January

2019Projects
Proposals for Short term Micro/Mini Action Research

Microfinance has become one of the most effective poverty

reduction strategies over the last few decades. It is regarded
as a mechanism to enhance the poor’s access to affordable Empowering
and reliable credit. India has developed many institutions to women in rural
provide financial services, which is evident in the growth of development
various financial institutions and the design and
implementation of programs to support financial sector
development. The microfinance sector in India has developed
alongside growth in the financial sector.
 Contents
[Link] Topic Page
No.
Part: I VILLAGE INVOLVEMENT
1 Introduction 3
2 Strategies for Poverty Reduction 3
3 Micro-enterprises - the concept 4
4 Community Analysis: SHG 4
5 Review of Literature 5
6 Profile of the Srikakulam District 6
7 Scope of the study 7
8 Significance of the problem 7
9 Research Gap 8
10 Objectives of the Study 9
11 Methodology 9
12 Data Analysis Techniques 12
SCHOOL INVOLVEMENT
Part: II Action Plan for one school involve in the community:
1 Organize a curriculum fair and open house 14
2 Send an email newsletter 14
3 Engage with civic groups 14
4 Go to non-school events 15
5 Use social media to create genuine engagement 15

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 Part-I: VILLAGE INVOLVEMENT

Empowering women in rural development: a

collaborative action research project in Srikakulam
Distract of Andhra Pradesh State

Introduction:
Micro-finance has become one of the most effective poverty reduction
strategies over the last few decades. It is regarded as a mechanism to enhance the

3|Page
poor’s access to affordable and reliable credit. India has developed many
institutions to provide financial services, which is evident in the growth of various
financial institutions and the design and implementation of programs to support
financial sector development. The microfinance sector in India has developed
alongside growth in the financial sector.

India has supported social banking for a long time. Policy directions to
rapidly expand rural branches, mandate credit allocations for priority sectors
(including agriculture), deliver large subsidy oriented credit programs to serve
marginal communities and poor households and control interest rates have been
tried for over 35 years. At a time when many questioned the need for specialized
microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India, the Small Industries Development Bank
of India recognized the opportunity and started implementation of an ambitious
national program. Providing loan and capacity building support to MFIs and
capacity building and rating support for sector development, this program already
supports 70 MFIs and has disbursed US$ 46 million.

Strategies for Poverty Reduction:

Grameen Bank believes that lack of access to credit is the biggest constraint
for the rural poor. If the poor are provided credit on reasonable terms, they
themselves best know how to increase their incomes. Grameen Bank targets and
mobilizes the poor and creates social and financial conditions so that they receive
credit by identifying a source of self-employment in familiar rural non-farm
activities. The Bank's method of targeting the poor is effective as it mobilizes only
those who are willing to bear the costs of group formation, training, and
monitoring each other's activities, and those who are satisfied with the relatively
small sums they can borrow and repay. To better meet its ultimate goal of social
and economic development, Grameen Bank targets women more than men. By
doing so, it directly channels credit to the poorest and the least empowered and
helps improve the living standards of their families. Along with providing credit,
Grameen Bank offers guidelines to members for codes of conduct and activities
aimed at improving their social and financial conditions. It also provides training
to women in maternal health, nutrition, and childcare to generate greater demand
for basic health care services.

Micro-enterprises - the concept:

A Micro-enterprise (ME) is a very small business unit run by an owner of
modest means, usually with few or no other employees. Common activities
include dairy, poultry, sheep rearing, tailoring, fish fending, and sale of forest

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products, bullock trading, pig rearing, child care, catering, cosmetology, or
cleaning services. The ME excludes one person small businesses owned by
professionals such as doctors, lawyers, or computer programmers, and it also
excludes hobbyists-such as those selling hand-made arts and crafts at weekend
shows-who are not really trying to make money. The USA industry-standard
definition of ME is a firm with five or fewer employees that can use loans of up to
$15,000. Small and medium-sized firms, for example, are typically defined in
terms of their assets or numbers of employees, not in terms of the size of loans
they might take.
Community Analysis: SHG
The MF activity in the district is mainly in the form of SHGs promoted by
D.R.D.A. These groups of 10 to 15 members mainly consisting of rural poor, pool
up their meager thrift which is used for meeting the credit requirements of the
needy members. As an incentive, D.R.D.A. also provides revolving fund or
matching grant assistance to augment the group’s resources. D.R.D.A. is the major
agency for promoting groups of women, earlier under DWCRA programme, and
presently as per the guidelines of SGSY. As per the instructions of the
Government of A.P., all the eligible women members, who are having white ration
cards, are to form SHGs. However, most of them do not have exclusive groups
and some members of these groups are also members of SHGs promoted by
D.R.D.A/ IKP.
SHGs for employment of the poor:
SHGs consist of members who are poor, having low savings capacity and
generally depending on money lenders or private sources for meeting their
consumption and emergent needs. A typical SHG will comprise like-minded
individuals who volunteer to save small amounts of money in a common pool, out
of which, need based loans are given to members for meeting their emergent credit
requirements based on the priorities decided by the group. The group members
take collective decisions on all matters including those relating to terms of credit
viz., purpose, size, interest rate and repayment period. They exercise close
supervision on utilization of loans and exert peer and moral pressure on members
to continue savings and repay loans promptly on time. In other words, SHG can be
referred to as a group of poor persons who own, manage and control a micro bank
of their own.

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SHG Objectives:
SHG methodology is novel approach in development economics, SHGs
must; therefore, envision human development perspective in their scheme of
things. The clarity in goals and objectives of SHGs will determine the pace and
direction of their development. Hence, the groups among rural poor must be
facilitated based on long term goals rather than for short-term pecuniary gains.
Some of the critical long term benefits include:
 Sustainable access to financial services
 Stronger livelihood support systems
 Enhancement of collective bargaining power
 Self reliance and sense of dignity
 Improvement in overall standard of living and empowerment.

Governance in SHGs:

Strong savings and credit groups, owned and managed by the community
itself, need competent and committed development facilitators, strong cadre of
leaders, and enlightened and alert members. Hence the governance of SHGs that
promotes democratic traditions is crucial for its success. Evolution of norms or
rules and regulations for self governance, participatory decision making, diligence
and self-discipline among group members coupled with strong enforcement
mechanism are sufficient conditions for transparency in group operations. These
rules and regulations are not mere statements but reflect the understanding of
group norms by members through their conduct in group activities. Rules and
regulations of the group, therefore, need to comprehend conflict situation in day to
day functioning of group and provide ready solutions.

Review of Literature:

The review of literature shows that the SHG activity with Bank Linkage has
a positive impact on rural women’s self-sustainability with respect to increases in
income, consumption, savings stabilization of income and general economic
empowerment of beneficiaries. These studies pointed out the inter relationships in
the confidence levels of the women with their involvement in community
activities. According to these studies, more the involvement in SHG programs,
the women get more involved in community activities and in addressing
community problems by working in tandem with the government machinery to
implement the different welfare schemes available, like constructions of roads,
sanitation programs, schemes for education and health etc. The present chapter is
devoted to review the literature on the research topic.

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 Prasadarao.M Center Head IDEAL College and [Link] Dean &
Director Dept. of Business Management, Navi Mumbai have studied the “Impact
of SHG based MF on women empowerment. The researcher has taken up the
research mainly to analyze the impact of SHG movement on self-sustainability of
rural women from Dwarli village and also to study the social group dynamics
which are causing the SHG performance and growth.

[Link] and [Link] (2008) of Osmania University,

Hyderabad has studied the main thrust of the SHGs scheme in helping and
promoting self-employment among the rural poor. The scheme also envisages skill
training to take up different production activities. These activities enhance the
economic and social self-reliance.

[Link] Department of commerce [Link] (Magdha

University) Patnahas studied MF through SHGs-an emerging horizon for rural
development. In India, as in other countries policy authorities are recognizing MC
groups as an effective tool for achieving the distributional objectives of monetary
policy. In the recent period, considerable emphasis has been placed on promotion
of MC enterprises in view of perceived inadequacies of existing agencies in
providing productive credit to those with little or no previous access to formal
credit facilities.

[Link] in his study of women’s technological employment and

sustainable development in rural area brought out various general economic
impacts of SHGs beneficiaries organized by Tamil Nadu Women Development
Corporation Ltd in Tamil Nadu state.

From the above review of literature it is understood that different

researchers and different organizations have studied the concept from different
dimensions. And the conclusions drawn from the research studies have some
similarities and at the same time there are dissimilarities. The methodology
adopted, the scope and coverage of the above research studies also varies one from
the other. It is also very important to note that there is a wide scope of research on
this topic keeping in view the significance of the study topic and the target
sections. Therefore it was felt that there is a need and significance to conduct a
comprehensive research study on the present topic of “Performance of Micro-
enterprises –A study on micro-enterprises under Self Help Groups in Srikakulam
District of Andhra Pradesh State”
Profile of the Srikakulam District:

Srikakulam District, which is located in the north-eastern part of Andhra

Pradesh, is one of the back ward districts of the state, despite its natural resources

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and other potential which are yet to be exploited. It is bound on the North by
OrissaState, on the West and South by Vizianagaram District and on the East by
Bay of Bengal. The total area of the district is [Link]. Administratively, the
district is divided into three Revenue Divisions viz., Srikakulam, Palakonda and
Tekkaliwith 38 constituent mandals comprising of 1870 villages of which 1767 are
inhabited. There are 11 semi-urban units in the District, of which 4 are
Municipalities and 7 are notified major panchayats (elected governing village
councils) and 1053 are minor gram panchayats.

Scope of the study:

India is one of the countries having a large concentration of women

population. The extreme economic and educational backwardness of the women in
the country has drawn the attention of the state and Central Governments. Many
socio-economic measured to uplift the women were initiated by India under the
Colonial British rule. The efforts of various commissions and legislative measures
have proved futile. A number of developmental activities intended for protecting
the women from exploitation and meant for helping them to further their socio-
economic development have not yielded fruitful results as expected. The post-
independence era witnessed a large number of developmental measures, policies
and programs that focused on the overall development of the women. Ever since
the planning process was initiated in the country through five-year plans, the
women uplift in the country has gained importance. The Constitutional provisions
and legislative measures both during the post-independent period to protect the
women, poverty, culture, had a significant bearing on the overall women economy
and socio-cultural system but they failed to have any impact on the improvement
of the economic conditions of the women population.

After the initiation of the planned development programs in the country

from the first five-year plan during 1960s till the present XIth five-year plan, many
programs were implemented for the socio-economic up-liftment of the women
both by the state and the Central Governments. The effectiveness and impact of
these programs have not been thoroughly evaluated in the country except in a few
pockets.

There are a few studies made particularly in Andhra Pradesh by the

government agencies that have evaluated the impact of these women development
programs. However, these studies fall to bring out the chronic inadequacies in the
implementation of the programs. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate thoroughly
the women development programs such as SGSY in the state of Andhra Pradesh,
which has voter Self Half Groups. This project attempts to study the importance of
SHG’s in Srikakulam in the state on selective basis with a view to thoroughly
evaluating the role of NGO’s in socio-cultural & economic development of
women at the grass-root level.
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Significance of the problem:

To relieve the women from the clutches of poverty and the exploitation by
the moneylenders and private contractors in their areas, a greater emphasis is being
given by the State Government to the implementation of various economic
programs for their economic upliftment by letting MEs under IKP. All these
programs, which help in entrepreneurship development of rural women,
particularly the field’s production of marketing, credit facilities, supply of
consumer goods and even informal rationing ensuring commodities at reasonable
prices should have the highest priority.

Generally, the organization of IKP may influence the development of

women economy through setting up of micro enterprises. By way of providing
integrated services in the women SHGs, these organizations may help the women
SHGs to increase their income level, savings and investment and agricultural
production. Migration of rural women folk to nearby urban areas in seek of
employment has been a concerning issue to the policy makers and has an adverse
impact on urban areas. Government with a view to control rural migration has
been offering a policy maker which includes MF, ME sand also to make use of
locally available men and material resources.

Besides, they may improve their agricultural practices, generate the

additional employment opportunities, increase the wage rate of women labour, and
to make more and contact with the officials and non-officials. Hence, the
researcher is interested to examine the establishment and working of the micro-
enterprises by SHG members under IKP in the survey area the benefits to the
women SHGs and address to the questions like, what are the services officered by
the IKP for the development of women community through micro enterprises?
What are the areas in which women development is more of large? And, is the
role-played by the District Administration for the development of women through
SHGs desirable or not? With a view to finding out the answers for the aforesaid
questions, an attempt is being made by the researcher to study the Management of
MEs on SHGs in the development of rural women in the district in an empirical
manner.

Research Gap:

Only a few studies have been undertaken during the past years on SHGs
and women development and their standard of living. Each study has its own
limitations. One common lacuna was that many studies were case studies covering
women problems in general. Secondly the authors of various studies did not
provide uniform data. Some relied on State government figures and some on
Central Government figures. They were not based on primary data.

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 Present study will devoting of such limitations and examined the following:
1. The living conditions, life-style and socio-economic characteristics of rural
women.
2. The problems and causes for poverty and indebtedness among rural women
and scope for alleviating them.
3. The role of Indira Kranthi Patham and District Administration in relation
to women development by way forming SHGs.
4. The problems of rural women.

Objectives of the Study:

As pointed out earlier the SHG was designed to raise the living standard of
poor people with more focus on poor women. This study will tries to find out to
what extend this program has succeeded in realizing the following objectives.
More specifically the study has the following objectives:
1. To evaluate the role of IKP scheme in the development of SHGs.
2. To study the impact of SHG on generation of additional income, additional
employment, on mobilization of savings and investment on the creation of
assets and their repayment performance in the member household.
3. To study the socio-economic profile of the rural women entrepreneurs.
4. To evaluate the performance evaluation of business enterprises carried by
rural woman entrepreneurs.
5. To study the operational problems and remedial measures for successful
conduct of MEs.
6. To suggest measures for development of MEs for the socio economic
development of women under IKP program.

Methodology:

Srikakulam District was selected for the purpose of the present study.
Scholar’s nativity and accessibility of villages in which the respondents are present
have impelled the scholar to choose the District for study. The operational
methodology adopted for this study was as follows. The study covers the district
of Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh state. However micro aspects of SHG member’s
economic condition and standard of living have been included in the study. For
this purpose this study was conducted at three levels applying survey research
methods. The first was mandal level where mainly historical research method was
adopted. At the second level is panchayat level. Each panchayat was selected for
in depth study. At the third level SHGs were selected for the study. The impact of
government development programmes on SHGs and rural women development

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were also examined. For selection of SHG in Mandals, three criteria have been
adopted. They are as follows.
1. Proximity of the SHG with all facilities including literacy.
2. SHG members having the formal education and low infrastructural
facilities.
3. SHG members who are ignorant to avail Government facilities.

A list of SHGs in all 38 mandals of the District was collected from the
official records of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Srikakulam.
While selecting the DWCRA groups the followed criteria have been followed:
1. The group must be in existence for more than three years.
2. The group must have undertaken income-generating activities.
3. The group must have bank linkage.

Sample Selection:

Lack of time tampered studying all the SHGs in the selected Mandals.
Therefore it was decided to study 75 SHGs per Mandal of the district. Totally 750
SHGs (10X 75) will be selected in random from the total SHGs of 31,423 in this
district. Multi-stage stratified sampling method is used for date collection. There
are three stages in which sampling process is carried out. The first stage consists of
selection of mandals in the District. The second stage consists of selection of
village level and the third stage consists of selection of SHGs. In order to give
justice to data analysis and get clear picture of micro-enterprises, programmes, and
schemes, the multistage sampling is used for data collection. This multi stage
stratified sampling includes,
 Simple Random sampling
 Systematic sampling
 Stratified sampling
 Cluster sampling
 Purposive sampling
 Quota sampling

Data Collection:

The study is based on survey research method. The analysis of overall

status of the SHG’s and its development status in the district is based on the
secondary sources of the information like the published reports and documents of
DRDA-Srikakulam Collectrate of Srikakulam and office of the Chief Planning
officer-Srikakulam, Directorate of Economics and Statistical, Hyderabad,
[Link] University library-Srikakulam and other concerned
governmental and non-governmental agencies. Since the focus of the research is

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on to study the impact of MF and ME son socio-economic upliftment of rural
women, the researcher was faced with a hard choice from among the following
three methods for obtaining data.
1. Total dependence of Mandal records and other sources of data.
2. Interviews with all officials concerned and to aggregating their responses
on a particular variable.
3. Interviews with selected respondents of a village.

The interview method opted for in-depth study. The first two methods are
used to enhance the quality of the data, the SHG of the selected Mandals were
interviewed through a specially designed schedule to obtain primary data about
their socio-economic profile and their experience with MF and micro-enterprises.

To avoid stereotype, unreliable responses and to get valid information, the

researcher held as many informal and extended interviews at possible with elderly
members and resourceful respondents. Discussions were also held with the level of
members, the officials of cooperatives, Commercial Banks and DRDA of
Srikakulam District to generate data. Their opinions regarding developmental
activities in the SHGs are also considered. The experience revealed the friendly
talk, outdoor trips, some of these best means of collection of original information.
All information thus collected was counter checked with reliable persons and other
available records.

Analysis:

The study is mainly based on descriptive analysis of the literature, reports

and data collected from the secondary and primary sources. The data collected
through secondary sources and through the questionnaire were edited and analyzed
manually. Statistical methods were avoided and more emphasis was given for a
qualitative description in the report writing. Whether necessary cartographic
representation through maps charts and figures have also been included.

Statistical Design:

The study is not a case study. It is a survey. It is an empirical study based

mainly on the primary data. Survey method is followed. Srikakulam district is
selected for this study in Andhra Pradesh. There are 38Mandals in the district out
of which 10 mandals representing three revenue divisions were selected for the
study from each Mandal75 SHG members were selected, for in-depth analysis.
Totally 750 SHG members were selected randomly from among 750 SHGs. One
member either president or secretary was selected fromSrikakulam district for the
purpose of the present study.

Selection of respondents -Mandal, Village wise

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 [Link] Name of the [Link]. [Link].
Mandal Groups Respondents
1 Srikakulam 75 75
2 Amadalavalasa 75 75
3 Lakshminarsupeta 75 75
4 Pathapatnam 75 75
5 Palasa 75 75
6 Itchapuram 75 75
7 Kalingapatnam 75 75
8 Seethampeta 75 75
9 Palakonda 75 75
10 Kotturu 75 75
Total 750 750

Data Analysis techniques:

1. Cost-Benefit Ratio:

Whenever comparison is made between the sample SHG and sample

women members, percentage analysis is used. A cost benefit analysis is attempted
while a return from the investment is computed by using the formula.
Net Income
Cost – Benefit ratio =----------------------
Total cost

The analyses of the average propensity to consume and marginal propensity

to consume of the beneficiaries have been found out through the following
formula.
Past Consumption C1
Average propensity to consume = ----------------------- = -------- X 100
Past Income Y1

One Consumption C C2- C1

Marginal propensity to consume = ----------------------- = -------- = --------
Additional Income Y Y2 - Y1

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 Both these formulae would enable us to test [Link] Psychological Law
of consumption by using the equation.
C= ( Y)
C deals with changes in consumption Y deals with changes in income.

In order to find out the impact of MEs of SHG approach for empowerment
of women in the sample SHGs and on the economic status of sample members of
the groups, “Before and after” analysis has been deployed.
2. Population of means savings:

Whenever comparison is made between levels of savings in different age

SHGs by using the population mean savings formula.

Total savings / No. of groups

Population means savings = ------------------------------------
Group size
Hypothesis is more the age of the SHG having more the savings.
3. Test of difference proportion(Z):

Test for difference of proportion between Forward Caste and Backward

Classes respondents in terms of dairy activity and similarly FC and SC
respondents by using the formula:
P1 – P2
Z= ---------------------
√ PQ (1/FCP+1/BCP)
4. Chi-square test for independency of attributes:

With the help of x²test we can find out whether two or more attributes are
associated or not. Suppose we have N observations classified according to two
attributes. We may ask whether the attributes are related or independent. Thus, we
can find out
1. Whether quinine is effective in controlling fever or not
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 2. Whether there is any association between marriage and failure or
3. Eye color of husband and wife.

In order to test whether or not the attributes are associated, we take the
null hypothesis that there is no association between the attributes under
consideration, in other words, the two attributes are independent.
5. Single proportion testing:
In the study out of 750 respondents 652 respondents were found to be take to
decision expand their business. Does this information support the statement that
“Majority of the respondents in this study are expanding their business” Draw the
conclusion by using the formula?

Conclusion:

Some valuable lessons will be drawn from the experience of successful MF

operation. First of all, the poor repay their loans and are willing to pay for higher
interest rates than commercial banks provided that access to credit is provided.
The solidarity group pressure and sequential lending provide strong repayment
motivation and produce extremely low default rates. Secondly, the poor save and
hence MF should provide both savings and loan facilities. These two findings
imply that banking on the poor can be a profitable business. However, attaining
financial viability and sustainability is the major institutional challenge. Deposit
mobilization is the major means for MF institutions to expand outreach by
leveraging equity. In order to be sustainable, MF lending should be grounded on
market principles because large scale lending cannot be accomplished through
subsidies.

Part-II: SCHOOL INVOLVEMENT

Action Plan for one school involve in the community:

While much of our attention focuses on day-to-day academic and social

events at our schools, it is important for school leaders to make time for our larger
community. These often-unnoticed citizens hold tremendous sway over our
schools’ public perception and overall support. Finding ways to engage with the

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community is essential, especially if my planning significant changes at village
school. Here are several strategies that will prove successful:

1. Organize a curriculum fair and open house: Create a unique opportunity for
the community to see the high-quality work your school is addressing through
a curriculum fair or school open house. Rather than shut yourself away from
the public inside (sometimes) imposing buildings, you will develop a strong
connection to your community by demonstrating your school’s good deeds in
an inviting setting. Teachers should provide examples of their best work and
prepare themselves to speak about the goals and objectives of their classrooms.
2. Send an email newsletter: Using both a commercial communication service
and our in-district technology, I publish a weekly email communique using this
formula:
Big Picture (10 percent) — broad ideas and strategies about schools. This may
include articles from major news publications or websites, or general parenting
strategies. This recognizes that community members appreciate learning about
education and social issues that extend beyond the school.
Recognition (10 percent) — highlights of the school community. News of
successful charity drives, academic honors and sports team success reminds the
community that great things are happening at their school. This helps to foster
a forward-learning, growth-oriented school culture.
School Information (80 percent) — important coming events. Upcoming
school-specific events like grade reporting, conferences and school activities
are all interesting to the community. It’s important to recognize that your
audience is a lot of busy people managing competing interests. There’s too
much information clutter in today’s media-soaked world, so I respect my
readers’ time by limiting my information to the most important topics.
3. Engage with civic groups: Make it a point to engage with civic organization
such as the Boy Scouts, local business clubs such as the Rotary and the
Kiwanis, and recreational sports leagues in town. Developing partnerships with
these groups will help to solidify your school’s cultural role in the community.
Don’t hesitate to attend a fundraiser or awards banquet if the opportunity
arises.
4. Go to non-school events: Attending a non-school event tells people you care
for the entire community and not just your little part of it. This lets you engage
with citizens through informal conversations and sets a positive tone for future,
and perhaps more formal, conversations on community matters. Good
examples of these events are non-school sports games, community art
exhibitions and showcases, and civic events.
5. Use social media to create genuine engagement: Don’t overestimate the
impact of social media. Sharing information with the community on a website

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 is no substitute for engaging with the community in real life. Sure, Facebook
and Twitter can be great for keeping people up to date, but it’s a superficial
interaction that shouldn’t be mistaken for engagement. Social media should be
the venue to redirect people to opportunities for deeper, in-person engagement.

Today’s society requires schools to combine traditional and newer

strategies to keep everyone in the larger community engaged and interested in
their local school. The community expects school leaders to be publicly
accountable and transparent, which makes it imperative that we take an active role
in establishing the public narrative and perception of our schools. Using all these
strategies will help spread the good word about the school culture we work so
diligently to promote.

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New Section: Mathematical Modelling and Statistical
Analysis

Mathematical Modelling and Statistical Analysis of

SHGs
This section integrates mathematical and statistical techniques ...

APC before: 0.845, APC after: 0.788, MPC: 0.698

Mean Cost–Benefit Ratio: 1.493

Z statistic: 5.477, p-value: 0.0000

Regression model: intercept=5681.17, b_loan=0.0621, b_years=287.10

Probability all 10 repay: 0.7125

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