APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

I 11F PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA, MR.A.R.VA.IPAYKE, SEEKING THE BLESSINGS OF 4 soCIAII WORKER TM'T.CHINNAI'ILLA1 OF PUL1,ISERY VILLAGE IN TAMIL NADU

DIIRING TlIE AWARD OF "SHREE SHAIC1.1 PIJRASHKAH" FOR 0UTSTANI)INC; PERFORMANCE IN IMPLEMENTING SELF HELP CROIlF CONCEPT

AWAHENESS CAMI' b 0 1 Z SELF 11151,P GROUP BY WOMEN DEVELOI'MENT C~OltI'OItATION

IIEA1,'I'tI C'ANJI' FOW SI<I,F 1115LP Cl<Olll' ISY S0C:IETY FOR SOC'IAI. .IllSTICIC AN11 HllR4Ah' RESOllHC'E 1)EVELOI'MEN'I'

DlSTRICT RURAL DEVE1,OPMENT AGENCY LOAHS FOIt SELF HELP CllOUP ErONOMIC ACTIVITY

ENTREPRENEIJWSHII' DEVELOI'MENT PROGRAMME F'OH SELF HELI' CROUP F:C:ONOMIC ACTIVI'I'Y

HOME CARE 13RODUCTS SELF I'I\~I~LOYMENT SELF HF.1.P GllOlJP RY KRlSlll VICYAN KFSDlIA

PERSONALITY DEVE1,OPMENT TRAINING FOTZ SEI,F HELP GROUP RY MANGALAM SOCIETY

CtIIILA TRAINING FOR SELF tlE:I,I' GKOIJP HY DISTRICT 1)EVELOI'MENT AGENCY

(xiv)

TllE HESEARCIIER WIT11 'I'IIE SELF HELP GliOIjP TRAINEES

PARTICIPATION O F SELF HELP GROUPS IN PUBLIC EXIIIRTTION

RESEARCHER INTERVIEWING TlIE SELF HELP C;ROIJP MEMBER

RESEARCHER WI'I'II SELF IIELI' CIWUI' MEMBER

1,INKAGE OF SKLF HELP GROIJP WITH BANK

4 Name of tk SHG& Addms f

J 's;mup fosmmion date

4 Nufflbgr of members

./ ~ o t a ~ m u g savings

d Branch Mame

4 Actr'vityFhd~ed

d Cedir Arnovm

N W l n h e d

APPENDIX 11

SHG members seek better treatment from banks By Our SIalT Repurter

uRIII(UDI, JAN. LO. Self-help c l ~ ) ~ ~ p rnernben, seekinl: better ~rprlnienl iron1 banking institu- :Ions, have 'complained of "in- ,~tdirlalc! delay" in disbursing ,urns by some banks.

They were speukinp at a i\.orksilop on the 'role of banks a~~d insurance companies in ru- !a1 developmenl', organised by :he Ministly of infurmation and liroadcastin here yesterday.

Some b i d s made repayment 11: loarls taken by thclr family :sen~lrers a precn~idition fur ex- lending fresh loans. Desplte the pruvision for priority sector !rrldingat low interest tales, the bulks could not cxplein how :trurious muneylc~rder~ could :)rake thoir presence felt in vil. r~gcs, the members told the in- 'rrectlve session, hcld as purl uf

Ihe 10-day multi-media cam- palgn to sensitise rural pop, uhce to various developmcn~ schemes.

Bat* officials elaborated on the housing schemes meant for SHGs. Entrepreneurs among the SHG members advised the rural women not to opt for cat- tle loan in view of the non-avail- ability of water and fodder due to drought condltions.

The complaint agalnst the in- surance companies was that speclnc schemes, tallor-made for the oor, were not imple- mented & rural arras.

T.G. Nallamuthu, additional principd information officer, raid the purpose of the work. shop was to highlibht thc Inl- pact of LIE acllen~es us well a# to identify the shortcomings, based on h e feedback from the bcncficlarlos, fur rectificutio~~.

poor villager could get Insur- ance wver for an annual premi. urn of just Rs 15 and,regretted

.that h e insuranw companies failed to Implement If due to low rerums.

lnaugrlratlng the workshop and the campaign, the Slvagan- ga MP, E. M. Sudarsana Na- chiappan, d d the programme ww-M cxperlmsnial e6on to assess the Imoact of vadous de- velopment schemes formulated by the Government for the rural poor. He favoured direct cham nelling of funds to local bodies rather than routing through the State Government.

In Sivaganga alone. Rs. 100-cr worth schemes were bein Im plemented. Sivagnngct co% h i

Boom time for SHGs By Our StafS Reporter cludinu Rs.64.90 lakhs :is

KA~CnWwlum, m. 6, 'Yhc Kan. intereST-free loan. cheepuram district adcni~~istrp. Mr.Rajaraman mothers ti011 is giving ancouragrmetlt Of the "Idhya PrAuasanl for he formation of school for special children, one self-help grou s (sHQ.), pro. Of the lnstitudons functioniw v,dirlg them Poans w i b and under the Guild of Service in without interest for starting Kmcheepuram had formed an

business in [he rural association and were milking and urban areas because of the Paper hags with some SUCCCSS~U~ perfornlarlce of m"bers of the in the most SHCs in the district, 'Own. There good demand

l.he Kancheepuram ~ ~ 1 1 ~ ~ - for these paper ba s. from mer- K, Ra,aramm, said rved chants and es&hments in

StIGs were engaged in makirlp Kancheepuram as usage paper bags, paper cups, school P'Mene had been bags, har~dicrafl items, banl- boo baskets, rtc and gcttitlg The POintcd (Iu1 good lncotne that Internet connections were

A llumber bf sHGs also being created in all the pan- repaid the loans, he said. chayab to enable dllagers t~

.rhe ~ ~ l l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ said contact the district headquar- were now 3,856 SHGs function. tcr"irecu~ for getting the illg in the district and during quired information. the current year 649 SllGs were sM 20 panchayat' selected md all these wcl.e glv. had been provldd with Inter ell n loan of Rs.1.62 crorss in. "" cOnnections~

a model for implemcntatirr~l of Government schemes to im- prove the educational sten. dards and sanitation. Ilc urged the people to avail thrmsclvc* of the henefits of cror, insurance.

The Karaikudi MU. 44. Raja. referred to the statement of thr t%uuIce Minister in thc As- sembly that 94 per cent of I ~ I P State's revenue was sperlt 1.111 administrative nluchincry and pension and that all wtfi1Elre schemes were impierneatt!d IIII

ly with the Central funds. Even for the noun meal schc~n~, ~ I I I

plemented by the Stele G t ~ v e r ~ ~ . ment, the contrihutitrt~ trl ~ l t r Centre was 1.00 grams oI'r11.v 111.1

beneficiary on drily habit He opined that tlnly I J ; I I I ~ \

could c ~ ~ h e n c r thc~ I I ~ ~ L ~ I , I ~ I I I , :

power of thu pecrplr by si~t~lrlil\ Ing Ille 1oi111 procctlur~~t

T H E HINDU DATED 9'"" MARCH 2002 - ---

Women's Commission to be formed

C By ~ur%tPff Reporter

PDNDIGHLRRY. MARCH 8. A State- level Women's Commlsslor~ will be formed in Pondicherry, the Lt Governor, Rajani Rai, an- nounced today. She was spcak- in8 to volunteers of various organisatlons. anganwad! workers and clvlc staff at a functlon to mark the Interna- tional Women's Day celebra- tions held by Department of Women and Child Develop- ment here today.

Stating that involving women irr decision-nrakillg process was the first ste tnwards empower- ing them. tEe Lt Governor said arrnngements were being made by the territorial government to hold thc long awaited clcctions tu rtl~~rlicipiilities and pun- chayats. Slle called upon wotn- cn to nlakc usc c ~ f 3:s purccnt reservation for wonlcn in the civic polls that will be cnrrdr~ct- s ~ d here shrlrtly.

T11c 1.1 C;over~ic~r alsc, srlici

that the Central and locally- sponsored schemes for welfare of women were being imple- mented in Pondicherry with special focus to bring an attitu- dinal change on the p u t of the peo is' towards glrl children.

&e also gave away the State- level cash awards and certifi- cates to four anganwadi staff for their mcntonoua services in implementing the Integrated Chlld Development Scheme irl the Union Territory. The Secretary to Welfare De-

partment, M Sathiavathy, an- nounced that the Pondicherry-based Mangalan1 Society's leader Renlrka Appnd- urai. will receive the Natlonal Women's Commlsslon's award at New Dclhi. on March 2 1.

The Chief Minis~er. N Harlg asanly, said that a m o ~ ~ t l ~ l y :ah- sistanct' of Rs.1, 000 wc~uld hc given to .qirl studerlts hailirlg rrotn farn~lbes living below thi: poverty linu, to arrcst thc ralc of school clropot~ts a n i c r r r g g i r ls .

THE HINDU DATED I 2~~~~ E MA1aCI-I 2002

NABARD schgmes for rural women

By O u r Staff Reporter

W N D I C H S R R Y . lllURCn U The Na- tiurrul Bunk for Agriculturc end l<ural Dcvelop~nent has intro- duced various schemes. which focus on the means t o act~leve uconomic empowerment of ru- ral wonim. the assistant general rrianager (Pondicherry). R. Nithyanandan, has said.

Speaking here recently. he said the bank had extended support to the Women Devel- opment Cells established in 100 regional rural b m k and coop-

ment Programmes and set up self help groups. It had extend- ed support to the Centre for Ec- ological Research and Development. here to hold a Rural Entrepreneurship Devel- opment Prog-ae to promote fishpond projects. Two inter- face progr-us. to enable co- ord-ation between b& and the SHGs and N W s , had been hekt in Pondicherry this year.

The bank now plans to credit linking at least 300 self-help groups this ear. Mr. Nithyana- nand-

erative institutions, besid&s Farmers' clubs were being providinn assistance to conduct vrovided wlth assistance of Hu. ilae ~ntrepreneurship Develop- 2000 for each unit

THE IIINIIZI 1)ATET) 25."" - NOVEMUEIZ 2002

SHG in need of fine- tuning

S ~VEIt.41. BANKS took up would ensure not only the sus- micro-financing'. ospe- tainability of the SHCi scheme

cially for the members of but also the creation of tangible worricn self-help groups. bcnefits and assets for the

enthusiastically in the past 10 borrowers. years. l'he conce t of ravings- During one such 'participato- linked financing oFthe SHGs has ry plantling session for margin: illso c:~ught on with the banks, uliscd - Muslim women thanks to the prompt repay- organised by the SOLAI Program tnent by the Sl1Cs and their in its prenlises on Saturday, R.T. rnen~bcru, arld thc consequent Hujiln, director, elicited carrdid achievemer~t of a high rate of rc- views from the participants cover). in lending compared to about the scheme. One of the thc recovery in big lending. problems volced by a majority

of them was that

. . cakes. but they

An interaction semrlon with Muslim women ,ere unable to self-help group members underway. nlanaRe the show

14ut. orre !I' thc importarlt as- si~tgle-handedly. They wanted pt.r.ts of thc SI.1G scherrle, which assistance in setting up bunk dues not appear t u hitve re- stalls, which wouldenabie them ceived adequate atrericior~, is to sell the foodstuffs in one whettrur the scheme was really piacc instead of carrying them bet>efitirrg 'below poverty line around the villages. (LII'I.) categories or was being Many Muslim wcltnetl who cxploirerl by thu 'not really pcrcrr' wcrc cluallfled in tailoring want- pccrplr. Ar~vther important its- ed usststance for buying s c w i n ~ peel of the sctterrle, which has to rtiacl~ir~cs. bc. st~~dit!d. WZIS whether the Orte o1 tllem was Iriglrly-qunl- KC-rluine wotnurl entreprcncurs itir!d in ~ailoring that tlr. Rajon i t t the HIJ1. ciltegory were getting t~ffered to provide her a job as a hi~llicient 10nns to coritirtue with tai l~ring teacher in SC>LAI If she rtlt!ir b~tsit~css activities was interested. This urticipatn- ptc~titubly. ry session revealed t:e fact that

'i'ltc Social Litb Animation In- while the SHC cotrcept wus real- di;$ (SOLAI) Program, a norr- ly good in enabling women to guv~tr~~rilu~rtill organisation e;lrn sufficient income for their based i ~ r Christiru~pet, near Kat- fanlilies, much needs to be done padl, which promoted SHGs in in firre-tuning the scheme by scwcral villages 1x1 the liatparii identifying the potential of the ;and Sliolinyhur punchayat rural wonren and providing urlin~ls in 1992, has begun a sc- proper guidance to them so that rics of irlforrnal in~eractions they took up profitable venturas wit11 various sections of the suited to them and rnanaged nlarglnalisud people-Adi Dra- their business in a better vidus, Irulau, Muslinls and Dalits manner. ill order to identlfy the short- comlt~gs in the scheme and By P. V. V. Murthi corl-ru 111, with solutions which Photo: A Muralidharan

(sxii)

THE I I I N I ~ U DATED tG'"'' NOVEMUEIZ 2002

'Allow trade unions too t o form SHGs'

By Our Special Correspondent SALEM, NOV. 26. The Indian Na- tional Rural Labour Federation has called upon the Central and State Governments to treat vol- untary agencies and trade u~iions on a par with non-gnv- ernmanta1 organisatiolls in im- plementation of various projects.

A resolution ar the State-lcvel conference held here noted that trade unions, whlch tnnk up the cause of the oppressed people. were looked down upon by banks and project officers.

A wrong notion prevalled in official circles that on1 organisations reas tere l t Z Z either the Society Act nr thc Trust Act could be ternled NCOs. The Governmenls were cncouraying furmation of self-

help groups in coordination with the NGOs. Bur orgmisa- tions such as the INRLF, which had been formed to carry out tasks being performed by the NCOs. were not allowed to form SHC5.

TI e resolution noted that re- current droughts and tloods rendered farm labourers job- less, forcing them to migratr ir r search of livelihood.

Several families were on the verge of starvation, and the only way of Improving their econoni- ic condition was to help them form SHGs. But the officials were refusing to register them.

The conference also called for activation of the Tamil Nadu Farm Labourers Welfare Board, constituted on the tecomrneri- dations of the Kolappan Com- trlittee.

Globalisation hits women workers: Vasanthidevi By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHLRRY. NOV. 50. The chuir- persol1 of the Tmiil Nadu State Wornen's Commission, V. Va- santhidevi, has cdled upon the women and members of self- 1i~'Ip groups to launch a joint rlluvcnlent to safeguard them- selves against the 'injurious and serious irnplica~ions' of the globalisation policies adopted by the powers thnt be.

Addressing a seminar on wel- fare of women, organised by the Samanl Magalir Suyasaarbu l yakkam Wornstis Self Reliance Movement) here today, Ms. Va- smthldevi sald the draconlan effects of globaUsation were felt in various sectors. Women workers eking out their livell- hood in construction sector. handloom industry. quarries arid tea planttrtion were hlt ai-

ther by their displacement or by reduction in their minimum wages.

With no alternative source of jobs available to there weaker sections they were running from pillar to post like refugees in search of Jobs.

Ma. Vasanthidevi said the pdviltlsation concept in trans- port and other key sectors had also started showing its danger- ous effects. There was no as- sured market for local products.

The government was bowing to the pressure of the World Bank. the International Mone- tary Fund and the World Trade Organlaation.

The women should under- stand what waa hap ening around them and e&ective movement should be launched to protect them against the evil developments. she ~ ~ l d .

TIIE: lI1NI)U UATED 5"'" DECEMBER 2002

United India's focus on self-help groups

By Our Corporate Hepurter

CHENNAI, PEG. 4. United India In- surcrrice will give funher thrust to the personal lines irisurance business (PLLI) following the encouraging performance by this sector since the beginning of this year.

Addressing presspersons here, today, V, lugannathan, chairman and managir~g dircc- tor of the company said PLLI contributed Hs. 236 crorcs till October against a total accretion of Rs. 200 crores for the whole of last year. He said the iritention was to close thc year wit11 around Rs. 400 crores.

Since last year 103 offices had been identified to transact PUI business m d a further 44 tlllcro uffices were opened specidly to serve . . i d areas, Mr. Jagan- nathan said.

The com any would be tar- geting 8eZhelp groups and there were around two lalch such groups in the country, with 15- 20 women in a group, he add.

According to Ravi S W , AGM, the PLLl products were designed for women In rural ar- eas. Towards women em owere ment United India had &vised two nolicies, he said. The Moth- er 'leresa Women & Children Policy was to give support to the woman in the event of acciden- tal death of her husband and to support her mlnor children in the event of her death.

The second one - Unirnicro Health Scheme, - targeting women self help give personal ae~~65:n0t"~dWOh~~ pitalisation covers besides cover for d-e to dwelling due to fire und allied perils, Mr. Ravi Shankar said.

(xxiv)

TI-IE 11INI)U DATED 3''" I;EI3HUARY 2003

Eco-friendly passenger

vehicle given to SHG By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY. FEB. 2. An environ- ment-friendly passenger vehicle was handed over to a women self-help groltp recently ar a function orgwnised jointly by the Indian Bank, the D N A and Lt~e M. S. Swaminathan Re- search Foundadon.

The Deputy General Manager of the bank, Selvam Veeraragh- avnn, said this wm the Arst rlme in the country that a women Sl.IG was presented a smokeless vehicle fur passenger scrvlces. I Ie irppeaied to the SHG men)- hcrs t o irtllise sucfi opportuni- ties to better their economic base.

I'hcrc were 162 SHGs which opencd accounts in the bank at Villianoor and received loans rotalling Rs. 52.23 lakhs and there was not a single case of default by the borrowers. He lauded the responsible manner 111 which the groups were functiuning.

Moharnnled Mwsoor, DRDA Project Officer, said the orgmi- sation would always encourage developnlent programmer of the SHGs and the subsidy com- porlerlt of the funding pro- gralntnes wodd also be met by the DRDA

The neputy ~ r a n s on Com- missioner, Veeraragavn, re- ferred lo Lhe speedy sanction of permits for the groups to oper- ate the vehicle. A woman deie- gate fro111 Japan attached to the Foundation, Vicky Ellen, hand- ed over the vehicle to the group.

Char~tl Sultana. Block Devel- opmerit Officer of Villianoor, of- flcers of the Mahendra compatly, and Meenakshl of the M. 5. Swanlinethan Research . Foundatiorl spoke.

'Involve women in decision-making' By Our Stall Reporter concept that men were superior and stron-

EUORE. FEB. 10. The need to bring about get "d lhat were i n f e r i o r ~ ~ f t e ~ . equality by ensuring equal sharing of assistant gtncral manager, NMARD,

responsibilities between men and women C. Sairajm, a d equawin admcing credlt ,,,,r stressed by speakers at a programme both to men and woman was one ofthe Im- ,ryirlttsed by the National Bank for ~grlcul- Portant Concepts being promotedby the NA- :urr and Rural Development and the De- BARD from 1982. ;!annlrnt of Social Welfare here on Monday. He appreciated the Indlan Bank for pro-

Participating in thc 'Interface wlth Self- viding space on it8 branch pmmlses for the Hslp Groups' programme, the district uocial women SHGa to sell their products. B a d (~rlfare officer, Saroja Thiruven adam, said were now thlnLlng of ways of helping wom- noltlcn should realise that nen%er eoualitv en in the health sector. i i ~ d nnt consist in women's kberatloi

'

"hlrzl or women, both should be treated ct l~~a l ly . That is the essence of gender equal- ,\". Gender discri~nlrtation was created by a .~;rlr lluminatcd society and it neetied to be .I~iil~gt!ti. One sho~ld shed the traditional

~ - ~ - ~ - -

He said women should be given e ual rde as men in dsclsion-making, aspecldy in ec- onomic matters, In the homes.

P.NaUasivan, circle head. Indian Bank. Vellore, said the bunk had provlded loans to the tune of Rs.50,000 to the SHGs formed by

commercial sex workers of Sooryakulam. Vcllon, who were rehabilitated by the dis- trict 'adminlmatlon, and Rs.25,000 to thc SHGs formed by 'Aravanis' at Katpadi.

The deputy director of health services, VaUore, K. Kolandasamy, wanted the SHC;n to play a role In ensuring gender equality in villages.

Lack of equal educational oooottunitier and nutritious food to gtrl chii&;n was one of the commonest fomls of gender dlscnrn~. nation against women in r d socirtv -~ .. .

Dr. Kolandawy suid while therc were only 650 women for every 1000 men in Pull- Jab, there were 930 women b r every 1000 men in Tamil Nadu, whercnr thc rslir~ should be 1040 women for 1111111 miall u, ;I!

least 50-50.

TIIE kIIN1)LI DATED 27'"' FEIIRlIARY 2003 - -

SHG support helps usilampaM fight female infanticide

Ily Preethl Chandraseku MIDURN. RB. 26. Once Infa- mous for rampant female in. fiir~ticide, Usilumpatti is now grudually wltnesslt~g n social transformation, leading to ttre recognition that girl chil- dren are equal to male chil. dren, thanks to social, and economic changes.

Muetlirkshi from Maruth- ar~~patti has been one of the ntung beneficiaries of thir positive change. Mother of tl.~ree daughters, this Maruth- ar~tyratti Mi~halir Manram 111e1nber has wrltten a suc- CCYI story of survival wlth the support of other women tnen~bers.

When Meenakshl deliver eJ her second daughter, she W:IS under trumcndous pros- sure to "get rid of It". But the SIIG mumbers formed a sup. purr group of sorts and con.

vinced the family members nguinst killing or abandoning the child.

A similar problem arose when Meenakshi gave birth to 11er third daughter, Maha- lakshml. Once again the rnanrarn members helped Meenahhi to keep the cud .

'We keep monitoring houses of pregtiant SHG mcrnburs. The moment we flnd out a girl child has been delivered, we rush to the woman's side, lending phys- ical and moral support, and prevent thc family from de. clding the infat~t's fate," said a senior member.

The mrmberr ulso counsel the family, especially the mother.

M e e n h h i has availed herself a loan of Rs.5,000 through the manram, whose group saving8 are about Rs.45.000. She has bought a

cow and sells milk, tler eldrst daughter, Rajcswari, (Ih) works as an agricultural lit- bourer, while her two young- er sisters attend school. thanks to a sponsorship hy the Indian Council for Child Welfare, an NCO that hiis helped bring down i~~ciduncu of female infanticide to a great extent in the ta lk .

"Consistent efforts havts helped to n~oblllse SHC; women members to resist pressure from family menl. bets to get rld of thelr I'ell~alr chlld," stated Vdii Annama- lai, secretary, t l ~e Madurai wing of the ICCW.

Providing economic stabil- Iry Is a key factor, says Prarnil Kumar, ICCW project diruc- tor.

The ICCW provides assist. ance for the girl child's edu- cadon and later lor her vocational training.

( xxv i )