ROLE OF SELF HELP GROUPS IN FINANCIAL INCLUSION AT BANDHAN BANK

Abstract

This paper looks into the extent to which Self Help Groups (SHGs) promote financial inclusion, with a focus on Bandhan Bank. Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have emerged as a significant source of formal financial services for low-income households, particularly women, in rural and semi-urban India. Bandhan Bank uses the SHG-Bank connection approach to give vulnerable people that have been excluded from the formal financial system access to deposits, credit, insurance, and other banking services. This is the topic of the paper. According to the report, Bandhan Bank's focus on financial education efforts, streamlined credit checks, doorstep banking, and group lending has improved credit discipline and reduced transaction costs for both the bank and its customers. The bank's support for SHGs has made it easier for women to obtain finance, as well as to expand their social capital and generate revenue. SHG members have been able to develop small businesses, make purchases more readily, and rely less on informal moneylenders as a result of their regular savings and capacity to acquire credit when needed.