Comparative Study of Microfinance Activities of Self-Help Groups in Urban India

Abstract

All over the world self-help groups are being considered as an important delivery channels of micro financial
services and to implement poverty alleviation programmes. This study attempts to examine the socioeconomic
impact of self-help groups in Thane city in Maharashtra state of India. There are a large number of self-help
groups under the auspices of self-help groups promoting institutions functioning in Thane city but there is hardly
any documented study on their functioning and their socioeconomic impact on their members. This fact is the
main motivation to conduct this study. A random sample of 340 respondents from self-help groups promoted by
different institutions from various parts of the city is collected with the help of a structured questionnaire. The
study indicates that unlike self-help groups in South India, self-help groups in the city are not organised into
federations. Comparative study of self-help groups indicates that performance of groups promoted by NGOs is
better than the other groups due to the proactive role played by the NGO. This can have implications for the
stakeholders – the self-help groups promoting institutions, NGOs and the government bodies.