SHGs in southern states get 67 per cent of allocated funds: Minister

Chennai:

Union Minister of state for Finance S S Palani Manickam on Monday said that southern states get 67 per cent of the total funds allocated to self help groups in India.

Speaking at the inauguration of ‘Training Programme for Field Animators of SHGs’  organised by LIBA-Informatics Centre, Loyola College and Bonsecours Social Service Society here on Monday, the minister said that Andhra Pradesh is the largest beneficiary getting more than 7,000 crore of government funds.

The minister also said that 10 crore families have benfitted through the 83 lakh SHGs in India. He said that SHGs has also helped in bridging the gender divide. Earlier women were solely dependent on men but after SHGs came into being now many men are dependent on women, he added.

He said currently 50 lakh SHGs are functioning through borrowings from banks. They have taken loans worth 35,000 crore, the minister said. He said the repayment of loans by self help groups is 93 per cent.

The minister also hit out at banks for not being liberal in giving education loans. Interestingly, his comments comes in the wake of Reserve Bank of India’s Office of the Banking Ombudsman (OBO) in Chennai stating that 50 per cent of the 18 per cent of complaints regarding loans and advances pertains to banks' non-processing of education loans

The minister said the government is interested in providing education loans to all those who are eligible. Bhe also urged the field animators to create more awareness about SHGs in the country.