Self Help Group (SHG) and women empowerment An SHG is a socially and economically homogeneous group of up to 20 people created voluntarily for credit and savings, with no collateral requirements. SHGs have well-defined rules and bylaws, hold regular meetings, maintain meeting minutes, offer savings and loans, practice responsible credit usage, and operate democratically. SHGs have emerged as an important tool in shaping women’s empowerment and income generation. The growth of SHGs are fuelled through credit linkage, collective access to infrastructure, capacity building, forward-backward linkages, specialised schemes, etc. Some of the documented evidences of SHGs and women empowerment are as follows. Improved financial literacy, boosts household income, diminishes reliance on informal credit sources and enhanced decision-making capacities. Entrepreneurship development through SHG Better skills Social recognition and status Fosters women driven community development Best practices for SHG functioning Based on a grassroot level study of the SHGs in rural Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, the following are some of the best practices suggested for effective SHG functioning towards women empowerment. Socio-economic profiling of SHGs and their members to map them to relevant livelihood activities and schemes Evolving discipline in SHG actitivies - meetings, book keeping, financial management, member coordination, etc Promote participation of SHGs in community - participation in Gram Sabhas, activities of Anganwadis, Health centres, etc Strengthen instituional linkages - banks, cooperatives, skill development institutions, etc Continous skill upgradation of members for effective functioning and empowerment - financial literacy, digital literacy, legal literacy, entrepreneurship, etc Promote the use of technology - record management, communication, networking, etc Strengthen household empowerment through targeted interventions and awareness for men and children to enable their support Maintain ethics and value system in group functioning - Discipline, Trust, Equity, Transparency, Accountability & Sustainability Regular monitoring, reward and recognition mechanisms Access to peer learning networks Enhancing adaptability to changing market dynamics, consumer preferences, and economic conditions by being flexible and innovative in their business strategies.