Lok Sabha Question No. 3851 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-12
Subject: Women's Self-Help Group
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Dr. M K Vishnu Prasad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3851 ANSWERED ON 12/08/2025

## WOMEN'S SELF-HELP GROUP

## 3851. Dr. M K Vishnu Prasad:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  plug  malpractices  in social security schemes particularly in Women's Self-Help Group
- (a) schemes; and
- (b) whether any malpractices identified in women's self-help group scheme during the last five years, State-wise including Tamil Nadu, if so, the action taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. CHANDRA SEKHAR PEMMASANI)

- (a): Under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) the Government has instituted a multi-layered monitoring and review mechanism to ensure transparency, accountability, and adherence to scheme guidelines-particularly in the implementation of social security components involving Women's Self-Help Groups (SHGs) through following steps :-
1. Regular Reviews with State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs): Performance  at  the  state  level  is  reviewed  quarterly  by  senior administrative  officials  to  identify  bottlenecks,  deviations  from guidelines, and any potential irregularities in scheme implementation.
2.  Performance  Review  Committee  (PRC)  Meetings:  Reviews  are conducted  at  the  national  level  with  State  Secretaries  to  monitor performance, compliance, and integrity of implementation.
3.  Monitoring  through  Management  Information  System  (MIS):  A centralized MIS captures real-time data from the block and district levels, enabling continuous tracking of implementation status.

4. Field visits and Independent Monitoring: National Level Monitors, Common Review Missions, and Ministry officials undertake regular field visits to States/UTs. These visits assess on-ground adherence to  scheme  norms.  Observations  and  recommendations  are  shared with concerned states for timely corrective action.
5.  Third-party Assessments and Evaluations: Independent research organisations  are  commissioned  to  conduct  periodic  assessments and evaluations of scheme implementation. These studies examine the efficacy, transparency, and impact of SHG  interventions, especially in the area of social security.
6.  Further,  since  the  mission  works  with  the  rural  community,  in addition  to  the  Standard  Monitoring  and  regulatory  provisions,  the following self-regulatory processes are facilitated to enable women to become self-reliant and accountable:
4. (i)  Self-Regulation  in  Federations:  SHG  federations  are  trained  to adopt self-regulation frameworks that include internal norms, standardised bookkeeping, risk monitoring, community audits, and sector-wide reporting. This type of internal control  enhances transparency,  accountability,  and  trust  with  external  institutions, such as banks.
5. (ii)  Participatory  &  Community-Based  Monitoring:  Drawing  from community participation, SHG members and local stakeholders are capacitated  and  motivated  to  monitor  progress  and  outcomes actively. Approaches such as participatory monitoring-where locals collect, analyse, and use data-help  reinforce ownership and relevance of the monitoring process
6. (b): DAY-NRLM program intends to reach out to all the eligible and vulnerable households in the rural hinterland. The first step in the program is to identify and mobilise the eligible households into SHGs. The SRLMs carry out the mobilisation and formation of SHGs with the support of the community resource persons (CRPs). To ensure that the name of one member does not appear on more than one SHG, LokOS, a centralised MIS application, is utilised. LokOS, launched by DAY-NRLM, has  a  provision  to  identify  each  member  of  the  SHGs through their Aadhaar number and does not allow the entry of the same Aadhaar number twice anywhere in the country, thus ensuring 100% unique members in the SHGs. Therefore, no malpractices have been reported in Women's SHGs in all States and UTs, including in Tamil Nadu.

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