Contributory factors towards sustainability of bank-linked self-help groups in India

Disha Bhanot () and Varadraj Bapat ()
Additional contact information
Disha Bhanot: corresponding author, Faculty, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Bhavan’s Campus, Andheri (West), Mumbai 400058, India
Varadraj Bapat: Faculty, Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India

Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Journal, 2019, vol. 26, issue 2, 25-55

Abstract: The present study focuses on the Indian flagship financial inclusion scheme – the Self Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme, which successfully leverages the social collateral concept and the vast network of bank branches in India to deliver financial services to small, cohesive and participatory women’s self-help groups. To develop a deeper understanding of the topic of sustainability of self-help groups, we propose a framework that conceptualizes sustainability by integrating the financial and organizational aspects of functioning of self-help groups. Sustainability is assessed in the light of the group’s performance (on set of indicators) with respect to the primary objective of the Self Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme, which is financial intermediation. Subsequently, we ascertain the effect of plausible contributory factors related to functioning of self-help groups and group management practices on the sustainability of self-help groups. The results of regression analysis on primary data captured from a survey of 170 self-help groups show that such factors as equitable access to credit, group savings, growth in savings, loan utilization in income generation activities, members depositing a savings contribution or loan installment on each other’s behalf, and distance from bank contribute significantly to group sustainability. Accordingly, designing suitable measures to monitor and improve group governance and management practices would be a critical policy intervention.

Keywords: financial inclusion; self-help groups; Self Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme; sustainability; bank credit; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Paper%202_0.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:unt:japsdj:v:26:y:2019:i:2:p:25-55

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Journal from United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Office of the Executive Secretary, ESCAP ().