Cooperatives in the Promotion of Women Self Help Groups – A Case of District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCB) in Tamil Nadu

Cooperatives in our country have strong networking at all levels and serve as third sector for economic development. In the field of rural credit,the cooperatives in Tamil Nadu are the major market players and it is estimated that nearly 48 per cent of the demand for rural credits is met. However after Liberalisation Policy of the Govt., the cooperative credit institutions have changed their focus from traditional agricultural lending to market demanded non-agricultural lending. In this context they have penetrated the rural sector by grabbing the credit demands of SHGs particularly among women. They have earmarked 29 per cent of the total medium term loans to SHGs. However the analysis shows that the performance in financing of SHGs in the state vary among DCCBs and most of the DCCBs have registered a declining trend during the period from 2012-13 to 2016-17. Hence it is suggested that the DCCBs may review their performance and revisit their strategy of financing to SHGs in the state.