Scheme for providing technology support to NGOs for strengthening MIS of SHG promotion and nurturing'
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| NABARD'S Support for Capacity Building and Loanable Funds |
NABARD provides capacity building assistance and financial support to its partners for the promotion and broad basing of microFinance operations. As part of its efforts to link larger number of SHGs to the banking system, NABARD also focuses on training and sensitization of partner agencies, through various interventions. |
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Liquidity Support to Banks for SHG-bank Linkage |
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The National Bank continued to provide 100 per cent refinance assistance to banks for financing SHGs. During 2004-05, Rs.29,942.25 million (US$ 696 million) was disbursed as loan to SHGs loan was by various banking institutions. Banks had availed of refinance to the tune Rs. 9677.64 million (US$ 225 million) from NABARD. Cumulatively till 31 March 2005, the bank loans disbursed to the SHGs aggregated Rs. 68,984 million (US$ 1604 million), while National Bank's refinance availed of by the banks aggregated Rs. 30,859 million (US$ 718 million). |
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Financial Support to Partner Agencies |
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Promotional Grant Assistance to NGOs to function as SHPIs |
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NGOs already working in the social sector are encouraged to take up SHG promotion as an "add-on" activity. This not only helped in complementing the core areas of activities of the participating NGOs but also reduced overheads costs in formation and nurturing of groups. NABARD provides a grant assistance of Rs 3000/- to NGOs for promotion and linking of each SHG. This amount broadly covers training of members of SHG, stationery for the group, incentive/part salary of NGO staff etc. Cumulatively, as on 31 March 2005, NABARD had sanctioned a grant assistance of Rs.193.87 million, covering 1048 NGOs, for promotion, nurturing and facilitating credit linkage of 139513 SHGs. |
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Supporting RRBs as SHPIs |
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In order to widen the spectrum of SHPIs, NABARD assisted five branches of Cauvery Grameena Bank (CGB), an RRB in Mysore, in the year 1994, to test the feasibility of RRBs themselves taking on the role of SHPIs. Under this programme, the bank staff at the identified branches were provided with specific training in promotion, nurturing and financing of SHGs. This experiment succeeded in grooming RRB staff to form SHGs. Having successfully oriented a few RRBs to take up the role of SHPIs, it was felt necessary to find ways of reducing the per SHG cost involved in promotion and nurturing of SHGs by bank staff, if the programme were to be broad based across the country. Therefore, an alternative module was developed by NABARD, involving lower cost, to support more RRBs. This module envisages support from NABARD for training of staff of ten identified branches for each RRB, with provision to partly meet the costs of awareness building, training and stationery for the SHGs, which are promoted by them. NABARD provides grant assistance @ Rs1500/- per SHG to RRBs for formation and linkage. |
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DCCBs as SHPIs |
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In India cooperative institutions like District Cooperative Central Banks (DCCBs) and Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies (PACS) have a long history being in existence for the past several decades. They have the potential to emerge as major partners considering their strong presence in rural areas for integrating SHG bank linkage programme in their existing business activity. NABARD has therefore formulated a scheme for assisting DCCBs to form, nurture and link self-help groups. NABARD provides grant assistance @ Rs1500/- per SHG to DCCBs for formation and linkage. As at the end of March 2005, 55 DCCBs have been sanctioned grant assistance aggregating Rs 23 million for promotion and linkage of 28,110 SHGs. |
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Farmers' Clubs as SHPI . |
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NABARD has been encouraging informal forums called Farmers' Clubs (FCs) to spread the message of 'Development through Credit' and inculcate the repayment ethics among borrowers. These clubs also have significant potential to work as SHPIs. Accordingly, a module was developed to support them to function as SHPIs. The module envisages financial support to nodal bank branches and FCs for meeting expenditure on (i) awareness building on SHGs among volunteers and nodal branch staff, (ii) training of identified FC volunteers to work as facilitators (iii) required stationery for SHGs promoted, (iv) reimbursement of expenditure incurred by the facilitators in promotion of SHGs, and (v) incentives to the Farmers' clubs for acting as SHPI. The module is now helping available independent facilitators like schoolteachers and primary health workers to form and nurture SHGs. |
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Individual Rural volunteers as SHPIs |
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In regions of the country, where NGOs are not adequately represented, a special initiative has been launched by NABARD in the year 2003 to rope in socially committed individual volunteers like retired and active school teachers, post masters, village elders, anganwadi workers, members of existing credit linked SHGs etc for formation of self help groups and linking them with banks. This scheme is being implemented in 20 states of the country through regional rural banks/ district central cooperative banks. Volunteers are provided with a grant assistance of Rs 1200/- per SHG for formation and linking them. As on 31.3.2005, a total grant assistance of Rs 5.96 million has been sanctioned to 13 Regional Rural Banks & 2 DCCBs for promoting 4525 SHGs utilizing 430 Individual Rural Volunteers. |
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Capacity Building of Partner Institutions in microFinance |
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Comprehensive training of the staff of banks, NGOs and government agencies is the key to collaborative partnership of these agencies, and this exercise includes designing of course modules oriented towards a wide range of target audience. Suitable reading material and training aids are developed and updated periodically. The programmes are regularly evaluated to help modify their contents. |
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During 2004-05, NABARD scaled up its efforts towards providing financial and technical support for training of staff of banks, NGOs and government agencies to induct them into the linkage programme and further enhance their effectiveness in mF. NABARD supported the conduct of following training programmes. |
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In all 2481 awareness creation and capacity building programmes were organised for SHG members in association with identified resource NGOs, covering 2,07,916 participants to inculcate skills for managing thrift and credit; |
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160 Awareness-cum-refresher programmes were conducted for CEOs and field staff of NGOs, which covered 4246 participants; |
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7 Trainers’ Training Programmes were organised for 161 faculty members/officers of training institutes of various banks, which includes faculty members from co-operative and commercial banks. |
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Another 948 training programmes for bank branch managers/officers of commercial banks, co-operative banks and RRBs were conducted covering 42,812 participants. |
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Nineteen exposure visits to banks and institutions pioneering in mF initiatives were arranged in which 441 bank officials / NGOs participated; |
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To involve more bank officials in the SHG-bank linkage programme, 449 field visits to nearby SHGs for Block Level Bankers' Committee (BLBC) members were conducted covering 8204 officials; |
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Forty one programmes for the elected members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) were conducted, covering 1198 participants to create awareness among them about the mF initiatives; |
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One exclusive workshop was organized for senior IAS officers through Lal Bahadur Sastry National Academy of Administration Mussoorie. |
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106 meets and seminars on microfinance were organized at various centers. |
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Number of stakeholders trained by NABARD (Cumulative position as on 31.3.2005) |
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| Sl No |
Training programme for |
No. of programmes conducted |
No of participants trained. |
1 |
Bankers |
4822 |
152167 |
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NGOs |
937 |
25613 |
3 |
Training of Trainers |
89 |
2796 |
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Government officials |
705 |
32681 |
5 |
SHGs |
14049 |
638325 |
6 |
Exposure visits |
71 |
1859 |
7 |
Field visits of BLBCs to SHGs |
1474 |
23591 |
8 |
Training for elected members of Panchayat Raj Institutions |
119 |
4663 |
9 |
Others |
1452 |
96164 |
10 |
Meets & Seminars |
639 |
38823 |
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Grand Total |
24357 |
1016682 |
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Revolving Fund Assistance (RFA) to mFIs |
NABARD has been providing RFA on a selective basis to NGOs, SHG Federations and Credit Unions and other agencies for on-lending to SHGs, to help them build their financial intermediation capacity and to prepare them to take bank loans in future. Cumulatively Rs 273.2 million has been sanctioned as RFA to 32 agencies. |
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Distance Education Programme of IGNOU |
National Bank has associated with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in a Distance Learning Education Programme for building up a group of quality grassroots trainers in the field of SHGs and will be reimbursing the full course fee of Rs 1,000 to the first 1,000 successful participants of the six-month Certificate Programme on "Empowering Women's Self Help Groups" conducted by the IGNOU. Certificate Course for Self-Help Group Facilitators.
NABARD had partnered with Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), Nasik, Maharashtra in shaping and offering a six-month Certificate Course for Self-Help Group Facilitators on promotion and nurturing of SHGs. This comprehensive course on the subject offers coverage of topics like empowerment of women, poverty alleviation, issues on social communication at the pre-formative stage of SHGs & aspects like stabilization of group functions, conflict resolution etc. The programme is all enthusiasts on the subject like Anganwadi workers, social workers of NGOs, individual volunteers etc. NABARD has also extended its support by reimbursing the course fee to the first batch of 500 candidates who successfully pass the certificate course examination in the first attempt.
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Collaboration with External Agencies |
To support funding of various initiatives leading to designing of products and services, creation and promotion of delivery mechanisms, setting up of new organisational structures and devising systems and procedures which will help improve the access of the poor to institutional financial services, a special fund, viz., Credit and Financial Services Fund (CFSF) Fund was set up in NABARD in 1995, with the assistance of the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). Most of the mF initiatives of NABARD have been funded through the CFSF. |
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NABARD has also collaborated with GTZ, Germany, since January 2000 primarily for supporting initiatives in the field of training and capacity building, and development of an appropriate MIS. |
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