Abstract

Nobel Laureate Professor Mohammad Yunus, who brought alive the concept of 'self-help group' as 'Bangladesh Grameen Bank' to solve economic problems in the lives of the poor and the lower strata of society during the 1970s in Bangladesh The contribution is unforgettable. Even today self-help groups are very relevant. Through these groups, all members provide loans from their collective savings fund to the needy members at the lowest rate of interest, thereby shaping their entrepreneurship for earning a livelihood through local economic activities.
Self-help groups for developing countries are a major means of economic empowerment of grassroots people. On the other hand, this concept is not only adopted by the common people but also government and non-governmental organizations around the world understand the importance of self-help groups.
During the economic liberalization (1991–92) in India, self-help groups were given special encouragement and NABARD played a major role in this process. At the same time, self-help groups were used in the implementation of grassroots developmental plans during the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997–2002) of India. This research paper has been written with the aim of finding out what is the contribution of self-help groups to women empowerment.

Key words: Self-Help Groups, Women Empowerment, Economic Empowerment