Does Self-Help Groups Result in Sustainable Development? A Case Study in Jharkhand, India

The employment of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) programmes has emerged as a popular strategy for the facilitation of eradicating poverty and empowering women by providing gainful self-employment in India given its success in quite a few countries in the world. Through intensive fieldwork this study explores the achievements of one such SHG programme in one of the most backward and Maoist infested states of India, Jharkhand. The study also profiles the socio-demographic status of the women of the SHGs. The study finds that majority of the women belong to the lower strata of society and had very little formal education. There has been considerable improvement in economic and social status of women after starting their own micro-enterprise. Almost all the women engaged themselves in sustainable poultry farming. Not only their earnings have increased but they also feel themselves considerably empowered as they have almost full control on their earnings and other matters involving them.