The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : SHGs urged to venture into new markets

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 11, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

SHGs urged to venture into new markets

Staff Reporter

TAMBARAM : Officials of Indian Overseas Bank used a function held on Thursday at Kundrathur to distribute loans to women's self-help groups to appeal to women to venture into new markets. They should not to restrict themselves only to making household items and snacks.

The officials reminded women that loans extended to them were meant `only for them' and not their male relatives, be it their husbands, brothers or sons. Nearly 1,000 women members belonging to 77 SHGs assembled at the Kaveri Marriage Hall in Kunrathur on Thursday. During the function officials of the Indian Overseas Bank handed over cheques totalling Rs. 26 lakh as loans to these groups.

A.V. Dugade, Executive Director of the Bank, urged the women to venture into new areas of economic activity. "You should not restrict yourself to making and marketing only conventional items. You must create new products, find markets them and sell aggressively," he said.

Stating that the Bank had sanctioned loans of Rs. 234 crore, Rs. 131 crore of them in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Dugade said the recovery of loans was very high at 96 per cent. The Bank never faced problems in recovering loan amounts disbursed to SHGs, he said. P.K. Tripathy, General Manager, urged the women to elevate their status to Micro Financial Institutions so that they would be able to create new SHGs and guide them. He said the formation of such women's groups had contributed towards pulling people out of poverty.

S. Dinakar, Field General Manager, Chennai Region, said many women availed loans from the Bank, but did not use it. For instance, women members availed loans to buy autorickshaws but handed over the vehicles to their male relatives. In such cases, the purpose of extending the loan itself was lost.

Pointing out that women should get out of the belief that they could only make "bags, snacks and honey," Mr. Dinakar suggested that the women could set up small restaurants.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu