Post on 15-Apr-2017
KOSHISH
INTRODUCTION
The 1980s marked the beginning of a different narrative for India, a story of unity, determination
and drive to transcend the status-quo began to emerge. The SHG movement gained ground in the
80s and since, has transformed millions of lives. The movement thrived on its intrinsic virtue of
unity that is born out of the likeness in needs, similarities in the stories of distress and a
collective desire to exit the vicious circle of poverty.
An SHG, in simple words, has been defined in the following manner (from A Report on the
Success and Failure of SHG’s in India –Impediments and Paradigm)
SHG is a development group for the poor and marginalized
It is recognized by the government and does not require any formal registration
The purpose of the SHG is to build the functional capacity of the poor and the
marginalized in the field of employment and income generating activities
People are responsible for their own future by organizing themselves into SHGs
Guiding Principles for Formation of SHGs
The strong belief by the individual to bring about change through collective efforts forms the
basis of the movement;
Effort is built on mutual trust and mutual support
Every individual is equal and responsible.
Every individual is committed to the cause of the group
Decision is based on the principles of consensus
The belief and commitment by an individual that through the group their standard of
living will improve
Savings is the foundation on which the group is built for collective action.
Initially, NABARD supported the movement by offering all sort of assistance to NGOs in their
initiative. They analysed the potential and performance of these SHGs. In 1987, it first put funds
in the movement. Several types of savings and credit groups of varying membership have been
functioning in India. However, the documented evidence of SHGs as they exist today in India
was formed by MYRADA, an NGO. NABARD carried out an elaborate study which gave useful
insights into group dynamics, saving habits, and repayment ethics of the poor. Later, it, in
consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Commercial Banks and NGOs launched a
pilot project in 1991–2 for linking of SHGs with banks. In the year 1996, the success of the pilot
project prompted RBI to direct banks to add the bank linkage activity to its mainstream activities.
Since 1998, Government of India has accorded national priority through its recognition of bank
linkage programme in Union Budgets. At the forefront are NGOs and development agencies that
identified and formed the SHGs and have taken upon themselves the job to nurture them and
monitor their growth. Once the groups are trained and strengthened, they are linked to nearby
banks, usually within six months of formation. Banks provide collateral-free credit in increasing
proportion to the group’s accumulated savings. Adopting a flexible approach, all the decisions
about the functioning of the group, borrowing from the bank, internal lending including purpose
of loan and rate of interest charged by the SHG to the final borrower, etc. are left to the
discretion of group members.
The SHG-bank linkage model has been designed as a partnership between three agencies, viz.,
the SHGs, banks and NGOs/other SHPIs. The design is built on combining the ‘collective
wisdom of the poor, the organizational capabilities of the social intermediary and the financial
strength of the Banks’ (Mishra, Alok: 2006).
The bank linkage program received renewed attention in 2012 when NABARD came out with
SHG 2, a second wave of more invigorated efforts in this direction. The thrust being this time
“on voluntary savings, cash credit as a preferred mode of lending, scope for multiple borrowings
by SHG members in keeping with repaying capacity, avenues to meet higher credit requirements for livelihood creation, SHG Federations as non-financial intermediary, rating and audit of SHGs
as part of risk mitigation system and strengthening monitoring mechanisms”. (NABARD
website)
Wadarwadi
The auto stopped in front of a huge blue board. It read ‘Wadarwadi’. As we tried to find our way
through the narrow lanes, we were greeted by little children playing around, women sitting in
small groups and chatting over tea, a bit of squalor here and there and many curious eyes peeping
through curtain corners, trying to decipher the reason behind three girls walking through their
neighbourhood, visibly in search of something. After many such dark and dingy lanes, we
managed to reach our destination when we found Jyoti winnowing rice under the hawk eyes of
her mother-in-law. As we approached, she instantly wanted to retreat into the protection of her
home; all the women and children in the vicinity looked at us with an odd suspicion.
Wadarwadi is one of the largest slums in North-West Pune. Located in Mukeshnagar, the slum
spans a large area with tons of grocery stores and narrow ‘gullies’ almost giving it the feel of a
maze. When asked about the place, the locals managed to give us an estimate of nearly a
thousand families residing there, each consisting of about four to seven members. Rows of
‘kuchha’ houses in dilapidated conditions without electricity or any such luxuries that have
become necessary for a comfortable life, coexist there with ‘pucca’ houses that have so much as
a television set and can afford four square meals a day. Our sample comprises of those residing
under conditions of the former kind. Residents of Wadarwadi were not immediately enthused by
our presence and hesitated to divulge details about the quality of life they led there. From
inaccessibility to credit to chit fund frauds, they have seen it all. We wanted to tell them that we
had not come to rob them of their belongings; rather we were here to tell them what more could
potentially become a part of their lives if they were willing to invest a little bit of their long lost
trust in us.
Convincing Jyoti’s mother-in-law of our intentions was definitely not a cake walk, but after
some coaxing we did manage to succeed. Jyoti, still a little hesitant to interact with complete
strangers, finally agreed to talk to us. The survey began with a few initial questions on her age
and occupation, whether she had a bank account or not and moved on to ones such as her
knowledge on Bachat Gats, whether or not she had ever been a part of one, her idea of financial
independence, her experience of taking loans from informal lenders and any consequential loan
sharks that she faced etc. Overcoming a bit of her initial shyness, she patiently answered all our
questions. Witnessing our interaction with her, the other women looked partially convinced
about our harmlessness. As we moved ahead in the row of huts, people seemed to become
increasingly receptive, so much so that some of them voluntarily spoke to us to know more about
this ‘nayi cheez’ that we were talking about. We went on to interview some 10 odd women and
some of their family members who were around. The trends that emerged from the survey are, as
follows:
About six of them worked as domestic helps and the rest were housewives.
All of them in the age group of 20 – 30 years, with the exception of two women who
were aged 44 years and 55 years respectively.
The domestic helps had an average family income of 10,000 rupees.
For most of those who were housewives, their husbands were either daily wage labourers
(construction workers, mostly) or were employed in offices for menial jobs, their monthly
incomes being subject to fluctuation but within a bracket of 5000 rupees – 8000 rupees.
Most of them were illiterate, exceptions being two of them who had studied till classes
six and ten.
Three of the women had bank accounts but were not aware of what type of account they
had (savings or current), they were also unaware of the rate of interest that they received
on their deposits and of the facility of bank cards that they could avail of. All three of
them knew how to deposit and withdraw money from their accounts with the exception of
one.
None of them knew of Bachat Gat-s barring two women who were already a part of such
a group and were aware of their functioning.
Once told about the benefits of joining a Bachat Gat, all of them showed interest, albeit of
different levels, in joining one.
All of them were willing to trust a bank with their finances.
When asked about their idea of financial independence and the degree of importance that
they attached to it, those who worked as domestic helps admitted to enjoying their
independence and wanted to continue with their work. Those who were housewives were
receptive to the idea, but wanted permission from their husbands.
All were willing to devote an hour’s time for tutorials on basic banking activities et al,
given the frequency of twice or thrice in a week.
All of them had children (maximum of three, as observed) and those in the relevant age
group were being schooled.
None of them faced loan sharks, but were wary of borrowing from informal lenders who,
according to them charged an interest rate as high as that of 120% pa.
Most of the women working as domestic helps, however, admitted to having borrowed
money in the past from their employers, the loans being interest free.
Some of the women who were not formally employed showed interest in acquiring jobs.
Their main areas of expenditure, as observed, were ration, rent, medicine and children’s
education.
In addition to the above information, three unique cases were observed. The first one is that of
Anita Pawar who lives with her son and runs a laundry business. Anita’s son, who is 23 years
old, works in an office, as she puts it. Their total monthly income is about 15,000 rupees to
20,000 rupees. Anita is also a part of a Bachat Gat which is under the Pune Mahanagar Palika.
She has a savings account in the Bank of Maharashtra and runs a business in spices with her
group. When asked about whether she would want to be a part of another such group, she readily
agreed. The second case is that of Durga Sinha Devkar, who is 30 years old, unmarried and
works as a domestic help. Her monthly income is about 10,000 rupees. Our third case is Diksha,
a young orphan who was probably the first one to come forward to take part in this initiative.
Diksha is a resident of the same slum. She has been living with her paralysed grandmother ever
since her parents passed away. Educated up to the ninth grade, she has now assumed the role of
the sole breadwinner of the family. Diksha works as a domestic help and also tailors clothes for
extra income. She earns about 9000 rupees per month.
To think of these people surviving in such adverse conditions, earning a meagre income which
just about enables them to make both ends meet, called for an effort to alleviate their distress; it
called for a koshish.
Based on our understanding of Wadarwadi we could deduce the presence of the following
problems:
1) The income streams of these families are uncertain . However they have been able to
tide over most fluctuations in income because of the easy availability of domestic help
jobs around Wadarwadi. We realised this issue while speaking to Kajal and Lalita, both
in their mid-twenties. Their husbands are construction workers and when asked about
their monthly incomes, after some hesitation, they admitted to it being uncertain since it
mostly depended on the kind of work they got which varied from day to day.
2) Men struggle more to engage in gainful employment . This was evident while we
surveyed the area since the average level of education was found to be quite low and
some men were even absolutely illiterate. As a result, they could only land themselves
informal jobs such as at those at construction sites and other working class jobs which
left their income streams dwindling and their livelihoods insecure.
3) Most men and almost all women lack bank accounts and hence have no access to
formal financial instruments. When asked about banks to Jyoti and Kajal, little did they
know about the concept of saving, let alone the importance of depositing them in a bank!
Without existing bank accounts for themselves and being financially dependent on their
husbands for every morsel, they could hardly dare to dream beyond the four walls of their
crumbled rooms.
4) Low incomes imply absence of or minimal wealth, apart from gold and the houses
they live in they have no assets to account for. Even for the families with more than
average income levels, they are unaware of how to use that money to gain assets. Without
any knowledge about bank accounts and instruments that they could invest in to multiply
their money and acquire assets, such as fixed deposits, MIS etc. lack of collateral for
availing of loans from formal institutions is a problem that they perpetually suffer from.
They do not know about the various ‘yojanas’ or schemes that the Maharashtra
government had for women and children, such as free education for girls, and therefore
end up spending more than they should be.
5) Alcoholism is prevalent in Wadarwadi . It has posed many safety concerns for the
womenfolk. With sunset, these women become more conscious of their surroundings,
warning outsiders to move out of the place lest they became victims of inappropriate
behaviour by the men there. These women have taught their little children various safety
measures and every girl around is extra vigilant of the activities going on in and around
their homes.
6) Women could not tell the difference between a bank and a chit fund . They did not
know that deposits in banks earn interests, on the other hand, those who do have accounts
could not categorize them i.e. as savings, current etc. implying the grave need for
financial education.
7) They have been victims to exploitative lending practises and have succumbed to chit
fund scams. This was evident in their aversion to divulge details to us because many
people have, in the past, cheated them, or had come once to survey the place, made
hollow promises and never returned. Due to their incapability to avail of formal credit,
they usually refrain from taking loans entirely since they have been subject to
exploitation in the form of exorbitant rates of interest. In addition to that, their initial
reluctance to participate in initiatives such as that of a Bachat Gat is justified as they have
had experiences of fraudulent cases where people have come with chit fund schemes,
collected money from these people by enticing them with high interest rates, never to
come back!
What is needed?
This community is definitely not what one would refer to as “down and out”, they are decidedly
above the poverty line. While they have in place the roti, kapda and makaan they have failed
constantly to better their situation. A hundred rupees saved today would lie idle in a rice
container or the masalei ka dabba or under the mattress.
The major needs observed in this community are:
1) Financial literacy
Preceding the issue of financial literacy is literacy in general. Lack of basic education
causes individuals to shy away from banking and therefore they are left outside the
purview of the banking sector. Schemes such as “no-frills” account, relaxation in KYC
norms etc. are news to these people.
2) Avenues for parking savings such that there are increased returns to augment
earnings.
Our interaction with these women suggested that a lack of linkage to banks has cost them
productive saving habits. Therefore we recognize that there is a need for gainful saving
avenues that grant these families a stream of return that they can rely on for contingencies
and other needs.
3) Stability in employment
A reliable employment opportunity is one that provides a steady stream of income
regularly. This is exactly what most of the households in Wadarwadi lack and this clearly
is a consequence of illiteracy. Without education, menial jobs in the informal sector are
the best that they can do. This is especially applicable to the men folk there, which when
coupled with the strongly patriarchal set up can prove to be disastrous. With the
persistence of such instability, the foundations for their financial inclusion cannot be laid.
Hence, there is a dire need of a resolution to this problem.
4) Overall improvement in quality of life
The families that are being dealt with in our sample are not below the poverty line and
that is probably one of the major reasons as to why they have been largely excluded from
mainstream economic activities. It is because of an odd financial middle position that
they are stuck in that they have not received any sort of ‘special’ attention from the
concerned authorities. With the income that they earn and some amount of informed
spending, these people could lead a much better quality of life. Therefore, this potential
betterment calls for action to be taken on these lines.
As mentioned earlier, Wadarwadi sees the women in a better financial position compared to the
men. Against a deeply patriarchal backdrop it is intriguing to see how women, while conforming
in every which way to the societal norms have emerged as the more reliable bread-winner. It
made immense amount of sense then to bring them together, amalgamate their strengths and
enable them to be “all for one, one for all” i.e. bring them all together via a Bachat Gat. Given
the position that these women are in, we feel that they can be used as the vessel to bring about
financial inclusion. Financial literacy is the prologue to financial inclusion and natural to the
formation of a Bachat Gat is the training that every member has to undergo. The training
involves learning basic mathematics, basics of lending, borrowing and repayment, scheduling of
meetings, book keeping etc. A Bachat Gat is the easiest and most tried and tested way of
bringing about financial literacy among women; the women further educate their families.
Our survey suggests that most homes are able to save a meagre amount every now and then. A
few women save as much as thousand to two thousand rupees per month. Therefore, we felt that
they have a potential to form a successful Bachat gat and also save (when provided with sound
financial counselling) more than what they are presently saving.
OUR KOSHISH:
Our plan, or Koshish as we call it, works in four phases. We begin by bringing the women of
Wadarwadi together and creating a Bachat Gat for them. Once we have the Gat, we will go
ahead to link them to a bank after which these women can resort to internal lending to fulfil their
credit requirements. After a stipulated period of time, these women can borrow from formal
financial institutions and may even start a business of their own. The end here is to bring about
financial inclusion. But, the big question is, what exactly do we understand by the term ‘financial
inclusion’? Does it only imply having a bank account and knowledge of basic banking activities?
The answer is, NO! It is much more than just that. Financial inclusion as we understand is a three
legged procedure. The first and very obvious step is to have a bank account. But, what after that?
Do these accounts lie dormant or are they put to any constructive use? This is where financial
literacy steps in. It is through literacy that people would know the importance of parking their
savings with formal institutions rather than keeping them idle at home. But, over and above all
this, there needs to be an incentive for using these accounts – this is the second part of the
process. Up until now we have only observed incentives and actions on the part of consumers. In
the third and last leg of our process, we need to spare some thought about the requirements of
banks. This involves providing incentives to banks to offer their services to people at nearly zero
cost. What we have now is the ‘Financial Inclusion Pyramid’.
We shall now elaborate step wise, our plan of action in order to achieve the aforementioned
objectives.
The financial inclusion pyramid
Phase I – Creation of the Gat
The first phase of the process begins with the students of GIPE identifying those areas in Pune
where Bachat Gats do not exist. One such area is Wadarwadi. Our next job is to create a Bachat
Gat for these women. But, in order to create this Gat, some formal supervision is needed
considering that these women have next to negligible knowledge on the existence of such
groups, let alone the procedure for formation of the same. For this purpose, we shall bring these
people in contact with an NGO (for example, Deep Griha, Chaitanya, Helpo etc.) that is actively
involved in this field of work, or with the CSR wing of a bank (for example, the Rural
Development Cell of the Bank of Maharashtra). These organizations may then take up the task of
teaching them basics such as:
How to mobilize and manage savings of the Gat?
How to manage internal lending?
Incentives to use the bank accounts
Incentives for banks to provide low cost services
Bank accounts
How to educate the Gat members about their individual responsibilities?
Training in book keeping and accounting, training on leadership in a Gat.
Development of capability for conflict resolution etc.
A Gat starts out by pooling the savings of its members and lending within the group to meet the
credit needs of the members. An account is then registered in a bank under the group’s name
(Bank of Maharashtra, in this case). The members are usually from homogenous social and
economic backgrounds, and we should be able to achieve this end with our sample in
Wadarwadi. This Gat, therefore, becomes a means to achieve financial literacy for these women.
It enables them to achieve collective wisdom and unity and inculcates in them saving habits.
These aspects then go on to play a major role in their upliftment.
Phase II – Bank Linkage
The Bachat Gat once formed is closely monitored by the NGO and the bank. For a period of at
least 6 months the gat needs to rely on internal lending. The bank observes the Bachat Gat at
close quarters to ensure:
1) Constructive meetings at regular intervals happen.
2) Each and every member is making contributions to the saving pool
3) Internal lending among the members is carried out peacefully.
4) Stability within the group, co-operation, unity among the members.
The abovementioned points signal to the bank the credit worthiness of the gat. Once the quality
of the gat is established bank advances subsidized loans to the group to assist them to undertake
productive activities, meet their social needs such e.g. marriage etc.
Phase III: Wealth management
SHG2 issued by NABARD stresses on the need to provide a platform for individuals in a SHG to
cultivate personal banking habits. It discusses voluntary savings (individual saving that is over
and above the stipulated contribution to the group’s corpus) and how such saving needs to be
provided with additional channels. Our innovative plan seeks to enable individuals in the
Bachat Gat to extract an optimum saving from their monthly incomes so that in addition to
contributing to the group’s corpus they can undertake activities to build their personal
savings. Low incomes imply low savings, but if all information asymmetries were to be
corrected, it is reasonable to expect that these households will be able to save much more than
they do status quo. For instance, hypothetically, if their existed a scheme by the government by
which they could obtain electricity at subsidised rates, unless they are aware of it, they will not
be able to avail of the benefit. Inaccessibility and incomprehension of information are two major
battles that these households fight daily. We propose an initiative by banks, preferably as part
of their of their CSR/SHG activity, wherein they undertake financial counselling and planning
on behalf of the women who are part of the Bachat Gat. The banks have the advantage of
having access and understanding of the pool of in formation consisting knowledge about
schemes, subsidies, financial products etc. that are relevant to the group.
Feasibility of such a plan:
1. Low income households characteristically are myopic . Social conditioning and
income constraints discourage long term planning. A financial plan prepared by
banks for them would keep in mind long term needs of the family.
2. Implicit to such a plan is the readiness of the sample to save. This is being
achieved by forming the women into the Bachat Gat wherein they learn and
appreciate the virtues of saving. This ensures that these families actively use their
bank accounts.
3. Such a service is undoubtedly labour intensive. Bank officers would need to
analyse each and every family’s cash flow, devise a plan that is exclusive to a
family etc. However such an effort ensures that the bank accounts don’t lie idle.
These individuals would park their savings in appropriate financial products
by the banks which would, to a certain extent, incentivise this activity for the
banks too.
4. Such an endeavour would gradually, but surely lead to wealth generation.
5. Enables the households to not rely completely on bank credit that the Bachat Gat
would receive.
6. The Bachat gat offers an active intermediation when it comes to issues like
individuals having to divulge their expenditure patterns to banks, individuals
sticking to the plan prepared for them by the banks etc.
Financial planning/counselling will create an “upward spiral” for the women of Wadarwadi and
their families. The entire process will start out with these women structuring their expenditures
efficiently and extracting a saving, however small, taking into consideration the pool of
information relevant to their needs. These savings would be bifurcated into their contribution to
the Bachat Gat and their personal fund. Innovative schemes and financial products available with
the bank will afford these meagre savings to grow favourably. An ideal consequence of a
Bachat gat is employment generation. Gainful and consistent income generating activity will
ensure a higher income stream that will lead to higher savings and therefore higher returns.
Following are the key areas:
(a) Expenditure management
Spending judiciously
Being aware of the government schemes and bank schemes for the poor, girl children,
women etc.
Being aware of government subsidies etc.
To stop taking loans from informal money lenders and thereby save the money that
would flow out in the form of exorbitant rates of interest.
Proper financial planning of the income earned at the beginning of the month and
accounting formally for the various expenses made.
(b) Income management
Increasing sources of income (this also involves making the men realise that the women
should be allowed to earn so that there are additional funds in the family which leaves a
larger amount available for investment)
Making productive investments in various institutions (even if they are small funds
because one day they would multiply and be aggregated to a larger one!)
Inculcating saving habits (we should not forget that saving is a way of earning future
income!)
Opening a bank account and keeping even a small amount with the bank because this will
prevent the saver from spending it for unproductive consumption purposes.
Keeping a proper record of the amount kept with a bank, the amount to be earned with
the interest and the date of maturity of the investment.
Case Study:
Name Age (years)
Marital Status
Occupation Family Monthly Income (Rupees)
Monthly Expenditure (Rupees)
Saving Bank Account
Diksha 17 Unmarried Part time domestic help and tailor
Only earning member; survived by widowed grandmother
9000 5000 4000 None
Nirmala Salve
27 Married Domestic help
Husband is a plumber (earns two thousand weekly), has two children (girls) and mother-in-law
12000 (Nirmala + Husband)
5000 3500 to 4000
Husband has; Nirmala does not
The above table gives the basic details about the subjects of our study.
The following tables give their areas of income and expenditure on a monthly basis.
Areas of Expenditure (Monthly; in Rupees)
Medicines Food Rent Loan Electricity School Fees
Stationary and others
Diksha 2000 1000 500 1420 80 - -Nirmala Salve
2000 1500 700 - - 700 100
Areas of Income (Monthly; in Rupees)
Income from principal occupation
Income from other part-time occupation
Spouse’s income
Diksha 7500 (as domestic help)
1500 (as tailor)
-
Nirmala Salve 6000 - 8000 (Husband’s income)
How wealth management can change the scenario – an analysis.
We begin by looking at what happens if both these women invest their money in a Fixed Deposit
scheme.
Principal amount to be invested (Rupees)
Rate of Interest (%)
Days to maturity (Days)
Interest earned (compounded quarterly) (Rupees)
Total amount (Rupees)
Diksha 4000 8.50 365 349.99 4349.99
Nirmala Salve 3500 8.50 365 307.12 3807.12
Analysis
Diksha’s case:
Areas where she could save:
A huge amount if she used generic medicines which would reduce the cost to 800/- or
less because the non-generic medicines are over-priced by at least 30% to 40%. This
implies additional savings of 1200/-.
She could save a certain amount with more knowledge on formal credit availability
because with informal loans she pays an interest of 25% per month whereas with a formal
loan she would have to pay 8% or 9% per annum which would further get reduced once
various government and bank schemes come into play. Therefore, we have the following
estimates;
1. New amount saved - 5600/- (approx.)
2. New interest amount - 492/-
3. New maturity value - 6093/-.
Hence, wealth management has not only increased her savings but has also enhanced her
interest amount.
Nirmala’s case:
The Maharashtra Government, in the year 1994-1995 had started a scheme of giving free
education for girls, up to the twelfth grade which is inclusive of complementary
stationary. Since both of Nirmala’s children are girls, she could get a huge relief on that
front. This scheme is applicable to primary, secondary and higher secondary
schools/Junior Colleges of State Government and Zilla Parishad, Municipal Corporation
and Nagar Palika.
She could save on the expenditure on medicines by opting for generic ones. Her
expenditure would at least be halved.
If 2000/- can be pooled in from her husband and 4,000/- from Nirmala then it comes to
6000/-. Taking into account additional savings, we have the following estimates;
1. New savings - 7,500/-
2. Interest rate - 8.50% per annum
3. Days to maturity – 365
4. New interest earned - 659/- (quarterly compounding)
5. New final amount - 8159/-.
Various government deposit schemes that these women can avail of:
1. The Mahabank Unit Deposit Scheme is a double benefit scheme meant for small
savers, where the minimum amount to be deposited is 5,000/- (potential investment
opportunity for both) The details are available on the Bank of Maharashtra website.
2. The Maha Double Deposit scheme is also an interesting investment for long term
purposes as within a period of 94 months the deposit amount doubles and the interest
of 8.50% (for individuals below 60 years) and 9.50% (for individuals above 60 years)
is given on the doubled amount! Hence, the principal amount doubles without any
extra work on the investor’s part.
3. The Recurring Deposit Scheme.
4. In 2008, a scheme was launched by then President, Mrs. Pratibha Patil, where in
women, who were a part of SHGs could avail of loans at just 4%. The aim of this
scheme was improvement of the livelihood of women and faster and regular loan
repayment. Both women could avail of this scheme by becoming part of a Bachat
Gat.
5. Loans under the Mahila Swavalamban Nidhi (MSN) that was launched by the Mahila
Aarthik Vikas Mahamandal with the objective of providing hassle free financial
assistance to needy women.
DISCUSSION WITH DEEP GRIHA
Deep Griha Society is a Pune based independent charitable organization that works for the
betterment of slum dwellers in the city. Through a range of welfare programmes ancompassing
education, health etc. it helps thousands of underprivileged people within Pune and in nearby
villages. When we presented our idea to Ms. Ranjana who is the programme head of their
women empowerment department, she was visibly delighted. She guided us further with our plan
by giving us examples of how the various Bachat Gats that the organization has under its
umbrella, were formed. Having been closely associated with the movement, she explained to us
the dynamics of such groups and when and where problems arise in their functioning. Her
guidance helped us to plug the loopholes that could potentially come in the way of our plan’s
implementation. It helped us immensely in working out further details related to the same, and
we were granted ratification from the society about the feasibility of our proposal.
Contact:
Mrs. Ranjana, head, Women empowerment cell (09423241884)
DEEP GRIHA SOCIETY, FAMILY WELFARE CENTRE
13, Tadiwala Road, Pune 411001, Maharashtra
RURAL DEVELOPMENT CELL, BANK OF MAHARASHTRA
We spoke to Mr Satish Karmarkar of RDC to understand in depth the undertakings and
contribution of RDC in our shared cause. The interaction revealed to us that RDC is extensively
involved with the SHG movement in both rural and urban Maharashtra. RDC actively identifies
forms and trains bachat gats. The organization has assisted many SHGs across Maharashtra in
taking up gainful activities such as weaving, cooking, Pappad making, packaging etc. He
enumerated the various schemes that are in place for SHGs by Bank of Maharashtra and
explained as to how integral RDC has become integral to the SHG movement in Maharashtra.
By:
Dona Tomy
Ronita Saha
Kaushambi Bagchi
(Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune)