Andhra CM favours women's co-op as SHG nodal agency

The Women Cooperative Finance Corporation (WCFC) could work as a nodal agency for mid-way financing of the women self-help groups (SHGs), according to chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Speaking to the chief executives of the banks during the State-Level Bankers Committee meet held in here recently, Reddy said the state government would provide a working capital to WCFC towards mid-way financing and would extend support and cooperation in ensuring recovery of the loans extended to women SHGs.

“Though banks have honoured their commitment under the SHG bank linkage programme by lending Rs 7,082 crore against the targeted Rs 7,053 crore, there is still a vast scope to improve the coverage,” he said, reminding the banks of their poor performance in SHG bank linkage in Adilabad district (60 per cent) during 2010-11, which needs to be rectified during 2011-12.

In Andhra Pradesh, banks have financed 1.69 million SHGs with an outstanding amount of Rs 13,153 crore as on March 2011, which covered over 12 million rural and urban population.

The Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) has proposed a target of Rs 1,000 crore towards bulk finance for over 500 Mandal Mahila Samakhyas, which are functioning well during the year 2011-12, he added.

Reddy said the Reserve Bank of India, in its circular on May 3, 2011, said that it was decided to regulate the microfinance sector as a separate category.