SIVANARAYANA, GKRISHNA PRIYA, N2018-05-072018-05-072016http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810044727D5248The origin of Self Help Groups (SHGs) is the brainchild of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, founded by Prof. Mohammed Yunus in 1975, who tried out a new approach to rural credit in Bangladesh. SHGs comprise homogeneous groups of poor people who have voluntarily come together mainly with the idea of overcoming their financial difficulties. Self help groups can rightly be called a potent tool for human development. The SHGs have been recognised as useful tool to help the poor and as an alternative mechanism to meet the urgent credit needs of poor through thrift. Today it was identified that the SHG plays a key role in multifaceted dimensions to raise the economic status of a country. Especially importance was extended through SHG for the empowerment of women community in India. A study on impact of SHGs on rural women empowerment in three districts of Andhra Pradesh was carried out during 2012. From each district two mandals had been selected based on highest number of SHGs. From the selected mandals two villages had been selected by using random table number. From each village two SHGs were selected randomly thus making a total of 240 respondents along with 240 non members was included in the study. Considering Impact and Attitude as dependent variables, schedule and scale were developed respectively. Scale was developed for attitude by using summated rating technique. The attitude scale was comprised of 46 statements. The study was conducted by following an Ex-Post-Facto Research Design. Data was collected by pre-testing followed by personal interview method. For the purpose of statistical analysis of the coded data various statistical tools were used viz., frequency and percentage analysis, garret ranking, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, ranking and inclusive class interval. The detailed analysis of profile characteristics of SHG members indicated that majority of the members were middle aged (50.83%), illiterate (31.67%) and medium size family (60%), married (87.50%) with occupation as non-agricultural labours (31.90%), medium annual income (82.92%), with landless holders (73.75%), and coupled with low extension participation (62.50%), medium extension contact (60.42%), medium source of information (58.33%), with medium achievement motivation (77.08%), medium level of innovativeness (56.25%), 54.17 per cent taken 3-5 loans from bank, 56.26 per cent taken 2-4 loans from SHG members, 31.25 per cent taken loan for consumption purpose, 54.58 per cent received three trainings and medium level of economic orientation (67.92%). The detailed analysis of profile characteristics of non SHG members indicated that majority of the members were young aged (75.83%), illiterate (25.83%) and medium size family (77.92%), married (96.25%) with occupation as only government job (49.78%), high annual income (62.50%), with landless holders (75%), and coupled with low extension participation (41.67%), low extension contact (86.67%), medium source of information (45.42%), with medium achievement motivation (48.75%), medium level of innovativeness (84.58%), 45.83 per cent taken loans from government banks, 37.08 per cent received two trainings and medium level of economic orientation (53.75%). The majority of the members motivated by themselves (30.83%) to join SHGs. The main reason for joining SHGs was for getting loan (67.86%). The major economic activities that was undertaken by the members was Grocery Shop/Petty Shop (75%) and tailoring (41.67%). The detailed analysis of dependent variables indicated that majority of the members had medium level of attitude towards SHGs (55.83%) and impact of SHGs on rural women empowerment (75.42%). The various impact indicators were psychological, social, economic, political and decision making empowerment. With regard to various empowerments they possess medium level of psychological empowerment (65.83%), medium level of social empowerment (72.92%), medium level of economic empowerment (53.33%), medium level of political empowerment (60.42%) and high level of decision making empowerment (52.08%). Out of fifteen selected independent variables nine of them such as Educational status, Family size, Extension Participation, Extension Contact, Source of Information, Achievement Motivation, Innovativeness, Trainings Received and Economic Orientation were found to have positive and significant contribution with impact of self-help group members. But Age, Marital Status, Occupation of the Husband, Annual Income, Land Holding and Loan Matrix did not show any significant relationship with impact at 0.01 level of probability. The multiple linear regression analysis (MLR) indicated that all the fifteen independent variables put together explained 59 per cent of variance in the impact of SHGs on rural women empowerment; remaining 41 per cent due to the extraneous effect of variables at 0.05 level of probability. The assumed/ imagined profile characteristics of the members of SHGs such as Educational status, Extension Participation, Extension Contact, Source of Information, Achievement Motivation, Innovativeness, Trainings Received and Economic Orientation were found to have positive significant contribution with psychological empowerment. But except age, marital status, occupation of the husband, annual income, land holding and loan matrix did not show any significant relationship with psychological empowerment at 0.01 level of probability. The variables such as Educational status, Annual Income, Extension Participation, Extension Contact, Source of Information, Achievement Motivation, Innovativeness, Trainings Received and Economic Orientation were found to have positive significant contribution with Social Empowerment. But except Age, Marital Status, Occupation of the Husband, Land Holding and Loan Matrix did not show any significant relationship with Social Empowerment at 0.01 level of probability. The profile characteristics of women members of SHGs such as Educational status, Family size, Marital Status, Land Holding, Extension Participation, Extension Contact, Source of information, Achievement Motivation, Innovativeness, Trainings Received and Economic Orientation were found to have positive significant contribution with economic empowerment. But except Age, Occupation of the Husband, Annual Income and Loan Matrix did not show any significant relationship with Economic Empowerment at 0.01 level of probability. The profile characteristics of women members of SHGs such as Educational status, Family size, Extension Participation, Extension Contact, Source of information, Achievement Motivation, Innovativeness, Trainings Received and Economic Orientation were found to have positive significant contribution with Political Empowerment. But Age, Marital Status, Occupation of the Husband, Annual Income, Land Holding and Loan Matrix did not show any significant relationship with Political Empowerment at 0.01 level of probability. The correlation analysis revealed that the variables such as Educational status, Family size, Extension Participation, Extension Contact, Source of Information, Achievement Motivation, Innovativeness, Trainings Received and Economic Orientation were found to have positive significant contribution with Decision Making Empowerment. But Age, Marital Status, Occupation of the Husband, Annual Income, Land Holding and Loan Matrix did not show any significant relationship with Decision Making Empowerment at 0.01 level of probability. The correlation analysis revealed that Educational status, Family size, Annual Income, Extension Participation, Extension Contact, Source of Information, Achievement Motivation, Innovativeness, Trainings Received and Economic Orientation were found to have positive significant contribution with attitude. But Age, Marital Status, Occupation of the Husband, Land Holding and Loan Matrix did not show any significant relationship with attitude at 0.01 level of probability. The multiple linear regression analysis (MLR) indicated that all the fifteen selected independent variables put together contributed 81 per cent to the attitude of women towards SHGs; remaining 19 per cent due to the extraneous effect of variables at 0.05 level of probability. Successful caselets of SHG members reflected that the members orientation with the variables such as impact, favourable attitude, education, extension contact, innovativeness, achievement motivation, economic orientation were significantly contributed to become an successful women. The most important constraints encountered by the SHG members were Inadequate loan amount and No trainings on entrepreneurial activities followed by No family support when trainings are conducted away from their place and No coordination among the members for utilizing loan amount on any economic activity, More of family responsibilities; Lack of loans given by the organization for the purchase of machinery and equipments for undertaking entrepreneurial activities and Inadequate marketing facilities for SHGs products, No works during off season of the crops, Lacking of rotation of leaders and Dominance of leaders, Lack of specialized skills to undertake any entrepreneurial activity and Lacking of formal education respectively. Suggestions given by the SHG members to overcome the above constraints were cent per cent of the women in Self Help Groups suggested for to increase loan amount according to their need, followed by Trainings should be given on entrepreneurial activities, Providing marketing facilities, They have to conduct trainings nearest to their location, Providing special loans for the purchase of machinery and equipments for undertaking economic activities, There should be rotation of leaders in order to avoid dominance of leaders, Providing them special works during the off season of the crops, Promoting coordination of the group, Training should be given on specialized skills and Providing them formal education.en-USnullThesis