Women's Self-Help Groups, Poverty Alleviation and Empowerment

Author(s): S. Galab and N. Chandrasekhara Rao

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 38, No. 12/13 (Mar. 22 - Apr. 4, 2003), pp. 1274-
1283
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 Women's Self-Help Groups, Poverty
Alleviation and Empowerment
In its strategyfor poverty alleviation and women empowerment,the governmentof Andhra
Pradesh has provided considerable space for women's self-help groups. What are the
characteristics of the women-based group models of poverty alleviation and women
empowermentthat are being implementedin the state? How are the poor women organised
into groups? How do the groups function? And what has been the contributionof these
models to poverty alleviation and women empowerment?This paper attempts to
address some of these issues.
S GALAB, N CHANDRASEKHARA
RAO

ccelerating economic growth and
creatingan environmentfor ensur provements to develop and implement
ng 'spread effect of growth' have
been emphasised, especially during 1990s,
for poverty alleviation. This macro-
strategy contributes to the emergence of
productionindivisibilities [Rao 1994]. Poor
should be able to respond to these stimuli
forpoverty alleviation [Vyas and Bhargava
1995]. But, the poor can internalise the
production indivisibilities in groups only.
Moreover, the participation of the poor in
the planning and implementation of anti-
poverty programmes is required to reduce
the chain of intermediaries between the
government and the actual beneficiaries
and to improve their bargaining power
[Rao 1994]. Further,the institutions-joint-
family system, patron-client relationships
and traditional occupation-based institu-
tions, that provide social security to the
poor are breaking down at the grass roots
level. Thus, thereis an institutionalvacuum
at the grass roots level to safeguard the
interests of the poor [Galab 1999]. In this
context, there is substantial evidence that
organising women around thriftand credit
services is one of the most effective
methods, not only for alleviating poverty
but also for empowering women [World
Bank 1995, 2000/2001]. Thus, the macro
and micro concerns are giving rise to the
demand for women-based collectives
centred around thrift and credit services.
Then, the issue is how the government
of Andhra Pradesh has responded in this
regard.
The government of Andhra Pradesh has
provided largerspace for women self-help
groupsin its strategyforpoverty alleviation
and women empowerment. The promo-
tion of women groups under development
of women and children in rural areas
(DWCRA) programmeandadoptionof the
model of South Asia Poverty Alleviation
Programme (SAPAP) with suitable im-
Andhra Pradesh District Poverty Initia-
tives Project (APDPIP) and the Andhra
Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project
(APRPRP) stand as a testimony to this.
Therefore,the contributionof these groups,
spread in the length and breadth of the
state, to poverty alleviation and women
empowerment needs critical examination.
But, the APDPIP and the APRPRP spread
in the most backward mandals of the state
are not amenable for assessment as they
are still under implementation. However,
the assessment of SAPAP, the basic model
of APDPIP and APRPRP, can help to
predict the probable impact of APDPIP
andAPRPRP. On the otherhand,the model
promoted by Cooperative Development
Foundation(CDF), which is purelya micro-
finance model, helps to assess the contri-
bution of DWCRA beyond micro-finance
induced impacts. The assessment of these
three models helps to identify the
strengths and weaknesses of DWCRA
groups and thereby helps to improve the
DWCRA programme. In this backdrop,
this paper addresses itself to the follow-
ing issues:
(i) What are the characteristicsof the three
women-based group models of poverty
alleviation and women empowerment that
arebeing implemented in AndhraPradesh?
And, how do they differ among themselves
in their approach?
(ii) How are the poor women organised
into groups? And, how these groups do
function?
(iii) Whatis the contributionof these models
to poverty alleviation and women empow-
erment?
(iv) What are the improvements, if any, to
be made in case of DWCRA groups for
their better functioning and impact on
poverty and women's empowerment?
This paper is based on the review of
some relevantstudies. The studiesreviewed
are excellent source to understand the
process of change, though they do not
provide precise estimates of impact assess-
ment parameters. Formation, functioning
and impact are the broad issues examined
in the studies. The impact assessment
covered two aspects, viz, poverty allevia-
tion and women empowerment. Regard-
ing women empowerment, three dimen-
sions are considered [Ranjani et al 2002].
They are 'power to', 'power with' and
'power within'. The 'power to' dimension
of empowerment indicates the power of
women to control their lives. This includes
power to survive, control over their
labour and access to family labour, access
to and control over resources, freedom to
move and interact, access to leadership
positions, control over reproduction
and control over body. The 'power with'
indicates the collective power of women
members to negotiate their gender, caste,
class and other interests vis-a-vis
institutions of the market,the state, and the
community. This includes collective
interventions in the institution of
family, community, market organisation,
the state including statutory local
bodies. The third dimension 'power
within' indicates the strategic gender
awareness. An indicator of the 'power
within' at the individual level is the ability
of women to challenge gender related
attitudes and social norms in their own
personal lives. Another indicator of the
power, women gaining at a deeper level,
is the perception of others on women's
confidence, assertiveness, and indepen-
dence. This framework of empowerment
is utilised to assess the empowerment in
all the studies.
The details on the basic characteristics
of these models are in order

1274 Economic and Political Weekly March 22-29, 2003

Cooperative Development
Foundation (CDF)
Among the three selected models, the
CDF model is the simplest model. Women
thriftcooperatives(WTC) is the basic entity
promoted under CDF model. Any adult
woman, irrespective of her economic sta-
tus, can become member of the WTCs.
Members save Rs 20 per month and earn
a monthly interest of 1 per cent. Monthly
interestof 2 per cent is charged on the loan.
The loanable funds are generated from
member's savings only. Credit is linked to
savings. A maximum of three times of
savings of a member is provided as credit.
The WTCs help the members, who like to
utilise theiraccumulated thriftduring their
economically active life span as a social
security during their economically inac-
tive lifespan, on the one hand and on the
other they also help members to obtain
thrift-linked credit for the economic em-
powerment. Thus, the WTC is an interven-
tion in village credit market to provide
safer place for thrift accumulation and
thriftlinked-creditat the prevailing market
interest rates at lower transaction costs
with social collateral without any external
funds. The WTC is organised into small
groups with group leaders to monitor loan
repayment,savings collection anddisburse-
ment of loan. Two guarantorsare required
for sanctioning loans. These two mecha-
nisms are adopted to mobilise savings,
loan disbursement and loan repayment.
Loan insurance fund (LIF) scheme is in-
troduced to safeguard against the risk of
bad debts due to the death of any member.
The repayment schedule is not specific to
the economic status of the members. The
women thrift cooperatives are federated
into association of women thrift coope-
ratives (AWTC) to facilitate better func-
tioning of WTCs, perform higher order
functions and inter-flow of loanable funds
among WTCs. The CDF model is based
on the premise that lack of access and
higher interestratesperpetuatepoverty. As
noted earlier, both the poor and the non-
poor are the members of the WTCs. Thus,
the CDF model is a model of untargeted
micro-finance institution (MFI) [Biswas
andMahajan1997]. This suggests the need
to examine whetherpoor are discriminated
in favour of non-poor in CDF groups.
Development of Women and
Children in Rural Areas
(DWCRA)
The Development of Women and Chil-
drenin RuralAreas (DWCRA) programme
was started in 1982-83 in the state with
Economicand PoliticalWeekly March22-29, 2003
UNICEF cooperation to provide opportu-
nities of self-employment on a sustained
basis for the rural poor women. Women
living in neighbourhoodwith similarsocio-
economic background form groups. The
size of the groups ranges from 10-15
members. The SHGs of DWCRA are
federated into mahila banks under Andhra
Pradesh Mutually Aided Cooperative
Societies Act, 1995 for the betterfunction-
ing of SHGs and to provide more access
to credit for the poor. The women in groups
take up economic activities suited to their
skills and local resources. Training in
leadership, attitudinal changes, skill for
income generation is the mandate of the
DWCRA model. A lump sum grant of
Rs 25,000 is provided to the group for
undertaking economic activities. This is a
common fund, which is recouped and
revolved periodically. The IRDP subsidy
and bank loans over and above the grant
can be accessed. In additionto these funds,
groups mobilise monthly savings for inter-
lending to meet the consumption needs of
the members. This programme also aims
to improve women's access to basic ser-
vices (health, education, chid care, nutri-
tion, water and sanitation) and other rural
development programmes of the govern-
ment. The organising of women around
thrift and credit services should result in
the enhancement of theirbargainingpower
and the power to resist exploitation.
DWCRA 'Bazaars' and linkage with cor-
porate sector are the initiatives undertaken
by the government to capture non-local
markets for the DWCRA group products
[GoAP 1999].
South Asia Poverty Alleviation
Programme (SAPAP)
The South Asia Poverty Alleviation
Programme (SAPAP) assisted by United
Nations Development Programme(UNDP)
was a response to Dhaka declaration of the
SAARC Summit held in 1993 on eradi-
cation of poverty by 2002 in all SAARC
countries. In India, SAPAP Pilot project
was initiated in 1995 in Andhra Pradesh.
The programme was implemented in the
three poverty striken-drought prone-
districts, viz, Anantapur, Kurnool and
Mahbubnagar.Thus, SAPAP was concen-
trated in 20 of the poorer mandals. This
programme is based on two premises, viz,
an elite, who appropriatedpublic resources
for their private and sectional gain has
captured the south Asian state and this
state is deemed to be misgoverned and
unaccountable. The misgoverned system
has adversely affected the poor as follows:
The poor, as individuals, are paying
unacceptabletransactioncosts of a socio-
politicalandfinancialnatureforaccessing
resources from the state; the poor, as
individuals,are incapableof augmenting
their own productioncapacitiesthrough
enhancedsavingsandskill formation;and
The gains madeby the poor are insecure
because of the randomrisks emanating
throughill-health,old age, environmental
factors,andsocialandpoliticaloppression
[UNDP 2000]
In the above backdrop,the SAPAPhas
contemplated the process of social
mobilisationasaninstitutionalmechanism
to mobilisethe poorinto self-helpgroups
(SHGs)for theircollectiveempowerment
atthegrassrootslevel.Thecollectivebody
facilitates the poor to interactwith the
governmentmachineryfor betteraccess-
ing of public resourcesand services and
also acts as a pressuregroupto keep the
statemoreaccountableto the institutional
powerof thesociallymobilisedpoor.Thus,
the empowerment model of SAPAP
includes three components, viz, social
mobilisation, capitalformationandcapacity
buildingof the poorwhichhelpto remove
the obstaclesthatperpetuatepovertyand
enablethemto overcometheirvulnerable
conditions[UNDP1998].TheSAPAPwas
implementedin collaborationwith local
NGOs and the state government. The
programmewas initially implemented
through18partnervoluntaryorganisations
(PVOs)orNGOsandwasservedbyaproject
office backedby 22 coordinators and 121
community Theprogramme
volunteers. has
covered 66,000 households,who consti-
tute34 percent of the totalhouseholdsof
theprojectareaand64 percentof thetotal
targetgrouphouseholds.As highas 5,201
SHGs have emerged.These groupshave
been federatedinto 380 village organi-
sations (VOs) at the village level. The
MandalMahilaSamakhya (MMS),theapex
body of VOs at the manda!level, plays a
crucial supportingrole in sustainingthe
VOs [UNDP 2000].
Comparative Perspective
Select Models
These models are rootedin three pre-
mises, viz, lack of access to credit at
favourabletermsand conditionsfor poor
is resulting in perpetuationof poverty;
social capitalcontributesto povertyalle-
viation;and women's empowermentre-
ducesgeneralandgenderpoverty.Women
SHGsarepromotedas basicentitiesunder
all the models.The SHGsarefederatedto
tacklehigherorderfunctionsandimprove
the functioningof SHGs. The SHGs of
DWCRAarefederatedintoMahilaBanks.
1275
The SHGs of SAPAP are federatedinto to fourfactors,viz, the areaof operation; external funds, that had often proved to
VOsandin turntheVOs arefederatedinto the age of the models;the natureof the be a source of weakness for the coopera-
MMSs. The SHGs of CDF are called models;andthe natureof the implement- tive movement [Ghosh 1998]. The govern-
women thrift cooperatives(WTCs) and ing agency.The DWCRAis being imple- ment of Andhra Pradesh has promoted
these are federated into association of mentedin the entirestate,while the other DWCRA model to contain the negative
womenthriftcooperatives(AWTCs).The two modelsareconfinedto a few mandals effects of the economic reforms, pursued
poor are eligible to become membersin of the two-threedistrictsof the state- the rigorously since 1995, on poor and harness
the SHGs of DWCRAand SAPAPmod- CDF model is in two districts(Warangal the collective strength of women demon-
els, whereas all the adults of village, and Karimnagar)and the SAPAP model strated through the anti-liquor movement
irrespectiveof theireconomic status,are was in threedistricts(Anantapur, Kurnool of women in early 1990s. This is evident
eligible to become membersof women and Mahbubnagar). The DWCRA is 20 from the fact that the growth of DWCRA
thriftcooperativesof CDF model.This is yearsold, while the CDFandthe SAPAP groups (as well as other self-help
the reasonwhy the size of the WTCs of are 12 yearsand5 yearsold respectively. groups) is significant only after 1995
CDF runs into hundredsat the village The CDF model is being implementedin [GoAP 1999]. The SAPAP model was
level,whileit variesbetween12-15across and aroundthe Mulkanoorcooperative implemented in collaborationwith the local
other models, on an average.The CDF (a well-functioningdiversified coopera- NGOs and the state intensively as it was
model depends only on internalfunds, tive) areato takeadvantageof the accept- an experimental model. It is striking to
whiletheothermodelsdependon internal ability of the cooperativesby the people note that the state has focused more on
as well as externalfundsto generateloan- - both the poor as well as the non-poor. marginalised sections of the society. The
ablefunds.TheCDFmodelcontemplates The MutuallyAided CooperativeSociet- size of the savings and loan per member,
no linkagesof WTCs/AWTCswith any ies Act, 1995(MACSAct 1995)of Andhra on an average, is largerunderSAPAP (even
otherorganisations.The DWCRAmodel Pradeshhas given impetusto the growth DWCRA) compared to CDF because the
contemplateslinkages of SHGs/mahila of thecooperativesof CDF.Thisis evident saving contributionsare relatedto the local
bankswiththe line departments(LDs) of fromthe factthatthegrowthof theWTCs wage rates and the funds are accessed
the government, the formal financial is phenomenalafter1995only[CDF2001]. through multiple sources other than own
institutions and corporate sector. The The MACS Act, 1995 ensures freedom savings (Table 1). Thus, the unmet credit
SAPAPmodelcontemplateslinkageswith from bureaucraticpressuresas well as needs may be more pronounced among the
thestateincluding(linedepartments, local excessive reliance on easily available CDF groups.
governancebodies),civil society and the
market.TheDWCRAandSAPAPmodels Table 1: Macro Dimensions of the Models
have child centredinterventionstrategy South Asia
Descriptionof the Dimension Cooperative Development
also. The DWCRA model lies between Development of Womenand Poverty
CDF model and SAPAP model. It is a Foundation Childrenin Rural Alleviation
micro-finance Areas (DWCRA)
plusmodel.Besidesmicro- (CDF)
Model Model
Programmes
financeoperations,this model links the (SAPAP)
Model
DWCRA groups to the services and
programmes providedby thestateandalso ProjectArea Warangaland Entire
State
Ananthapur,Kurnool
and
to corporatesector. This programmeis Karimnagar
Districts Mahbubnagar
being implementedby the state through Districts
out the length and the breadth of the SHGs/ WTCsformed(in number) 200 1,90,083 out of 5201
state.Economicandsocial empowerment 4,27,927 SHGs
VOs/MMSs/mahila banks/AWTCs (innumbers) 27 (AWTCs) NA 308 (VOs)
of poorwomenis the bottomline of the Members(in numbers) 45,605 25,10,075 56,256
DWCRAmodel. The SAPAP model is Membersper SHGs/WTCs(in number) 228 13 15
assisted by UNDP. It is also a micro- Caste compositionof members(in percentages)
financeplus model. But it contemplates Scheduled castes 12 34 28
Scheduledtribes 2 10 7
economic,social and politicalempower- Backwardcastes 61 40 50
mentof poorwomen.Thus,theyrepresent Othercastes 13 16 15
NGO model (CDF), governmentmodel SHGs/WTCsper habitation(in number) 1 2 4
Entryof non-poor(in percentage) NA 16.65 28.00
(DWCRA)and an internationalmodel Savings (Rs in crores) 4.71 316.00 8.18
(SAPAP),whichhasbeenimplementedin Savings per member(in Rs) 1034 1260 1092
SAARC countries. Among the NGO Totalcorpus (Rs Incrore) 6.48 589 NA
Loans per member(in number)
models, the CDF has the distinctionof (duringthe currentyear) 0.68 NA NA
beingnon-targeting micro-financemodel, Loanamount(Rs in crore)
whereasthe models of other NGOs are (duringthe currentyear) 7.00 NA 77.7
being targetedmicro-financeplus. So, it Average loan size (in Rs)
(duringthe currentyear) 2248 NA 2763*
maybedifficultto findonlymicro-finance Grade 'A'SHGs/WTCs
centredmodel among the NGOs except (inpercentages) NA 18.9 47.6
thatof CDF.
The rate of coverageof peoples - the Notes: 1 NAindicatesnot available.
2 The figures for CDF and SAPAP relate to the year 2000 and the same for DWCRArelate to
numberof peoplecoveredperyear,on an September2002.
average- is the highest underDWCRA 3 Indicatesestimatedfigures.
model(1,25,508)followedby the SAPAP 4 Incase of CDF,the caste distributionof the membersis not equal to 100 as the caste affiliation
of some of the membersis not known.
( 11,251)andtheCDF(4,560).Thesevaria- Sources:GoAP (1999); GoAP (2002); UNDP (1998); UNDP (2000) ; CDF (1999); CDF (2001);
tions acrossthe modelscan be attributed CESS (2001)

1276 Economicand Political Weekly March22-29, 2003

 The detailed analysis of the formation, coming down. The dependency of WTCs WTCs. Women also noted that as a result
functioning and impact of the models on on CDF staff also has been declining slowly of their participation in the WTCs, their
povertyandwomenempowermentis in order. [Ray and Vasundhara 1996 Ghosh 1998]. creditworthiness with other financial in-
The WTCs and AWTCs are able to meet stitutions and other money providers had
CDF Model the transaction costs through the interest improved, thus giving them access to more
amount earned on the credit operations funds [Ray and Vasundhara 1996]. The
Formationazndfunctioningof groups: The [Biswas and Mahajan 1997]. The credit relatively low amount of both sharecapital
WTCs are untargetedmicro-finance insti- provided by the WTCs is enabling the per member (Rs 10 or 20) as well as
tutions(MFIs), since any woman irrespec- women to utilise the existing skills they monthly-required thrift (typically Rs 20)
tive of her socio-economic status can possess. However, this is restricting the allows women from across spectrum of the
become a member of WTC. The caste fuller utilisation of credit potential, as new village to participate and accumulate their
composition of 37 WTCs promoted by opportunities are not expanding in the savings. Poor women, and sometimes
CDF in Warangaland Karimnagarreveals villages. Moreover, due to lack of effective others, often have nowhere to keep their
thatBCs, OCs, SCs and STs constitute 61, forward linkages, some of the women are money safely. At home, their husbands
13, 12 and2 per cent of the total participant not able to generate adequate surpluses may take it away at any time. There are
members respectively. The landholding from the existing economic activities to no reliable and suitable organisations to
patternof member households shows that make repayments of loans. As a result of mobilise small savings to retain local
landless, marginal and small farmers, and this, women are afraid of obtaining loan surpluses within the region [Ghosh 1998].
otherfarmers(includingmedium andlarge) from the WTCs. All these factors result in Local reliable self-managed WTCs filled
constitute 55, 41 and 4 per cent respec- the reduction of utilisation of funds and this gap. Some women reported that their
tively [CDF 1999]. The relatively low loan repayments overtime.This may ability to save was a sign of security. Others
amountsof both share capital per member threatenthe sustainability of women thrift noted the improvement of their financial
(Rs 10 or 20) as well as monthly-required cooperative system in years to come, if situation and having 'money at hand' as
thrift(typically Rs 20) allow women from these trends are not countered. their reasons for feeling secure. The pro-
across the income spectrum of the village Impact of the WTCs:As noted earlier, the portion of borrowers from each caste is in
to participate.This has led to coverage of WTCs should provide access to credit at line with their proportion of membership.
90 per cent of village women across all reasonable interest rates and enable the The proportionof borrowersfrom landless
social stratain most of the villages [Ghosh women to undertake economic activities, is less than the proportion of their mem-
1998]. On the other hand, there are few besides meeting pressing needs. This ul- bership. Similarly, the proportion of loans
members who do not appear to be in great timately should result in reduction in received by this category, too, was lower
financial need but who are members for poverty (income poverty). These are the than the membership percentage. Further
the sake of companionship and the sense intended impacts of the WTCs. However, the size of the loan received is also low
of solidarity with other women [Ray and theremay also be unintendedconsequences compared to other category of members
Vasundhara 1996]. This indicates that of the WTCs. As the intervention impacts [CDF 1999]. This indicates the lower credit
women fromall socio-economic spectrums, of WTCs do not confine to the credit absorption capacity of this category of
excepttheveryprivilegedparticipate ingroups. transactions and thereby economic em- members. The cooperatives' interest rate
The proportion of leadership from SCs powerment, it may also stretch to social of 24 per cent per annum has forced other
and STs was slightly higher than their and political domains of empowerment lenders to lower their rates. Women re-
proportionin membership,whereas in case since they are interrelated.Further,the ex- portedthatthe interestrateoutsidetheWTCs
of the BCs, this was slightly lower. How- ternalitiesof WTCs may also contributeto droppedfrom 36 per cent to 30 per cent per
ever, this was relatively higher from OCs the changes in creditmarketat village level. annum [Ray and Vasundhara 1996]. This
than their proportion in membership. The Impact on poverty: Some of the women indicates the impact of women's thrift
landless were underrepresentedin relation reported that they did not know earlier cooperatives on the village credit market.
to theirproportionin membership,whereas where to get loan. Some others have re- Further, this also reveals that the cost of
the other categories were over represented ported that they used to knock on several credit also has come down for the members
in relation to their proportion in member- doors and beg for loan before joining the as well as non-membersof WTCs. Similar
ship. This could be due to the pressure of women thriftcooperatives. Otherstold that observations are made in case of CDF-
daily work on the landless, and likely loss they did not have access to loans without sponsoredwomen cooperativesin Cuddapah
of wages for days spent in committee pledging or pawning articles of value or district [Parthasarathyand Kalyani 1995].
meetings. Most WTCs are now discussing alternatively they had to pledge their pro- The pattern of utilisation of loans taken
the payment of sitting fee for directors, duce to merchants at lower than market from WTCs provides indications for as-
equal at least to the daily agriculturalwage rates. Some others mentioned that they sessing the income improvements of the
in their area [CDF 1999]. Majority of the used to borrow at higher rates of interest member households of WTCs. It is inter-
membersattendmeetings on a regularbasis. and face lot of problems previously. Some esting to note that 50 per cent of the loans
Most women actively engage in decision- have revealed thatthey have to desperately have been utilised for immediate genera-
making process duringthe meetings. They depend on theirhusbandsfor getting money tion of income and the rest 50 per cent of
take the responsibility to ensure that others before joining the WTCs. They have also the loans have been utilised for creation
repayloansregularlyandoccasionally make reportedthat their ability to repay the loan of productive assets. Agriculture (includ-
the thrift contribution on behalf of other was low since loan has to be repaidin lump ing irrigation),animalhusbandryandsmall
members who may be away [Ray and sum and at a time. But all of them reported business constitute 23, 13 and 11 per cent
Vasundhara 1996]. that they are able to obtain loan that can of the loans respectively. Human capital
The resistance from the husbands and be repaid in easier instalments without formation(health, education andconsump-
mothers-in-law for the women to actively collateral in timely mannerwhenever nec- tion) acquisition of assets (physical assets
participate in WTCs has been gradually essary at a reasonable interestratefrom the including irrigation) constitutes 23 and 12

Economicand PoliticalWeekly March22-29, 2003 1277

per cent, respectively [CDF 1999]. These
observations are similar to those observed
in case of WTCs-sponsored by the CDF
in Cuddapah district [Parthasarathyand
Kalyani 1995]. Women's involvement in
economic activities has increased substan-
tially, as they have accessed loans. Women
have been able to start new business and
expand old ones. The business, both old
and new, consist of small grocery stores,
tea/coffee and 'paan' shops, spice grind-
ing units, vegetable vendors, home-based
cut piece cloth business and tailoring,
bangle selling and desilting crane. The
access to credit at lower interest rates and
patterns of utilisation of credit indicate
that there should be improvement in the
incomes of the households. The husbands
of members of WTCs also reported that
their wives are adding additional income
to the households' income [Ray and
Vasundhara 1996]. These observations
have support from WTCs in Cuddapah
also [Parthasarathyand Kalyani 1995]. All
these indicate the possibilities for reduc-
tion in income poverty of the member
households of WTCs.
Women have reported that they have
startednon-traditionaltasks andenterprises
vis-a-vis the activities they were already
doing. The tasks and enterprises noted
earlierprovide substantialevidence to this.
These women reportedthat their access to
and control over savings have improved.
Another key asset for women is jewellery.
Thoughjewellery is a non-productiveasset,
women perceive it as their own to a greater
extent.Besides livestock andshops, women
members reported acquisition of other
physical assets. They have also reported
that they have become more mobile as a
result of their WTC activities. Most of the
members agreed that mobility outside the
village has increased with travelling be-
tween villages for WTC meetings. Some
women have reportedthat they have trav-
elled for the first time outside of their
district to attend group activities. Women
have reported that the members consider
the unity and solidarity among the women
in the WTCs to be one of the most im-
portant benefits of membership. Women
of different castes and classes met for a
common purpose in the WTC. Women
noted thatthe absence of caste segregation
in the WTCs was an importantchange in
their villages. The solidarity in the co-
operatives has given scope to share their
problems and seek help. The cooperatives
have become a shelter for the widows and
single women who face particular pres-
sures in the society. Caste and class based
norms are slowly broken in the coopera-
tives. Thus, freedom to interact and make
1278
friends outside the four walls of the family
has been improved. The WTCs have ex-
panded avenue for women to assume
leadershippositions. Most women reported
that they are able to spend money on their
own needs like health care, clothing and
jewellery. Some of the women reported
that they are consulted by their husbands
in regard to what crop to grow. This in-
dicated thatthe role of women in decision-
making in the family has improved. There
are collective interventions in the institu-
tion of family. Arbitrationin a divorce case
by one WTC is a case in point. However,
there are collective interventions vis-a-vis
the state and statutory local bodies. The
leaders of WTC were consulted about the
installation of sanitary latrines in one of
the villages; politicians have started com-
ing to the WTCs to find out how their
members vote. Four women members
contested in elections from women re-
served constituencies in the local govern-
ment mandal elections. Many of the hus-
bands reported that their wives are
more independent than before joining
the WTCs [Ray and Vasundhara 1996,
Ghosh 1998].
DWCRA Model
Formation and functioning of groups:
Women from all caste groups are covered
underthe programme[ORG-MARG2000].
However, the composition of coverage is
varying across the districts [ORG-MARG
2000, Raju and Ali 1996, ICM 1996,
Jayalakshmi 1997, Narayanaswamy and
Jagannathan1999, YFA 1996, Kanchanya
1998,Mahendra Dev and Rao 2002]. This
may be due to variations in the caste
composition of poor across the districts.
However, backward castes, scheduled
castes, and scheduled tribes put together
constitute significant proportion of the
beneficiaries covered. Furtherthe partici-
pation of widows, who constitute the
poorest of the poor, is 9 per cent [ORG-
MARG 2000, Raju and Ali 1996]. The
composition of the members according to
pre-DWCRA income status of theirhouse-
holds reveals that the coverage of the
poorest of the poor is low on the one hand
and on the other the coverage of non-poor
is considerable [GoAP 1999, Raju and Ali
1996]. The reasons for this include: the
poor are not sure of theirsavings capability
and hence do not join the groups; many
a time the initial mobilisers may exclude
the poorest due to their bias and under-
estimation of the capacities of the poor to
save, avail loans and repay them; and
sometimes, the poor are indifferent to such
programmesandthus neverjoin the groups
Economic and Political Weekly
[APMAS 2002]. The mean age of mem-
bers in DWCRA groups is 35 years [ORG-
MARG 2000]. The groups are formed on
the basis of the income, caste and
neighbourhood. Hence these groups are
more homogeneous [ORG-MARG 2000].
About 39 per cent of groups do not hold
meetings and 23 per cent of the groups
are not practising bookkeeping. There are
mainly two reasons for this: gross illiteracy
of members; and equal distribution of ex-
ternal grants and funds where groups do
not see the need for book maintenance.
Regularity on savings is observed and
defaulters are found to be only 8 per cent
of the members in the last three months
[ORG-MARG 2000]. Seventy-eight per
cent of SHGs save regularly. It was found
that savings per month equal the average
daily wage. Savings were collected by a
door-to-door practice and not during
meetings. There is nopenalty for not saving
in time. It was observed that some groups
discontinue savings, once the revolving
fund is availed by the group. Few groups
lack the motivation to save due to the
absence of external linkages, in spite of
functioning for a period of two years or
more. Interest on savings is not a common
feature in any of the districts. Additional
savings apartfrom the mandatory savings
are absent. Only 2 per cent of the groups
carry out voluntary savings [APMAS
2002]. Equal distribution of funds domi-
nates the patternof lending. This has been
due to four factors: fear of repayment in
case of need-based loans; the members
feel that every member has an equal share
in the loan amount; unwillingness to pay
interest on internal loans (from savings)
by the members; banking system and the
DRDA staff together encourage equal
distribution as a pattern of lending to
inculcate cohesiveness among the group
members. Internal lending activities have
not developed fully in the districts.
Idle funds as a proportion of total funds
available, (member's savings, grants, in-
terest amount, other inflows) is 33 per
cent. However, 78 per cent of internal
funds are in rotation [ORG-MARG 2000].
Selection of leaders is democratic in 87
per cent of the groups. In the SHGs, there
was imposed leadership and it was due to
the lack of initiative among the members
to become leader. Leadership rotation was
absent in 94 percent of the SHGs [APMAS
2002, ORG-MARG 2000]. Thus develop-
ment of leadership among other members
is lacking. Groups are over dependent on
the leader. The leader manages all activi-
ties regarding accounts, loans and atten-
dance. Member's involvement in
mobilisation of savings is only 4 per cent
March 22-29, 2003
[ORG-MARG 2000]. In the absence of
the group leader, meetings are not held up
to six months or more [APMAS 2002].
Eighty-four per cent of leaders and 93 per
cent of members are not part of other
institutions including local bodies. This
indicates the poor growth of leadership
in the groups [ORG-MARG 2000]. The
grading of DWCRA groups according
to their functioning by the government
of Andhra Pradesh has revealed that
18,63,19 per cent of the groups are found
to be A,B and C categories respectively.
Similarly, Andhra Pradesh Mahila
Abivrudhi Samithi has confirmed this
grading, by and large [APMAS 2000].
Thus, only 18 per cent of the groups are
functioning very well.
The dependencyon moneylendersamong
members is declining due to the access to
creditfrom SHGs of DWCRA programme.
As high as 61 per cent of members reported
thatthey would have gone to moneylenders
had there been no SHGs. Of course, this
percentage varies across districts - 90 per
cent in East Godavari and 69 per cent in
Mahaboobnagar[ORG-MARG2000]. The
access to credit has enabled the women to
undertake economic activities. Around 8
per cent of the members of SHGs reported
that they might not have started the eco-
nomic activity, had there been no SHGs.
The incidence of such members varies
across the districts [ORG-MARG 2000].
The economic activities undertakenby the
members of SHGs fall under three catego-
ries, viz, agriculture, animal husbandry,
and industry, service and business (ISB)
sectors [YFA 1996,Kanchanya 1998, Raju
and Ali 1996, ICM 1996, Jayalakshmi
1997, Narayanaswamy and Jagannathan
1999]. The activities are dominantly pro-
duction oriented ratherthan service. They
arelargely continuous activities ratherthan
seasonal. The ownership of DWCRA
sponsoredenterprises(activities) is equally
divided into individual and family
ownership. This reveals that the enterprise
is actually owned, assisted and managed
by othermembersof the family also, though
the financial assistance is provided to the
women members of the family. Majority
of the women of SHGs reported that the
assistance provided under DWCRA is not
adequate to meet the initial requirements
in case of some activities [Raju and Ali
1996].
A large proportion of women, who are
mostly from artisan families engaged in
traditional occupations become members
of the groups to further strengthen and
expand their ongoing economic activities.
These women are continuing with their
earlier (pre-DWCRA) occupations. As a
Economic and Political Weekly March 22-29, 2003
matter of fact, the DWCRA groups that
formedwith common interestin expanding/
strengthening their existing traditional
activities have been significantlysuccessful
[BASIX 1999]. However, a smaller pro-
portion of them have taken up new occu-
pations ratherthanremainingin traditional
activities [Raju and Ali 1996]. These
women are not able to manage these
activities due to lack of previous experi-
ence. Moreover overcrowding in some of
the activities like vegetable vending and
fruitvending has forced some of the women
to close down their activity [Raju and Ali
1996, Kanchanyal998, ICM 1996,
Jayalakshmi 1997, Narayanaswamy and
Jagannathan 1999]. Thus, most of the
enterprises (activities), which are facili-
tated through DWCRA groups helped to
utilise the existing skills by using the credit
assistance provided. The attempts of the
Government to impart new skills and
upgrade existing skills have not reached
many areas of the state. As a result, many
of the women groups are not able to derive
the benefits from the government facili-
tated DWCRA 'bazaars' as marketing
outlet. It has been reported that some of
the unemployed and wage employed have
become self-employed. Interestingly,4 per
cent of the members who were housewives
earlierbecame self-employed. The diversi-
fication of occupation to non-agricul-
ture activities has enhanced the quality of
income of the households since the depen-
dency on risk-based agriculture has come
down to some extent.
The additional income accrued to the
beneficiary women from the economic
activities undertaken due to DWCRA
programmes varied between Rs 10-30 per
day on an average. This has contributed
to considerable improvement in the in-
comes of the poorestof the poorandenables
the near poor to cross the poverty line. It
is reportedthat considerable proportionof
beneficiary adult female family members
has full employment under the DWCRA
scheme. At the same time, some of the
male family members have also derived
employment under the DWCRA scheme.
A part of the income gained was spent, by
some of the women member households,
on nutritious food for family especially
children [YFA 1996, Kanchanya 1998].
Considerable proportion of the sampled
beneficiaries has taken up kitchen garden
activities near their homesteads. This has
brought changes in the quality of con-
sumption that might have led to the
enhancement of the nutritional status of
children, pregnant and lactating mothers
among the DWCRA families [YFA 1996].
Similarly, part of the income gained also
spent on the health care of the family
[Kanchanya 1998]. It is not out of place
to mention that the state has achieved im-
pressive reduction in the growth rate of
population from 2.42 during 1981 to 1991
to 1.39 per cent during 1991 to 2001
[Economic Survey 2001]. In fact, the dra-
matic decline in decadal growth rate of
population has also been attributedto the
phenomenal growth of SHGs in the state
[James 2002]. Most of the eligible among
DWCRA membersin sampled groups have
undergone family planning. Most of the
pregnant women, similarly, had tetanus
coverage. Majority of the children of the
beneficiaries are going to school as the
women had become aware of the need for
basic education. Thus, women are able to
improve their access to health care and
educational institutions to some extent.
However, the groupsin the interior villages
and scheduled tribes have not been bene-
fited to the extent of the exterior villages
and other caste beneficiary households
[YFA 1996, Kanchanya 1998].
Impact on Women's
Empowerment
The women members of SHGs seem to
have embarkedon the non-traditionaltasks
like marketing and non-traditional enter-
prises. The women have improved control
over their labour to this extent. Women's
access to and control over their savings,
credit and income have improved. Women
have improved freedom to move and
interact with the officials andotherwomen
after joining the SHGs of DWCRA. The
DWCRA groupsthemselves have expand-
ed avenues for women to assume leader-
ship position. The adoption of family
planning and contraceptive methods by
the women members of SHGs indicate the
improvement of the control of women over
their reproductive choice. On the whole,
it is clear that women are able to improve
control over their labour, resources (sav-
ing, credit and income), freedom to move
and interact, leadership, and reproductive
choices, to some extent. Thus, there is
improvement to some extent with regard
to 'power to' dimension of empowerment.
But, there is no improvement in the 'power
with' dimension of empowerment. This
is evident from the absence of the collec-
tive initiatives of women members to
negotiate their gender, caste, class and
other interests vis-a-vis institutions of the
market, the state, the community and
family. The women areable to handlesome
of the issues relating to their lives inde-
pendently. This indicates that 'power
within' dimension of empowerment is
1279
impacted due to participation in SHGs to by better-educated and more affluent Occupational diversification has taken
some extent. leaders. The interest amount generated place among the members. This is evident
from theircredittransactionsis enablingthe from the increase in the number of sources
SAPAP Model SHGs, VOs andMMSs to meet the running of livelihoods of women members and
cost [UNDP 2000]. However, the institu- their husbands and larger proportion of
The poor from scheduled castes, sched- tions can become unsustainable unless member households shifting from agricul-
uled tribes,backwardcastes andothercastes adequateattentionis focused on livelihood ture to service and trade. The strengthen-
have participated in the programme. related issues [MahendraDev et al 2002]. ing of skill base of members in a limited
Women constitute 90 per cent of the total The SAPAP programmehas been replicated way through providing training on tailor-
participantsin the programme.Men groups with suitable modification in the most ing, embroidery, knitting and word pro-
were also formed, but they are less in backward mandals of Andhra Pradesh in cessing has helped women to diversify
member.Women groups were dominantly the form of Andhra Pradesh District theiroccupations to some extent. The credit
promoted. Homogeneous as well as het- Poverty Initiatives Project (APDPIP) and enabled the poor to make more effective
erogeneous groups of women with respect Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction use of skills they already possessed rather
to caste dimension of the women are Project (APRPRP). This shows the repli- than skill development induced demand
formed. Female-headed households con- cable potentiality of SAPAP for poverty for credit. Women have undertakenmicro-
stitute 17 per cent of the members. 72 per reduction. enterprises relating to petty business ac-
cent of members were very poor or poor The financial status has improved due tivities. The initiatives made, though in
at the time of group formation. Self-help to improvement in access to formal credit limited way, to reduce the transaction,
groups (SHGs) of poor women are pro- institutions, apart from improvement in production, marketing and storage costs
moted at the cutting edge level, habitation theirsavings status.Dependency on money- by promoting appropriate collective ar-
and below. The principles underlying the lenders had declined [Outreach 2001, rangements like bulk purchase of inputs,
group formation were physical proximity, Ranjani et al 2002, and Mahendra Dev et vehicles and establishing milk and agricul-
homogeneity and affinity. The number of al 2002]. The presence of moneylenders tural market societies have improved the
members in a SHG is found to be 15, on and the interest rate charged by those who livelihoods. But there are large variations
an average, in the villages covered under are in place have declined [Ranjani et al across the groups in this regard.There was
the programme. There are four SHGs on 2002]. The single most important benefit a slight improvement in the quality of
an averagepereach habitationin the project of the project is that the members are employment, i e, shift from casual/bonded
area. Community coordinators, commu- relieved from the clutches of moneylend- employment to self-employment. Depen-
nityvolunteersandvillage specialists (para- ers whom they had to approachearliereven dency on migration as a livelihood strategy
professionals) were trained. This process for small consumption loan of Rsl00. The has declined. Demand for higher wages
makes it possible for members of the SHGs negotiations of SHGs to obtain loans from and equal wages, releasing women mem-
to access specialised knowledge from bank, the initiatives of MMS to obtain loan bers or members of her family from bond-
within the community. All the SHGs in a from government (DRDA, SC Corpora- age, and also establishing 'Ammavadis'
village are federated into village organi- tion, UNDP) and NGOs (BASIX and (babycarecentres) to facilitatepoor women
sation (VO) and these VOs are again Friends of Women World Banking) for on- with young childrento work withoutpulling
federated into mandal mahila samakhya lending to SHGs andestablishing women's their elder daughters out of school have
(MMS) at mandal level. There is no proper own bank together contributedfor enhanc- improved the labour market conditions in
follow-up of the periodical rotation of ing the financial status of the household. favour of poor.
leadership of SHGs, as no one is willing Each person availed on an average two The levels of income of households have
to take responsibility. Constantly, the in- loans. The very poor members, who joined increased in all the categories of partici-
creased dependence on the existing leader groups have not been able to access as pants of the SHGs. However, the increase
may create the possibility for exploitation. much number and quantumof loans as the was higher among relatively better off
All the members are not participating in poor,moderatelybetteroff farmers[Ranjani among the poor. As high as 47 per cent
group discussions. Micro planning for et al 2002]. The credit accessed was re- of sample households were found to be
proposing productive economic activities ported to be inadequate [Outreach 2001]. above the poverty line [Outreach 2001].
has to be strengthenedamong the members The possession of livestock rather than The wealth-ranking exercise carried out
[Outreach2001 ]. 47.6 per cent of the SHGs land has increased considerably among the with 83 SHGs suggests that poverty de-
are graded as 'A' category based on the households. A very thin scaling up of extent clined among 69 per cent of the members
functioning of the groups [UNDP 1998]. of land owned is recorded after the par- and the proportion of the very poor re-
These SHGs, VOs and MMSs have to ticipation in groups [Outreach 2001, duced from 48 per cent to 18 per cent -
interact with the state, market and civil Ranjani et al 2002 and Mahendra Dev et 75 per cent of them had become poor and
society to achieve the objectives of alle- al 2002]. However, the households who the rest become moderately poor. The re-
viating poverty and empowering women, had pledged land in the past but started duction in poverty was less pronounced
besides making the State accountable and redeeming the same are on increase among dalits and women-headed house-
transparentto poor and transforming the [Ranjani et al 2000]. The physical capital holds compared to non-dalits and male-
civil society to become more pro-poor and base has increased only due to increase in headed households. However, some of the
markets (labour, financial and commodity consumer durables holding status in women reported that there is a decline in
markets) to become more perfect. The Anantapur district [Mahendra Dev et al their living conditions due to the failure
economic, caste and gender homogeneity 2002]. Possessionofdiesel orelectricmotors of the economic activities undertaken by
of the SHG, VOs and MMSs lends itself has not improved [Outreach 2001]. But, them afterjoining the groups. Further,they
to collective action. Moreover, because of thereis evidence thatthe purchaseof equip- have also reported that the distress events
exclusive character of the SHGs, there is ment and setting up of shops is dominant they have experienced, in the absence of
less scope for the groups to be captured among the households [Ranjaniet al 2002]. insurance coverage, also hurt them badly.

1280 Economic and Political Weekly March 22-29, 2003

The gender poverty measured in terms of
genderbias with respect to norms of eating,
male preferencein distributionof food and
access to clothing has not declined signifi-
cantly. Interestingly, gender poverty is
lower among the dalits compared to other
communities despite relatively higher
levels of poverty among the dalits [Ranjani
et al 2002]. Food security has improved
after the participation in groups. On the
otherhand, there is evidence that there had
been no significant change in food security
status among the households in Anantapur
district [Mahendra Dev et al 2002]. Cut-
ting down consumption as a coping
strategy when households faced with food
shortagehas come down. However, women
and girl children mostly bear the brunt of
food shortage. Acute malnutrition among
children, infant and child mortality/pre-
mature adult death have declined. The
school enrolment and regularity in attend-
ing school by children have improved.
Genderdisparitieswere much lower among
the member households with respect to
nutrition,child/adult prematuredeath and
ability of women to sign. Gender differ-
ences in children's education and infant
mortalityhave declined moderately.Young
children using government child-care ser-
vices have increased. Drainage facilities,
toilet facilities and access to pucca houses,
electricity and gas have improved. The
improvements in the access to productive
assets, improved livelihoods and control
over all aspects of life of women have
contributed to the decline of disparities
[Ranjani et al 2002].
The women of SHGs have improved
their control over their lives. More specifi-
cally, women have improved access and/
or control over power to survive, their
labour/family labour, resources, freedom
to move and interact,leadership positions,
reproduction, and body. Thus there is all
round improvement with regardto control
over their lives. However, there are varia-
tions with regardto improvement in access
and/or control over the different aspects
of this dimension of improvement. Highest
achievements are made with respect to
their mobility, breaking of gender division
of productive labour, access to their own
savings, access to friendship outside their
family and access to leadership positions
in grampanchayat;moderateachievements
aremade with respectto reproductiverights
and body rights (freedom from violence);
and lower achievements are made with
respect to extent of access of women to
husband's labour (productive and repro-
ductive), rights of women to land and
house, their ability to control male alcohol
consumption and their ability to influence
Economicand PoliticalWeekly March22-29, 2003
setting of wages. Women have intervened
collectively in several institutions, viz,
family, community, markets(labour,com-
modity and financial), and state including
local self-government institutions. Within
the family, higher collective achievement
has been with respect to girl child educa-
tion followed by release of bonded labour.
At the community level, women groups at
various levels are changing attitudes on
girl child education and caste-based
discrimination.The interventionsin labour
andcommodity marketshave to be strength-
ened, though the interventions in financial
market are impressive. Linkages with
government departmentsare strongerwith
those departmentsthat deal with women's
reproductive tasks or women managed
productiveactivities andweaker with those
activities which are controlled by men.
This has resulted in accessing the govern-
ment services and resources [Mahendra
Dev et al 2002]. However, the women
groups have to begin to play their role in
making gram panchayats function more
transparently.The women members' hus-
bands feel that their wives are more inde-
pendent. Lesser degree of son preference
shown by women members and breaking
of caste norms within the group indicate
that women in their own lives also pursue
gender specific concerns. Thus, a consid-
erable and balanced impact in all three
levels of empowerment - power to (indi-
vidual), power with (collective) and power
within (consciousness) was achieved [for
details see Ranjani et al 2002].
Conclusions and
Policy Implications
Participationin SHGs has improved the
access of women to credit. This has helped
women in reducing their dependence on
moneylenders. The interest rates in infor-
mal credit sector have declined. This has
to be confirmed with further evidence as
the interest rates are generally declining
over time due to the penetration of formal
banking system in the village economies.
The access to credit has helped women to
meet their consumption as well as produc-
tion needs. The women have invested the
credit obtained from SHGs in new eco-
nomic activities and/or strengthening the
old activities. They have contributedto the
occupational diversification at the house-
hold level. The non-agriculturalactivities
undertaken by the women helped the
households to obtain income from low risk
activities. Thus, the quality of income of
the households has gone up. The quality
of employment, indicated by shift from
wage to self-employment, of women as
well as theirfamilies (when the otherfamily
members also participated in the activity
undertaken by the women) is enhanced.
All these indicate that the incomes of the
poor have increased and as a result the
intensity of poverty (poverty gap) among
the poor has come down. The women ac-
quired some non-land assets; health, nu-
trition and education status of children has
improved. This indicates that the inter-
generational transmission of poverty has
reduced. The women have met their basic
needs to some extent. The reduction of
gender inequalities is also recordedto some
extent. However, failure of the economic
activitiesundertakencoupled with theeffect
of distress events brought a decline in the
living conditionsof some of the poorwomen.
These are the changes observed across
the models considered for the analysis.
Then, the issue in question is whether these
changes are varying across models and/or
across different socio-economic groups
among of the poor? And whether the pro-
cess of reduction in poverty as well as
reduction in intergenerational transmis-
sion of povertyis sustainable?The evidence
available reveals that some of the afore-
mentioned changes vary across models.
However, there are also some similar
changes across the models. A considerable
proportion of the poorest of the poor are
not included at all in the process of poverty
alleviation underthe DWCRA and SAPAP
models. On the other hand, there are in-
dications that non-poor have entered the
DWCRA and SAPAP groups. Entry of
non-poor itself might have hindered the
entry of the poorest of the poor. The poorest
of the poor, who are in the groups have
absorbed relatively lower volume of credit
among the poor covered underSAPAP and
CDF. This is due to low asset base includ-
ing skills. The profile of economic activi-
ties undertaken by the members under
SAPAP, DWCRA and CDF also support
this. The activities undertaken with low
level of credit and existing skills, given the
demand, may not generate adequate sur-
plus to repay the loans. As a matterof fact,
a few among them opted out of these
activities as the existing demand is inade-
quate. This has led to decline in the living
conditions in case of SAPAP group mem-
bers. But, the poor who could withstand
competition have improved their incomes.
Some of the members, mostly the poorest
of poor from SAPAP groups are repaying
the loans taken from groups by resorting
to reduction in consumption and/or bor-
rowing from informalcreditsources. These
are the two escape routes available to
comply with peer monitoring for repay-
ment of loans. These processes make the
1281
poorestof the poor much worse thanbefore.
This indicates that the poorest of the poor
should stay out of these groups at least to
maintain their earlier welfare levels. Does
this meanthatthe micro-creditalone cannot
address the problems of poverty of the
poorest of the poor? This problem can be
tackled to some extent by adopting repay-
ment schedule suitable to the poorest of
the poor. The improvement in skill base,
given the other assets base, can also be a
solution to tackle the problems of the
poorest. Proper livelihood planning, bulk
purchasesof inputs and collective market-
ing of outputs help the poorest of the poor
to organise their economic activity effec-
tively. Thus interventions in commodity
marketshelp the poorest of the poor. Then,
how about the aged and migrant agricul-
turallaboursthat constitute larger share of
the poorest? The welfare programmes for
the aged and wage employment and land
rights including usufruct rights on com-
mon propertyresources to arrestmigration
coupled with micro-credit for migrant
agriculture labour may be the solution.
Thus micro-credit has to augment other
programmesto addressthe concerns of the
poorest of the poor.
Further,some of the poor are not taking
loan from the SHGs with the apprehension
thatthey may not be able to repay the loan,
given the peer monitoring for the repay-
ment of loans. This is ultimately resulting
in lower utilisation of loanable funds in
case of DWCRA and CDF. This in turn
may threaten the very sustainability of
SHGs of DWCRA and CDF. Thus low
levels of self-employment opportunities
available in the local economies are con-
strainingthe poorto avail creditfrom SHGs.
Thus, there may not be a change in the
income of some of the poor who are in
SHGs. The attempts to reduce the tran-
saction costs of production and marketing
by resortingto collective purchaseof inputs
(bulk purchases),collective storage of
output to sell the product at right time and
marketing collectively has definitely im-
proved the income levels of the poor. This
is evident from the initiatives of the poor
under SAPAP. However, this is confined
to a very few groups. Thus, there is a need
to replicate these initiatives under all the
models. At the same time, there was re-
sistance from the uppercaste landlordsand
employers to such type of initiatives by the
poor. Does this mean that the benefits of
social capital areconstrained in the context
of existing class relations? Or does this
mean that the micro-process of poverty
generation that emanate from the existing
class relations cannot be arrested with the
strength of social capital? However, a
1282
detailed and systematic examination is
required in this regard.
The other issue is whether widening the
skill base of the poor can improve incomes
of the poor. The skill base of women has
not been broadened at all either through
impartingnew skills or upgradingexisting
skills to take up new activities or refining
the quality of old productunderCDF. But,
this was done in a limited way in case of
SAPAP and DWCRA, given the spread of
DWCRA across Andhra Pradesh. The re-
cent initiativesof the governmentof Andhra
Pradesh in the form of DWCRA bazaars
and linking SHGs with the corporatesector
to capture the non-local markets besides
local marketsis an indicationthat the local
markets are not adequate to absorb the
products emanated as a result of widening
the skill base of the poor. However, the poor
who are in this process have gained con-
siderably. But the SCs and women headed
householdshave notimprovedconsiderably
compared to non-SCs and male-headed
households under SAPAP.
The rise in incomes, to whatever extent
it may be, coupled with the conscious
efforts to enable the poor to access public
services has facilitated the poor women to
improve their own health status and
children's health and educational status
underall the models. However, the interior
villages and the tribals have not benefited
to the extent others had from the efforts
of the state. This is evident in case of
DWCRA groups. The women could also
meet their basic needs in terms of water
tap and LPG gas connections and sanita-
tion facilities under all the models. Then,
the issue is whether the process of reduc-
tion in poverty as well as reduction in
intergenerational transmission of poverty
can be sustained. The enhancement in the
asset-base of the poor provides evidence
to the fact that the reduction in poverty as
well as reductionin intergenerationaltrans-
mission of poverty can be sustained at least
in case of some of the poor, may be better
off among the poor, under all the models.
Thus, it is evident that the poverty reduc-
tion is varying across different socio-eco-
nomic classes given the low level of self-
employment opportunities in the local
economies. Similarly, the reduction in
gender inequalities is highly pronounced
in case of SAPAP model.
There is improvement in the empower-
ment of women. Then, the issue is whether
the improvement in empowerment of
women is varying across models and/or
across different socio-economic classes.
The women could establish their access
and/or control over their labour (to some
extent), access to resources (credit,
Economic and Political Weekly
savings and income), mobility and inter-
action, leadership positions, reproduction
choices (to some extent) under all the
models. There is no evidence to conclude
that the women have improved their con-
trol over their body (free from domestic
violence and violence in work place and
public) in case of DWCRA and CDF
models. However, the women under
SAPAP model have achieved access and
control over all the aspects of individual
dimension of women empowerment
significantly compared to the other two
models. But, the access and control over
land-based assets and control over body
has not been achieved much by women
even under SAPAP model. This indicates
that the existing property relations (with
respect to non-movable properties)and the
deep-rooted patriarchalvalue system may
be hindering this process. The involve-
ment of men in this process of handling
the problems relating to women may
facilitate decline in gender inequalities.
The DWCRA and CDF models did not
facilitate power for women to intervene as
a group into family, community, state in-
cluding local governance institutions and
market to address strategic and livelihood
concerns. However, the women of SAPAP
have achieved improvement in regard to
strategic and livelihood concerns through
interacting with the civil society, state and
market to some extent. The women have
become more confident, assertive and
independent under all the models. But, the
practice of strategic gender concerns in the
personal lives is only pronounced among
the women who arein the SHGs of SAPAP.
This is completely absent in case of
DWCRA andCDF. Thus, thereis consider-
able and balanced impact in all three levels
of empowerment - power to (individual),
power with (collective) and power within
(consciousness) under SAPAP model
compared to DWCRA and CDF models.
This is due to the fact that comprehensive
processes of change with regard to stra-
tegic and general concerns of gender are
institutionalised under SHGs of SAPAP.
Thus, the issues relating to strategic and
general concerns of gender cannot be
addressed effectively unless the processes
in this direction are institutionalised under
the models. In this context, lessons have to
be drawnfrom SAPAP model to improvise
the DWCRA model. The achievements in
empowermentvariedacrossdifferent social
groupssince the issues of women empower-
ment are interlocked with caste, religion
and headship of the households and age of
the women. The women headed house-
holds, the aged women (those who are above
45 years) and dalits, on the whole, have
March 22-29, 2003
benefitedmorein theprocessof empower-
ment.However,thewomenfromothercom-
munitieshavemadeimpressivebeginning
in the processof women empowerment.
Then the issue is whetherthis process
of empowerment of womenis sustainable.
The fundamentalpre-requisite is that
women should participateintensivelyin
this process.The intensive participation
involvessome costs to be borneby them
in the form of wage losses and transpor-
tation costs. Hence, the leaders and the
membersof thegroupsshouldbe compen-
sated.Theleadersarecompensatedunder
SAPAPvery aptly.The memberscan be
compensatedthroughorganisingmahila
bankson the lines of MidturGrameena
MahilaBank in KurnoolunderSAPAP,
wherewomenhavetheirsharecapitaland
bonus claim. Along with this, women
shouldbe providedfacilitiesto meet their
basic needs, so thatthey can be relieved
fromdrudgeryandfindtimeto participate
in group activities.There are efforts by
women to reducetime in fetchingwater
and collectingfuel wood by resortingto
watertap and LPGgas connections.The
timereleasedby reducingdrudgerycanbe
utilisednot only to participatein the pro-
cess initiatedby the SHGs but also to
undertake maineconomicactivities.Thus,
initiativesof the governmentof Andhra
Pradeshto provideLPG gas connections
to poor women through "Deepam"
programmeis highlyjustified.Thus, the
governmenthas to take all the initiatives
to meetthewomen-specificneeds.On the
whole the SAPAP model is found to be
superioroverDWCRAandCDFgiventhe
mandateof povertyalleviationandwomen
empowerment. However,themodelhasto
addressthe issues relatingto coverageof
thepoorestof thepoorlike speciallyabled
persons,migrantagriculture labour;broad-
ening the skill base, infrastructure
bottle-
necks, vulnerability, women-specific
basicneeds, and linkageswith the state,
marketandcivil society.In view of these
concerns,the SAPAPwithsuitablemodi-
ficationsis replicatedas AndhraPradesh
District Poverty Initiatives Project
(APDPIP) and Andhra Pradesh Rural
PovertyReductionProject(APRPRP)by
AndhraPradeshin the most backward
mandalsof all the districtsof the state.
These projectscover the formerSAPAP
groupsandalso DWCRAgroupsin these
mandals.This may help the government
of AndhraPradeshto realise the goals
contemplatedin vision 2020 in respectof
povertyalleviationandwomenempower-
ment. However, the governmentshould
focus attentionon developing the rural
economybyactivatingagriculture andnon-
Economicand PoliticalWeekly March22-29, 2003
agriculturesectors and removing infra-
structuralinadequaciesto widenthe self-
employmentchoices for the SHG mem-
bers. Otherwise,the potentialbenefitsof
APDPIPandAPRPRPcannotbe realised
on a sustainablebasis. Fi-1
Address for correspondence:
sgalab@cess.ac.in
ncsrao@cess.ac.in
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