and to meet their emergency needs on mutual help basis. The group member use collective wisdom and peer pressure to ensured proper end use of credit and timely repayment thereof. Infect peer pressure had been recognized as an effective substitute for collaterals.

An economically poor individual gains strength as part of a group besides financing through SHGs reduce transaction costs for both lenders and borrows while lenders have to handle only a single SHGs account intends of a large number of small sized individual accounts, borrowers as a part of a SHG cut down expenses on travel (to and from the branch and other places) for completing paper work and on the loss of workdays in canvassing for loans.

ORIGIN OF SHGS

The Origin of Self-Help Group can be traced is from Grameen bank of Bangladesh, which was founded by Mohamed Yunus. SHGs were started and formed in 1975(Gunasekaran, 2010). In India, NABRAD initiated in 1986-87. In Tamilnadu, Chinnapillai an illiterate women live in Parparanpatti, Madurai District, initiated the feed bank of SHGs in the stats, she was honored by the former Prime Ministers of India, honorable Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for forming a group and nurtured saving habits, among

the illiterate women in the village.

FORMATION OF SELF HELP GROUP

Mahalir Thittam project was launched with state Government funding from 1997- 1998 and was progressively introduced in all districts of the state. Today the SHG movement is a very vibrant movement spread across all districts of the state with nearly 59, 00,000 women as members. As on 31.3.2009, there are 3, 91,311 SHGs with a total savings of `2062.04 crores.

Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women (TNCDW) Ltd. was started in 1999 at Tirunelveli District. The number of SHGs formed in this District is 18,985 till

2010. In Tirunelveli District, a number of groups have involved in income generating www.zenithresearch.org.in www.zenithresearch.org.in

activity. These groups consist of 12-20 members. All these groups have been trained in

book keeping, credit management and social issues.

217

ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management Research Vol.2 Issue 2, February 2012, ISSN 2249 8826 Online available at http://zenithresearch.org.in/ TABLE 1. SELF HELP GROUPS IN TIRUNELVELI DISTRICT DURING 1999-2010

Sl.No Particulars Rural Urban Total

1 Total No. of SHGs 11789 7196 18985

2 Total No. of SHG Member 186840 113334 300174

No. of Schedule Caste 3 51775 26211 77986 Members

4 Christian Members 13221 4019 17240

5 Muslim Members 3877 2177 6054

6 Savings( `.in Lakhs) 5733.90 4118.35 9852.25

7 Sanga Loan(`.in Lakhs) 15353.37 7474.60 22827.97

Source: Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women Ltd., in Tirunelveli District

The above table shows the performance and structure of the self help groups in

Tirunelveli district during the past ten years. In Tirunelveli district, 18,985 self help groups were working among which 11789 self helps were located in rural and 7196 were located in urban area. It totally has 3, 00,174 members among which 77,986 members were belong to Sc/St community and 17,240 members belong to Christian community and 6,054 members belongs to Muslim community. The total amount of savings from Self help group was `98.5225 Crores among which `5,733.90 came from rural area and `4118.35 came from urban area. The Self help groups got `228.2797 Crores as loan, among which rural members got `153.5337 crores and urban got `74.7460 crores. The above information clearly showed that Self help group gives importance to the rural area.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To examine the role of SHG in developing socio economic status of rural www.zenithresearch.org.in

women

218

ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management Research Vol.2 Issue 2, February 2012, ISSN 2249 8826 Online available at http://zenithresearch.org.in/ To identify the satisfaction level of self-help group members in SHG activities

HYPOTHESIS

Ho: There is no association between age and level of satisfaction with the activities of SHGs.

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

The present study is based on primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire. Secondary data were collected from Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women (TNCDW). A pilot study was conducted with the help of secondary data. There are 18985 SHGs in Tirunelveli district. Consisting of 19 blocks, among the block, Nanguneri block was selected for this study, the scholar has selected 12 groups at random. From these selected SHGs, 120 members have been selected to collect the necessary primary data. The chi-square test and average method is used as statistical tools for analyzing the data and testing the hypothesis.

AREA PROFILE

Tirunelveli district is one of the southern district of Tamil Nadu states. It is bounded on North by Virudhunager, East by Thoothukudi, South by Kanyakumari District and West by Kerala state. In Tirunelveli District includes 19 blocks. Nanguneri is one of the main blocks. The number of self help groups formed in this block is 673 till 2010. This group consists of 10404 members and their savings is `.258.46 lakhs

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

VinayaGamoorthy (2007) noted that the self help group members saving habit are increased through SHG. Selvaraj (2007) pointed out that the SHG women has a major role to play in decision making and the middle age group women are highly empowered in comparison with other age group members. Geeta Manmohan et al., (2008) views that Micro finance is such a tool, which directly hits the poverty by helping poor or enabling them not only to survive but also to improve their standard of living. Chittaranjan Mishra (2005) noted that by joining a co-operative society. Women acquire collective bargaining power and at the same time, they get an institution of their own which is managed by them.

ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK

The present study is concerned with the socio economic profiles of the sample of self help group members in Nanguneri block, Tirunelveli.

www.zenithresearch.org.in

219

Age No. of respondents Percentage

Below 20 years 6 5

21 years to 40 years 44 36.67

41 years to 50 years 44 36.67

Above 50 years 26 21.66

Total 120 100

Source: Primary Data

Age is an important factor which determines the efficiency of an individual The analysis of the age wise classification of the respondents reveals that Most of the members of the SHG belongs to the age group of 20 -40 especially to the age group of above 50.

TABLE: 3 EDUCATIONAL STATUSES

Educational level No. of respondents Percentage

Illiterate 13 10.83

Primary 26 21.67

Secondary 38 31.67

Higher Secondary 31 25.83

Graduate 12 10

Total

120 100 www.zenithresearch.org.in

Source: Primary Data

220

ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management Research Vol.2 Issue 2, February 2012, ISSN 2249 8826 Online available at http://zenithresearch.org.in/ Education leads to knowledge and self –confidence entrepreneurship is also determined by the education. Education plays a vital role in decision making. The above table reveals that most of the members of the SHG in the study area have only primary and secondary level of education.

TABLE: 4 OCCUPATIONAL STATUSES

Occupation No. Of respondents Percentage

Unemployed 30 25

Self employed 15 12.5

Employed 59 49.17 (un organized sector)

Employed 16 13.33 ( Organized sector)

Total 120 100

Source: Primary Data

Occupation is one of the factors which determine the standard of living of an individual. Agriculture in India is considered as the primary sector and it provides the major share of employment opportunity to the Indian population. But agricultural backwardness leads to poverty and low standard of living. The analysis on the basis of the occupational status of the member‟s shows Most of the members are either unemployed or employed in unorganized sector. People employed in organized sector and salaried jobs are very negligible in number.

Income is the yard stick to measure the economic condition of the society. The main objective of the SHG is to improve the income source of the rural women. To give economic freedom to the rural women it is must to provide them enough income sources. The following table explains the income level of the respondents.

www.zenithresearch.org.in

221

No. of Income (`) per No. of respondents respondents Percentage Percentage month before joining SHG after joining SHG

Less than 1000 13 10.83 8 6.67

1000 – 1500 19 15.84 22 18.33

1500 – 2500 42 35.00 44 36.67

Above 2500 46 38.33 46 38.33

Total 120 100 120 100

Source: Primary Data

The above table shows that self help groups in the study area increase the income level of the respondents 15.84 percent respondents were in the income group of `1000 – `1500 before joining the scheme, but that percentage as increased to 18.83 percentages after joining the group. The percentage of respondents of the income group `1500-`2500 was 35 before joining the scheme. It was increased to 36.67 after joining the group.

TABLE: 6 LEVEL OF SATISFACTION WITH SHGS ACTIVITIES

Benefits No. Of respondents Percentage

To greater extent 76 63.33

To some extent 15 12.5

Neither satisfied or dissatisfied 15 12.5

Not at all satisfied 14 11.67

Total 120 100

www.zenithresearch.org.in www.zenithresearch.org.in

Source: Primary Data

222

ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management Research Vol.2 Issue 2, February 2012, ISSN 2249 8826 Online available at http://zenithresearch.org.in/ The above table shows the level of satisfaction of the members of SHG. 63.33% of the members are highly satisfied and 12.5% of the members are satisfied. 12.5% of the members are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. The remaining 11.67% are not at all satisfied with the activities of SHG.

TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS

Ho: There is a no significant between age and the level of satisfaction with the activities of SHGs.

To find out the relationship between the age and their satisfied with the activities of SHGs, the following Chi-Square test was employed.

n (O E) 2 χ2 = with (c-1) ( -1) degrees of freedom i 1 Ei

TABLE: 7 ASSOCIATION OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AGE AND SATISFACTION LEVEL

Age Highly satisfied Satisfied Moderate Total

Below 20 1 2 3 6

21 -40 4 37 3 44

41 – 50 2 34 8 44

Above 50 2 22 2 26

Total 9 95 16 120

Source: Primary data

Calculated Value : 197.3

Table Value : 19.675

INFERENCE

The calculated value of 2 values is greater than the table value of Chi-square. So we reject the Null hypothesis i.e., There is significant relationship between the age and

level of satisfaction. www.zenithresearch.org.in

223

ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management Research Vol.2 Issue 2, February 2012, ISSN 2249 8826 Online available at http://zenithresearch.org.in/ FINDINGS The following are the major findings of the study. Most of the women of the SHGs in the study area were belonged to the age group of 21-50 years. The present study revealed that most of the women of the SHG have only primary and secondary level of education. Most of the SHGs members o are either unemployed or employed in unorganized sector Income of the SHG members is increased after joining the Self Help Group. Most of the SHGs members are highly satisfied with the activities of SHG in the study area. CONCLUSION Self Help Group is an important tool which helps the rural women to acquire power for their self supportive life and nation building efforts. The empowerment of women through SHGs would lead benefits not only to the individual women but also for the family and community as whole through collection action for development these SHGs have collection action. Empowering women is not just for meeting their economic needs but also more holistic social development. The SHGs empower women and train them to take active part in socio-economic progress of the nation. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said, “To awaken the people, it is women who must be awakened; once she is on the move, the family moves, the village moves and nation moves.” Now the women are awakened by the self help groups. REFERENCE 1. Chittaranjan Mishra, (2005), “SHGs in the Unorganized Garments Sector – A Case Study of Madurai”, Kurukshetra, Vol: 53, No.9, pp.43-47. .,

2. Geeta Manmohan, Monika Tushir, Sumita chadha (2008), „Rural Banking and Micro finance” Southern Economist, Vol:47, No.2, pp.9-12. 3. Gunasekaran. A.,(2010), “Micro Credit and Women Employment through Self Help Groups: A Case study of Chennai City”, Rural Credit in the Era of Globalization, MADHAV books, Haryana, 4. Selvaraj, A., (2005), “Empowerment of women”, Kurukshetra, Vol: 34, No.7, pp.59-62. 5. Surender and Manoj Kumar., (2010), “SHGs and their Impact on Employment Generation”, Southern Economist, Vol: 48, No.23, pp.5-8.

6. Vinaya Gamoorthy, A., (2007), “Women Empowerment through Self – Help www.zenithresearch.org.in

Groups: A case study in the North Tamil Nadu,” Social Welfare, vol: 51, No.1,

pp.32-36.

224