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allow the programme to grow organically, in response to needs and capabilities. As we have
seen, the rate of growth of the programme did indeed slow down in 2005-06, and hopefully
will continue to do so until there is greater confidence that quality issues are under control,
accompanied by higher growth in the underserved states.
Good books make for good groups
As noted above, book-keeping is perhaps the single most important area for greater action
research on how to create and organize systems to impart the necessary training, devise viable
incentives to participants in the system, and provide continuing support over time.
A periodic quality assurance survey
In order to stengthen the focus on quality, and to monitor progress in increasing it, the SHG
movement needs to devise an annual or biannual sample survey, representative at the national
level, designed to assess changing (and hopefully improving) SHG quality. At the very least we
need a continuing series of high quality studies of the kind that have recently been conducted.
As noted above,
book-keeping is
perhaps the
single most
important area
for greater
action research
on how to
create and
organize
systems to
impart the
necessary
training, devise
viable
incentives to
participants in
the system, and
provide
continuing
support over
time
Better statistics
On the quantitative aspects of the programme too, we need better statistics. The annual
NABARD publication has a wealth of useful information on growth trends in different states
and in the contribution of different partners and SHPAs, broken down to the district level.
However lending figures are reported in cumulative terms, which is of interest, but overstates
current loans outstanding, since a number of groups stop borrowing for various reasons, or
are temporarily between loans. Lending Information is received from the banks and they
should be able to provide year-end loan outstanding (stock) information in addition to flow
information. This is essential for a true estimate of the size and annual growth of the model,
and therefore of the microfinance sector in the country as a whole, and for comparison with
other models. In the absence of global data, one is forced to rely on surveys, which indicate
that outstandings are about 70 percent of cumulative lending. 42
Second, no break-up is provided of repeat loans, whether second, third or subsequent loans,
in the absence of which it not possible to monitor the respective proportions of groups in
each group, or of loan size progression. Third, it would be useful to have information on bank
portfolio quality (PARs, defaults). Fourth, and equally useful, would be information on group
savings and the credit-deposit ratio under the linkage programme. As noted above, APMAS
(2005) found that loans outstanding in AP were only 74 percent of members' thrift deposited
with the banks. As it says "SHPIs need to ensure that bank linkage is not just about SHG funds
being lent to SHGs".
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