CHAPTER III

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT – ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

OF INDIA AND GOVERNMENTOF ANDHRA PRADESH

The Government of India formulated various schemes and programmes for

the rural development in general and rural women, particularly for those who

live below the poverty line, in various five year plans. The First Five Year Plan

paid little attention to social services like health, education, sanitation, housing

and rehabitation to build up human capital. It was aimed to setup Central Social

Welfare Board in 1953 to promote welfare works through voluntary

organizations, charitable trusts etc. In the Second Five Year Plan the

Government recognized the need for organization of women as workers and

stated the women workers should receive maternity benefits and crèches should

be established for their children in work places. It also suggested supporting the

development of Mahila Mandal to work at the gross roots. The Third and Fourth

Five Year Plans made provisions for women’s education, prenatal and child

health services, supplementary feeding for children and nursing for the

expectant mothers. The expansion of girl’s education as a strategy for women

development was focused during 1961-66. The emphasis on women education

was also continued in Fourth Five Year Plan Period. The main objective of Fifth

Five Year Plan was the removal of poverty, attainment of self-reliance. A

 variety of programmes were taken up under different sectors of development to

ameliorate the working conditions of women, particularly the rural folk and to

raise their economic and social status during Sixth Plan Period. Development of

Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) was stated in this Fifth Five

Year Plan Period. Empowerment of the women is the main slogan of the central

Government form Seventh Plan till today. Ninth Plan has earmarked large

amounts for the implementation of various strategies for the empowerment of

women. Various steps were taken to cover large number of women under

different rural developmental programs. On such programme which gained

popularity is the Self Help Group (SHG) programme particularly forms Ninth

Plan onwards.

Some of the rural developmental programmes meant for the development of

rural poor including women are listed below and discussed in detail.

1. The Training of Rural Youth for Self – Employment (TRYSEM)

2. Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)

3. The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)

4. Development of Women and Children in Rural area (DWCRA)

5. Jawahar Rozagar Yojana / Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JRY / JGSY)

6. The Million Wells Scheme (MWS)

7. The Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS)

8. Prime Minister’s Rozaar Yojana (PMRY)

9. Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)

1. The Training of Rural Youth for Self – Employment (TRYSEM):

The Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment is aimed to train rural

youth from the target group of families in skills so as to enable them to take up

either self or wage employment. It has been laid down that the coverage of

youth of the rural youth trained. Out of the total beneficiaries, at least 40 per

cent should be women.

2. Integrated Rural Development Programm (IRDP):

The Integrated Rural Development Programme was introduced in the year

1978 – 79 for Self – Employment generation in 2300 blocks in the Country. The

Programme was extended to cover all the blocks in the Country form second

October 1980. This programme is a credit linked self – Employment

programme for alleviation of poverty in the country.

The main objective of the IRDP is to enable the identified rural poor

families to cross poverty line by providing those productive assets and inputs in

the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors through financial assistance by way

of a subsidy and credit from financial institutions. Almost 50 per cent of the

assisted families should be form scheduled caste and scheduled tribes and 40

per cent of these assisted should be women.

 These programmes could not cover the poorer sections of the rural women.

In practice, women who have some skills and intentions to take up some

economic activities have been neglected. Hence, a separate programme called

SWRCA has been organized for the development of rural women and children.

3. The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP):

The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP): Recognized the

responsibility of the Central and State Governments for providing social

assistance to poorer households in case of maternity, old age and death of the

bread earner. The NSAP is a centrally sponsored programme with 100 per cent

central funding to the State / UTs that provided benefits under its three

components viz., (i) National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS); (ii) National

Family Benefits Scheme (NFBS).

4. Development of Women and Children in Rural area (DWCRA):

Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA): It is a

sub-scheme of the IRDP, and was stated in 1982-83 with the primary objective

of focusing attention on the women members of rural families who are below

the poverty line (BPL) with a view to provide them with opportunities of self –

employment on subsidy basis. The need for specific programmes designed

exclusively for women was felt as it was noticed that the existing programmes

were inadequate. However, the SWRCA and the IRDP are not mutually
exclusive. Women belonging to identified rural families cab members of the

DWCRA and also avail of subsidy and credit under the IRDP, subject to overall

subsidy and credit under the IRDP, subject to overall subsidy ceiling of various

categories of beneficiaries laid down in the IRDP guidelines. The target group

for SWCRA is the same as per the IRDP.

The DWCRA is a group strategy as against family as a unit of assistance

under the IRDP. Women members of the DCRA form different groups of 10-20

women, each for taking up economic activities suited to their skills, attitude and

local conditions. The group strategy was adopted to motivate these rural women

to come together and break the social bonds, which have denied them income

generating and self-fulfilling opportunity. The group approach has been

extended to all districts for a greater coverage of women under the IRDP, with

effect from 1---1990. The UNICEF assistance has, however, been extended in a

phased manner so as to cover all districts by the end of Eight Five Year Plan.

5. Jawahar Rozagar Yojana / Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JRY /

JGSY):

The National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) and Rural

Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) were merged in April

1989 under the Jewahar Rozagr Yojana (JRY). The objective of the JRY was to

generate meaningful employment opportunities for the under employed and

unemployed, through creation of community assets in the rural areas. This

Scheme was revamped from 1st April, 1999 as Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana

(JGSY). The main objective of this Scheme is to create economic infrastructure

in the rural areas. The Scheme is implemented by the Mandal panchyats and it

provided specials benefits to Scheduled Casts and Scheduled Tribes and the

disabled.

6. The Million Wells Scheme (MWS):

It was earlier a subschema of the JRY and is funded by the center and

states in the ratio of 80:20. The objectives of the MWS is to provide open

irrigation wells free of cost to the poor, small and marginal farmers belonging to

SC’s and ST’s and freed bonded labour. Up to November 1998, a sum of Rs.

225.90 crores has been incurred during 1998-99 and 49821 wells were

constructed.

7. The Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS):

It has been universalized so as to make it applicable to all the rural

blocks of the Country. It aims at providing 100 days of unskilled manual work

up to two members of a family who are in the age group of 18 to 60 years

normally residing in Mandal in the lean agricultural season, on demand, within

the blocks covered under the E.A.S. During 1998-99 a total of 237.61 million

man-days have been generated under the Scheme with an estimated expenditure

of Rs. 1572 crores, up to November 1998.

8. Prime Minister’s Rozagar Yojana (PMRY):

It is to provide self-employment to the educated unemployed youth and

has been designed to provide employment to more than a million persons by

setting up of seven lakh micro enterprises in Eighth Five year Plan. During the

Eighth Five Year Plan, loans in 7.70 lakh casts were sanctioned and 5.76 lakh

cases disbursed. The Scheme is being continued in the ninth Five Year Plan.

Since inception of the Scheme up to the programme year 1997-98, over 7.52

lakhs cases have been disburse during 1998-99 as many as one million casts

have been sanctioned loans 27,533 cases disbursed by the end of October 1998.

9. Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY):

Both the Central and State Governments are implementation various

development schemes for the we fare of the weaker sections of the Country.

The self employment programme of IRDP, TRYSEM, DWCRA, MWS were all

merged into a single self-employment programme called the Swanajayanthi

Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) with effect from April 1, 1999. The major

objectives of the Programme are: (a) focused approach to poverty alleviation (b)

capitalizing advantages of group lending and (c) overcoming problems

associated with the multiplicity of programme.

The Scheme to focus on the formation of Self-Help Group (SHG).

Meaning of shag is a holistic programme of micro – enterprises’ covering all

aspects of self-employment viz. organization of the rural poor into self helps

groups and their capacity building. Planning of activity clusters, infrastructure

buildup, technology, credit and marketing. It lays emphasis in activity clusters,

based on the resources and the occupational skills of the people and availability

of markets. The activities would be taken up in suitable clusters to enable

extension of appropriate facilities. The major share of SGSY assistance will be

in activity clusters.

A significant aspect of the SGSY is that every family assisted under this

Programme will be brought above the poverty line within three years and thus

aims at creating substantial additional incomes for the rural poor. It is also

proposed to cover 30 percent of rural poor in each block within a period of five

years the programme has been designed to provide proper support and

encouragement to tap the inherent talent and capabilities of the rural poor. It

targets at reaching at least 50 per cent women and 3 per cent disabled.

Under the Scheme, the best SHG’s are selected based on their performance

and eligible to 3rd or 4th does Bank Linkage to Rs. 50,000 subsidy. The main

objective of the SGSY is to develop the organization or micro enterprises

through SHG’s in accordance with the local needs and local resources, by given

training wherever necessary. Now, the Scheme was changed by the pattern

guidelines of Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP). DRDA will

provide the subsidy amount as to the best SHG’s through mandal samakya and
Mandal organization. The SHG’s have to recover the subsidy component

amount from Mandal organizations along with the bank linkage amount.

Self Help Groups SHG’s:

SHG’s are not a new concept in the process of rural development. It is a

slight modification of programmes formulated with a slight modification of

existing the DWCRA group schemes. Micro finance, savings, thrift, self-

employment and income generation, are the main objectives of the women

SHG’s.

The concept of SHG’s organized by women, originally known as the

DWCRA is popularized as women self help groups by 1994-95 in Andhra

Pradesh. Originally they were started as savings and credit groups known as

Podupu Lakshmi by the rural poor women in Potti Sri Ramulu (Nellore) district

of Andhra Pradesh. Later this concept has been extended to all the districts of

Andhra Pradesh as rural SHG’s

DWCRA – SHG:

The DWCRA is a registered society whereas SHG is a non registered

organization.SHG is the Mandal level origination registered under Mutually

Aided Co-operative Societies Act. The group organized and sub organizer are

elected by the members and will execute both financial and non-financial,
activities of the DWCRA group where as President and Secretary of SHG

execute all the activities of ;the group as per the resolutions passed by the

members in the meeting.

Though for theoretical parties both the DWCRA group and SHG’s are of

same origin but they differ in organizational pattern. Both are meant for the

empowerment of rural poor women. In Andhra Pradesh after implementation of

Velugu Project the importance of nomenclature of DWCRA has been reduced

and the name women SHG has increased. All those newly formed women

groups are called women SHG’s and monitored by Velugu Project. The name

Velugu Project has been replaced from 2004 as Indira Kranthi Pathakam.

The concept of Self-Help Group:

Experience in many countries has vividly demonstrated that poor women

make investments wisely and earn returns (Human Resource Development,

1995). However, the flow of financial assistance to them was too marginal, if at

all, to enable them to cross the poverty line. The need to create a grassroots

organizational base to enable these women to come together, to analyze their

issues and problems themselves, and to fulfill their needs was strongly adverted.

In fact, experience shows that some of the successful ‘group-based participator’

has made significant improvement in the conditions of living poor women. The

concept of SHG’s gained significance, especially after 1976 when Prof.

Mohammad Yunus of Bangladesh began experimenting with micro-credit and

 women SHG’s. The Strategy made a quiet revolution in Bangladesh in poverty

eradication ‘by empowering these poor women’.

SHG’s are small informal associations created for the purpose of enabling

members to reap economic benefits out of mutual help, solidarity, and joint

responsibility. The benefits include mobilization of savings and credit facilities

and pursuit of group enterprise activities. The group based approach not only

enables these poor women to accumulate capital by way of small savings but

also helps them to get access to formal credit facilities. These groups by way of

joint liability enable these poor to overcome the problem of collateral security

and thus five them from the cloches of moneylenders.

Characteristics of SHG’s:

SHG’s are mostly in-formal where members, pool savings and internally

lend in the group on a rotational basis. Based on the local requirements, SHG’s

have evolved their own characteristics’ of functioning and are given below:

1. Group membership is voluntary and shall be between 10-20.

2. Group should be named after completion of formation.

3. Office bearers (president, secretary) are elected democratically.

4. Group should open an account in the bank in the name of the Group.

5. Group members usually create a common fund by contributing their small

savings on a regular basis.

6. The group evolves flexible systems of working (something with help of NGO’s)

and manages the pooled resources in democratic way.

7. Group considers loan requests in periodical meetings and any competing claims

on the lim9ited resources are to be settled only by consensuses.

8. Loans are given manly on trust with minimum documentation and without any

security.

9. The loan amounts are small, frequent, for short duration and are mainly for

unconventional purposes.

10. The rates of interest vary from group to group and the purpose of loan. It is

some time even higher than that of money lenders.

11. At periodical meetings, besides commenting money, social and economic issues

are also being discussed.

12. Defaults are very rare due to group pressure, and also for the intimate

knowledge of the end-use of credit.

Organizational Pattern:

The organizational pattern of SHG after 2000 is in four stages.

1. Self Help Group:

Stage of organization of SHG is to organize the group by the poor rural

women with 10-20 members of homogeneous characteristics. Empowerment of

the members with self-help and mutual help is the main motive of the SHG’s.
2. Mandal Organization (VO):

The second stage of organization in the chain of SHG’s is the Mandal

organization. These SHG’s once they stabilize will form in to a Mandal

organization with of 30 persons and they elect the office bearers. These Mandal

organizations are to be registered under Mutually Aided Co-operative Societies

Act. These organizations will help as a platform for the SHG’s to discuss their

various social-economic problems. Community investment fund (CIF), and sub

projects are distributed to SHG’s members through SHG’s to its members.

3. Mahila Mandal Samakya (MS):

All the Mandal organizations in a Mandal will form into Mahila Mandal

Samakya (MMS) and elect their office bears. MMS is functioning as a co-

coordinating and supporting body to all Mandal organization and SHG’s. it is a

plat-form for providing training to Velugu/IKP coordinators and also

implements various programmes of the IKP at the Mandal level. All the

government officers participate in the meetings of MMS. They are to be

registered under Mutually Aided Co-operative Societies Act. Sub projects, CIF

amount is to be passed on from MMS to VO’s and from VO’s SHG’s. The

amount thus collected in the recovery is recycled again by the MMS to the

uncovered SHG’s under CIF.

4. Zill Samakya (ZS):

All the Mahila Mandala Samkyas in a district will form in to Zill

Samakya which is again registered under Mutually Aided Co-operative

Societies Act. All the IKP activities are implemented through the ZS in the

district. It will also conduct training programmes for SHG’s, VO and MMS, in

their organization of book keeping, aspects. It will also provide necessary

guidance and assistance in their organizational pattern and different

programmes. All the SHG’s form 2000 has been covered by Velugu Programme

in different in Andhra Pradesh.

Velugu / Indira Kranthi Pathakam:

Vision 2020’s objective for Swarnandhra Pradesh is that “no family will

lack basic needs like food, clothing and shelter and all will enjoy a better quality

of life and develop skills and earn a livelihood”. To achieve these objectives,

the Government of Andhra Pradesh has been implementing “Velugu”, a focused

project to address poverty through empowerment of rural poor women,

especially the poorest of poor. The project is being implementing by the

Department of Panchatyat Raj and Rural Development through the Society for

Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP).

Phase – I of the Project commenced in June 2000 in 180 backward Mandal

of six districts of Adilabad, Mahbubunagar, Ananthapur, Chittor, Srikikulam

and Vizianagaram. Work in another 133 Mandal in these six district

commenced form April 2003, thus covering 313 Mandal under Phase – I. The

Phase – II of the project covering 548 backward Mandal and all costal

fisherman Mandal, in the remaining 16 districts have been launched in June

2002. The project thus covered 861 rural Mandal across the State. In its IV

phase from April 2003, the project has been extended to all the rural Mandal in

the state.

In keeping with the development commitment of the state and as envisaged

in the Swarnandhra Pradesh, Vision 2020 document, Government of Andhra

Pradesh has initiated the Rural Poverty Elimination Programme under the

Project “Velugu” (literally “light” in Telugu).

The society for elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) is an independent,

autonomous society registered under the societies Act to implement the World

Bank’s supported project with the Chief Minister as the Chairperson. The

Andhra Pradesh District Poverty Initiatives Project – APDPIP is a 5 years

project (2000-2005) being implemented by the SERP in 180 (+50 added)

backward Mandal in the six districts of Adilabad, Mahabunagar, Anantapur,

Cjittoor, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram in the state. With the track record of

proven results and experience of the DRIP, has rolled out the second phase of

Velugu – Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project – APRPRP in the

rest of the 16 districts of the state. Velugu, thus, is the largest poverty
alleviation project in the state working in over 860 Mandal in 22 districts and

aims to reach 29 lakhs of the poorest of rural poor.

Development is facilitated as a political process through building grassroots

level people’s organization and by implementing people projects. “velugu”

works towards empowering the poor to overcome all social, economic, cultural

and psychological barriers through self managed institutions of the poor. The

project reaches the rural poor families through social mobilization processes

and formation of SHG’s a federation of these is Mandal Organizations at

Mandal level and Mandal Samkhyas at mandal level. The project thus envisages

that with proper capacity building the poor women’s federations would begin to

function as self-managed and self-reliant people’s organizations.

Velugu enhances the poor’s capacities to manage their resources and help

access public services. It also creates the necessary critical mass by building the

social capital through facilitating the identification of community activists and

trains them as barefoot professionals, as parapets, botanists, social activities etc.

this cadre of rural development professional are managed by the Mandal

federation.

The DRDA’s project director is the project director also for DPMU and the

ITDA’s project officer is also the project director of the TPMU and both of

them are assisted by additional project directors. The project director of both

DPMU and TPMU are assisted by District Project Manager, for different
 sectors like training, communication, micro-finance, livelihood, CIF sub

projects, micro enterprises and gender. At present these project managers are

converted into area coordinators (AC) and each area coordination supervise 4 to

5 Mandal in the DMPU and 2 to 3 Mandal in the TMPU area. The area

coordinators or assisted by assistant project managers and community

coordinators. Each assistant project manager will supervise and coordinate the

activities of velugu / IKP in two Mandal and each Mandal is covered by 2 to 3

community coordinators.

Each community coordinators in the DMPU area is assisted by master of

book keeper and community voluntarisms and Mandal book keepers or

community activists. Similarly in the TPMU area each community coordinator

is assisted by facilitators.

Various schemes are implemented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh

and central Government for their liftmen f the poor through the Velugu project

in the state. The schemes implemented by Velugu.

1. NABARD Bank Linkage

2. Interest Subsidy Scheme (Paval Vaddi Scheme)

3. Swarna Jayanathi Gram Swarozar Yozana (SGSY)

4. State Revolving Fund (SRF) and

5. Community Investment Fund – sub project.

 These schemes are implemented for the wellbeing of the rural poor, who are

the members of SHG’s.

Identification of the Poor:

Generally poor are identified in the BPL surveys, taking into

consideration the income and expenditure of the people but not experiences and

opinion of the local people. Due to this some of the poor are not added in the

list and sometimes non poor also come into this category. To avoid this error,

participation of local people is necessary in identification of the rural poor,

particularly poorest of the poor in the Mandal.

Hence identification of the poorest of the poor and poor is an important

aspect in the Velugu Project. So the poor are identified in PIP method taking

into consideration of the indicators in the BPL survey. In each district 5 to 10

district resources person (DRP’s) 15 to 20 Mandal resources persons are

identified and provide training in the PIP method for the identification of poor

in rural areas. They will form into teams and are sent to Mandal to identify the

poor and the poorest of the poor, who come under category of BPL. The

identification of teams conduct meetings in the Mandal by involving the local

people asses the social map, well being analysis economical position of

individual and identification of poor and the poorest of the poor.

Bank Linkage:

Based on the rationale identified for micro finance intervention, the

NABARD aim is to develop the SHG’s and bank linkages model as the core

strated;y which could be used by the banking system for reaching out the poor

housholds. The programme is pereived as a new paradigm capable of changing

to tally the current banking scenario wchich is not really included towards

dealing with the poor. Incidentally, the SHG’s Bank Linkage programme is

being implemented since 1992 and coincided dwith financial sector reforms,

considered to bhe unique aong various micro finance interventions. The

NABARD has set for itself, a goal of reaching 100 million poor through one

milion SHG’s by 2008. Under the secheme the NABARD provided 4 per cent

interst subsidy to the banks by prviding loan to shg’s under Bank Linkge

programme.

Procedure of Bank Linkage:

Under Bank Linkage progamme banks will sanction loans in 1:4 times to

the corpus fund the shg’s. the shg’s are eligible for Bankk Linkage only after six

months of formation depending upon the critical rate index of the shg’s. the cri

is decided dependin gupo the performance of the sgh’s in respect of the

financial assets, regular savings,internal lendings, recovery group organization

pattern, like awareness on all aspects of group organization regularity of the

group attendance of the member in the meeting, financial transitions, book

keeping and awareness in te transparency. The rate of interest collected on the

bank linkage amount varies form 9 per cent by commercial banks to 12 jper

cent by regional rural banks and co-operative banks. Under the scheme, loans

can beutlised in the first dose, by the memberes for micro credit purpose, but

amount sanctional in the later doses have to be used only for income generation

activties by sgh members.all the loans under bank linkage programme is

provided tjo the shg members on their group gurantee only. The grup grading is

dependent upon cri performance thegrading being above 70 marks of shg group

is conidered A grade, between 50-70 marks of shg group is condered B grade

and below 50 marks of shg group is considered C grade.

Interest Subsidy Scheme:

Government of Andhra Pradesh has announced an interest subsidy scheme

to the SHG’s members from 2004. The scheme is in implemention from 1-7-

2004 onwads. Under the scheme the beneficiaries have jto bare 3 per cent

interest only. The state governmnet incentive is to a maximum of 6 per cent

itnerst. The interst subsidy will be credited to the shg savings account in te

bank.

Swarnajayanthi Gram Swarozar Yojana (SGSY):

The sechemd was stated in April 1999. Under the scheme the best SHG’s

are selected on their performance and are eligible for 3rd or 4th does of bank
linkage,and will be given Rs 50,000 as subsidy. The main objectives of the

SGSY is to develop the organization of micro enterprises through self-help

groups, in accordance to the local need and local recourse, by giving

trainingwherver necessary. Now the scheme was changed under the new pattern

guidelines of society for elimination of rural poverty (SERP), DRDA will

provide the subsidy amount to best SHG’s through mandal samakya and

Mandal organization. The SHG’s have to repay the subsidy componentamount

to along with Bank Linkage amont.

State Revolving Fund:

The concept of revolving fund is originally conieved in the DWCRA

programme. Later, it has been converted into as a matching grant scheme to the

SHG’s. later it has been changed as revolving from 2005-06 onwards. Under the

scheme Rs 10,000 is contributed to SHG’s after oneyear depending pon their

regular savings performance.

Community Investment Fund (CIF) sub Project:

CIF is one of the grants given by the world Bank through SERP

Organization to Velugu / Ikb Project. The project in turn gives it to SHG’s

thrugh MMS and VO’s. the main objectives of the fund is to provide livelihood

to egvery poor person in the rural area. It also aims at evolving people’s project

and the CIF sub projects evolved are earlier to liglihood Enhance ment Action
and now being involved through Micro Credit Plan. To avail of the CIF under

the programme, the SHG’s members have to form into different commen

interest groups. Depending on the prupose of borrowinng , the CIF is provided

by SERP through Velugu to the rural poor through MMS, VOs and SHG’s in

turn these beneficiaries have to repay the amount to ;their SHG’s in 25

instalments with 12 per cent interest. The SHG’s will repay the amont to VO in

50 installments at rate of 6 per cent interest and VO’s will repay the amount to

MMS in 100 instalments with th e3 per cent rate of interest. The amount so

collected will be recycled by MMS to uncovered SHG’s members.

Rice Credit Line (RCL):

Under the scheme the poorest and poor members are supplied with rice

during te slack seacon of employment (drought situtation), with a minimuym of

50 kgs to maximum 200 kgs for each SHG’s member’s family. The RCL

scheme has helped a lot of poor in fulfiling the fiid security during the solack

season and also during the drjougt situation. Risce is supplied at a concessional

rate through the MMS to the members of the SHG’s and the amount has to be

repaid generally inthree installments. The scheme was stared in 2002-2003.

Education and Health:

Velugu / Ikp project has been helpin gnot only by empowering the women

but also is trying to increse the literacy rate, and health aspects of both children
and women, under education programme. It is also trying to eradicate the child

labour through SHG’s by educating the members about the importance of

literacy, and by enrolling the childern in bridge schools and Govt. Schools /

Residential Schools. To improve the health of the rural poor they undertake

awareness of health programme with the co-ordinate of Government Health

Department. It is alos trying to fil the gaps in the rural health facilities by

organizing health camps, AIDS awareness programme and pulse polio

programmes. Velugu has also identified the need of the health insurance for the

poor and is trying to provide them to the poor as part of its social security

programe.

Thus, the velugu programme which is meant for the upliftment of the rural

poor in rendering various services to the people through its social, economical

and infrastructure developments programmes.

Thus, the central government has stated different programmes for the

upliftmetn and ther by empowerment of women, particularly rural women in the

country. The impact of these programes, prticularly SHG’s has to beexamined.

 Rrerences:

1. Gopal and Lanjalan (2010), Rural Development in India, Mandal Deep

Publications, New Delhi.

2. M.Anjaneyulu (2011), Economic Empowerment of Women in India,

Anmol Publications, Pvt., Ltd., New Delhi

3. Reddy, V., and Reddappa (2010), “Peoples Participation and Forest

Management in India Few Emergency Issues – Asia Pacific”, Journal of

Rural Development Vol., X., No.2.

4. Satya Sundaram I (2011), Rural Development, Himalaya Publishing

House., New Delhi.

5. Tygi, D.S. (2010), Agricultural Economic And Rural Development

Himalaya Publishing House., New Delhi.