Lok Sabha Question No. 1125 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-04
Subject: Rashtriya Mahila Kosh
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: GANESH SINGH, KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1125

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.12.2015

## RASHTRIYA MAHILA KOSH

1125.  SHRI GANESH SINGH:  SHRI KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the objectives of the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) set up by the Government with its initial and present corpus;
- (b) the  details  of  loan  schemes  of  RMK,  the  eligibility  norms  thereof  along  with  the  activities undertaken  thereby  indicating  the  loans  sanctioned,  released  and  number  of  beneficiaries covered during each of the last three years and the current year, scheme and State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has taken note that benefits of RMK are not reaching to the needy women;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  corrective  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to simplify the loan procedure under the scheme; and
- (e) the further measures taken by the Government to effective implementation of RMK?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (MANEKA SANJAY GANDHI)

- (a) Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) was initially set up with a corpus of 31 crores in 1992-93.   As on 31.03.2015,  the  corpus  fund  of  RMK  is  100  crores  and  Rs  143.03  crores  is  reserves  & surpluses generated over the years from internal resources.

The  main  aim  and  objectives  of  the  Kosh,  as  per  Memorandum  and  Association  of RMK, are as follow:

- (i) To promote or undertake activities for the promotion of or to provide credit as an instrument of socio-economic change and development through the provision of a package of financial and social development services for the development of women;
- (ii) To promote and support schemes for improvement of facilities for credit for women;
- (iii) To  promote  and  support  experiments  in  the  voluntary  and  formal  sector  using  innovative methodologies to reach poor women with credit and other social services;
- (b) Details of loan scheme, eligibility norms and activities undertaken, Loan Sanctioned, released, No of beneficiaries covered during each of the last three years and the current year, scheme and State/UT-wise is annexed  as per Annexure-I & 2 .
- (c)      &(d) To evaluate the performance of the Kosh i.e whether benefits of RMK have reached to the needy women of the Country, an evaluation study covering 9 states (A.P, Assam, Delhi, M.P, Maharashtra,  Odisha,  Rajasthan,  Tamil  Nadu  and  West  Bengal)  was  got  conducted  in  the year 2012 through an independent organization Indian Society for Agribusiness Professionals, (ISAP) New Delhi. The findings/ recommendations of the said impact study are given at Annexure 3.
- (e) Following are the further measures taken by the Government for effective implementation of RMK:-
- (i) Down ward revision in Rate of Interest (ROI): During the past 2 year period, ROI of RMK loans has been revised downward twice. Firstly w.e.f. 01.04.2013 maximum ROI chargeable by RMK to NGOs was reduced from 8% to 6% and by NGOs to end-beneficiary from 18% to 14%.  ROI chargeable to end-beneficiaries by NGOs have been further reduced to 10% from 14%   as per 55 th  Governing Board (GB) meeting held on 17.11.2015.
- (ii) Simplification of Loan procedures: With a view to make loaning guidelines of RMK more effective  and  customer  friendly,  the  lending  guidelines  have  been  further  revised  and simplified by the 55 th  Governing Board (GB) of RMK held on 17.11.2015.

*****

## 1) Details of loan schemes of RMK

- i) Loan Promotion Scheme: RMK provides smaller loan, maximum upto Rs10 lakhs, to promote the activity of thrift and credit among new and smaller but potentially capable organisations having at-least six months experience in formation of SHGs, thrift, credit and recovery management.
2. ii) Main Loan Scheme : IMOs having minimum 3 years' experience in thrift and credit activities are considered under the scheme for loan upto Rs. 200 lakhs per state and a maximum of Rs. 600 lakhs for multistate operations.
3. iii) Refinance Scheme: RMK provides 100% refinance assistance to Mahila Urban Co-operative Bank on finances provided by them to poor women either directly or through SHGs within the norms of the RMK Main Loan Scheme.
4. iv) Franchisee  Scheme: Smaller  NGOs  of  the  State  can  avail  loan  directly  from  franchisee appointed  by  RMK  for  that  particular  State  without  sending  their  proposal  to  RMK  office  at  New Delhi. RMK gives the Credit Limit upto Rs 500 lakh to the Franchisee who in turn extends loan to smaller & potential NGOs in the State.
- v) Gold Credit Card Scheme: This Scheme of providing hassle free finance has been designed for medium and large NGOs so as to provide extended moratorium and credit on easier terms by RMK, for 3 years period. Maximum credit limit under this scheme is Rs 500 lakh.
6. vi) Housing  Loan  Scheme: Through  its  partner  organizations,  RMK  provides  loans  upto  a maximum Rs 1,00,000/- per beneficiary to SHG members for construction of low cost house and repairs.
7. vii) Working Capital Term Loan (WCTL): WCTL is provided to the organisations for backward and forward marketing linkages of products of women SHGs/ individuals and group of entrepreneurs, including technology transfer, education for skill up- gradation and infrastructure development. The borrowing  organisation  should  have  availed  of  a  minimum  loan  of Rs 25  lakhs  or  above  under micro-credit  schemes  of  RMK/  SIDBI  /  NABARD  /  Commercial  Banks.  The  condition  is  not applicable  to  Government  organisations.  The  maximum  loan  that  can  be  sanctioned  under  this scheme is Rs 6 crores for multistate operations and Rs 2 crore per State per IMO.

Loan limit per beneficiary:-

- (a) first loan - upto Rs. 35,000/-; (b) Repeat loan(s) Rs 50,000/-.

## 2) Eligibility Norms of Loans

The Intermediary Micro-Financing Organization (IMO) should have:-

- i.    Objectives for serving the social and economic needs of the poor women. It must not work for profit.
- ii.   Necessary professional competence, basic financial management capability and organizational skills to implement the lending programme.
- iii.  Be registered for more than 3 years on the date of application to RMK.
- iv.  Experience in thrift and credit management for 3 years or more. (Six months for applying under the Loan Promotion Scheme).
- v.   Recoveries for the loans given to its members earlier should be at least 90%.
6. vi    Proper  and  specific  clause  /  provision  in  the  Bye-laws  /  Memorandum  of  Association  of  the organization having power to borrow or raise loans from any outside agency.
- vii.  Proper system of maintaining accounts, which should have been audited and published every year and there should not have been any serious irregularities.
8. viii  The office bearers of IMO should not be elected representatives of any political party.
9. ix    The  organization's  audited  accounts  and  balance  sheet  should  reflect  its  experience  in providing credit and recoveries, etc. and sound financial management / health.

3)  Activities  undertaken :-  Loans  are  granted  for  various  livelihood  Income  Generating  Activities (IGA); Sustenance of their existing employment; Generation of further employment;  Asset creation; Asset redemption and Tiding over consumption, social and contingent needs; etc.

The State/ UT-wise and Scheme-wise loan sanctioned, released and no. of women beneficiaries* covered during the last three years is given below .

## a) For the year 2012 - 2013

| S. No.   | State-wise and Schemes wise   | Sanctioned   | Released   | Beneficiarie s   |
|----------|-------------------------------|--------------|------------|------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                |              |            |                  |
|          | Gold Credit Card Scheme       |              | 150.00     |                  |
|          | Subtotal                      |              | 150.00     |                  |
| 2        | Bihar                         |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 20.00        | 10.00      | 240              |
|          | Subtotal                      | 20.00        | 10.00      | 240              |
| 4        | Delhi                         |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 30.00        | 15.00      | 214              |
|          | Subtotal                      | 30.00        | 15.00      | 214              |
| 4        | Gujarat                       |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 20.00        | 10.00      | 450              |
|          | Subtotal                      | 20.00        | 10.00      | 450              |
| 5        | Haryana                       |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 40.00        | 20.00      | 300              |
|          | Subtotal                      | 40.00        | 20.00      | 300              |
| 6        | Jharkhand                     |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         |              | 5.00       |                  |
|          | Subtotal                      |              | 5.00       |                  |
| 7        | Karnataka                     |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 180.00       | 70.00      | 1233             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 180.00       | 70.00      | 1233             |
| 8        | Madhya Pradesh                |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 145.00       | 97.50      | 840              |
|          | Subtotal                      | 145.00       | 97.50      | 840              |
| 9        | Maharashtra                   |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 100.00       | 235.00     | 550              |
|          | Subtotal                      | 100.00       | 235.00     | 550              |
| 10       | Odisha                        |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 420.00       | 210.00     | 3603             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 420.00       | 210.00     | 3603             |
| 11       | Rajasthan                     |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 450.00       | 275.00     | 2425             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 450.00       | 275.00     | 2425             |
|          | Loan Promotion Scheme         |              | 5.00       | 1855             |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 160.00       | 210.00     |                  |
| 13       | Uttranchal                    | 160.00       | 215.00     | 1855             |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         |              | 25.00      |                  |
|          | Subtotal                      |              | 25.00      |                  |
| 14       | West Bengal                   |              |            |                  |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 693.00       | 511.50     | 9755             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 693.00       | 511.50     | 9755             |
|          | Total                         | 2,258.00     | 1,849.00   | 21465            |

(Rs in Lacs)

## b) For the year 2013 - 2014

| S. No.   | State-wise and Schemes wise   | Sanctioned   | Released   | Beneficiaries   |
|----------|-------------------------------|--------------|------------|-----------------|
| 1        | Bihar                         |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 50.00        | 35.00      | 350             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 50.00        | 35.00      | 350             |
| 2        | Delhi                         |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         |              | 15.00      |                 |
|          | Subtotal                      |              | 15.00      |                 |
| 3        | Gujarat                       |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         |              | 10.00      |                 |
|          | Subtotal                      |              | 10.00      |                 |
| 4        | Haryana                       |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         |              | 20.00      |                 |
|          | Subtotal                      |              | 20.00      |                 |
| 5        | Jammu & Kashmir               |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 70.00        |            | 218             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 70.00        |            | 218             |
| 6        | Jharkhand                     |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 99.00        | 49.50      | 650             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 99.00        | 49.50      | 650             |
| 7        | Karnataka                     |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 45.00        |            | 303             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 45.00        |            | 303             |
| 8        | Madhya Pradesh                |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         |              | 55.00      |                 |
|          | Subtotal                      |              | 55.00      |                 |
| 9        | Maharashtra                   |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         |              | 70.00      |                 |
|          | Subtotal                      |              | 70.00      |                 |
| 10       | Odisha                        |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 7.30         | 213.65     | 126             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 7.30         | 213.65     | 126             |
| 11       | Rajasthan                     |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 20.00        | 225.00     | 177             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 20.00        | 225.00     | 177             |
| 12       | Tamil Nadu                    |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 522.50       | 229.25     | 3,417           |
|          | Loan Promotion Scheme         |              | 5.00       |                 |
|          | Subtotal                      | 522.50       | 234.25     | 3,417           |
| 13       | Uttar Pradesh                 |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 19.40        | 19.70      | 114             |
|          | Subtotal                      | 19.40        | 19.70      | 114             |
| 14       | West Bengal                   |              |            |                 |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 196.00       | 295.50     | 2,725           |
|          | Subtotal                      | 196.00       | 295.50     | 2,725           |
|          | Total                         | 1,029.20     | 1,242.60   | 8,080           |

(Rs in Lacs)

## c) For the year 2014 - 2015

| S. No.   | State-wise and Schemes wise   | Released   |
|----------|-------------------------------|------------|
| 1        | Bihar                         |            |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 25.00      |
|          | Subtotal                      | 25.00      |
| 2        | Jammu & Kashmir               |            |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 35.00      |
|          | Subtotal                      | 35.00      |
| 3        | Jharkhand                     |            |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 49.50      |
|          | Subtotal                      | 49.50      |
| 4        | Karnataka                     |            |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 7.50       |
|          | Subtotal                      | 7.50       |
| 5        | Rajasthan                     |            |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 10.00      |
|          | Subtotal                      | 10.00      |
| 6        | Tamil Nadu                    |            |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 142.00     |
|          | Subtotal                      | 142.00     |
| 7        | West Bengal                   |            |
|          | Composite Loan Scheme         | 65.00      |
|          | Subtotal                      | 65.00      |
|          | Total                         | 334.00     |

(Rs in Lacs)

*As per loan norms of RMK, Sanctioned loan is disbursed in two parts. 50% of the sanctioned loan is released  immediately  after  sanction  and  execution  of  necessary  loan  documents  by  the  NGOs.  The total no. of beneficiaries is updated against sanction of loan.

The  key  findings  of  the  impact  study  conducted  by  (Indian  Society  for  AgreeBusiness Professionals) ISAP:

## General Statistics:

-  Members of the groups were mostly (57 per cent) women from BPL families.
-  Majority (72 per cent) of the beneficiaries falls in the age group of 26 to 35 Yr. & 36 to 45 Yr which revealed that RMK loan has covered vigorously young workforce.
-  RMK  micro  financing  in  the  rural  areas  under  study  had  a  positive  impact  on backward classes of the society as 46 per cent of the OBC, 22 per cent of scheduled caste  &  11  per  cent  of  Scheduled  tribe  population  had  been  covered  under  RMK loan.
-  As  far  as  the  educational  background  of  the  beneficiaries  were  concerned,  35  per cent  of the beneficiaries were found to be illiterate and 26 per cent were reported to have   primary  education    which  further  revealed  that  RMK  had  given  loan  to  less educated population who otherwise would not have got government or private job.
-  The percentage of literacy of  the  children  of  the  beneficiaries  has  increased  which was one of the clear indicators of the positive impact of RMK loan on the livelihood of the women.
-  Almost all  beneficiaries  (SHG  members)  were  involved  in  the  thrift  activities  of  the group to further lend the collected money or saving to other members at the time of urgent need of the money. However, this activity is less popular in Rajasthan

## Employment impact:

-  The  survey  indicated  active  involvement  of  beneficiaries  in  different  kinds  of  selfemployment generating microenterprise activities such as Dairying, Animal Husbandry, petty shop, flower business, teashop, tailoring, beauty parlour, weaving, knitting, basket making etc.
-  56  per  cent  of  the  beneficiaries  were  employed  in  dairy  activities  while  14  per  of beneficiaries were involved in agriculture & allied activities. 20 per cent of beneficiaries  were  involved  in  various  small  trade  activities  like  flower  business, bangle shop, tailoring, shop keeping etc. followed by 8 per cent of beneficiaries being involved in handloom/handicraft activities. Some of the beneficiaries had taken loan for  house  construction,  consumption  purpose  like  education,  marriage  &  other religious events and also for group activities like thatch making, agarwati making etc.
-  The average net income per member before taking RMK loan worked out to Rs 1847 while  it  has  increased  to  Rs  2978  in  Post-RMK  period.  There  was  a  shift  in  the distribution  of  members  from  the  lower  income  slab  to  a  higher  income  slab  after taking RMK loan.

## Social impact:

-  The average savings per member per annum before joining the SHG was Rs 1961, which has increased to Rs2993 after becoming the members of the SHGs. Prior to RMK loan most of the savings was done in banks. However, after taking RMK loan, 82 per cent of the total savings are being done with the SHGs.
-  Only 11.78 per cent of the beneficiaries could able to save between Rs 1000 to 3000 before taking RMK loan.  After taking RMK loan 72.78 per cent of the beneficiaries could able to save between Rs 1000 to 3000 .
-  Women  members  association  with  the  SHGs  significantly  improved  their  asset creation. There has been an increase in the assets of sample members by 94 per cent  after  becoming  members  of  the  SHGs.  The  frequency  distribution  of  sample members shows that there was a shift in the pattern of holding of assets after they became members of the SHGs
-  95 per cent of the beneficiaries agreed that their personal capacities have improved as  they  have  earned  self-respect  and  they  have  active  participation  in  imparting suggestion  in  household  matters  after  availing  RMK  loan.  They  were  able  to  take decisions in business matters, children's education & family matters.
-  84 per cent of the beneficiaries admitted that there was no domestic violence in the households.
-  An analysis of the data indicates that alcoholism/drug addiction (mentioned by 40.2 per cent of the beneficiaries), poverty (mentioned by 31.9 per cent), and generation gap  with  in-laws  (18.5  per  cent)  were  some  of  the  important  reasons  for  the occurrence of domestic violence in the families.
-  The incidences of domestic violence drastically reduced to 16 per cent in post-RMK period as against 64 per cent in pre-RMK period.
-  Violence  by  husband  as  well  as  in-laws/relatives  also  came  down  drastically  after availing loan through RMK. . The collected data shows that in the pre-RMK period, violence by husband was reported by 50 per cent of the beneficiaries which came down to 10 per cent  in the post-RMK period
-  71  per  cent  of  the  beneficiaries  admitted  that  their  relationship  in  the  family  has improved after joining SHG. 5 per cent of them admitted that sometimes improvement  was  experienced  while  24  per  cent  admitted  that  there  was  no improvement in their relationship in the family after availing RMK loan.
-  Awareness about protective laws against domestic violence increased from 19 per cent in pre-RMK period to 23 per cent after availing RMK loan.

## Consumption impact:

-  Consumption expenditure per month per member was Rs 2345 before taking RMK loan,  increased  to  Rs.  4097  after  taking  RMK  loan.    The  expenditure  on  food accounted  for  Rs.1102  before  taking  RMK  loan  has  increased  to  Rs.  1597  after taking  RMK  loan.  The  proportion,  of  expenditure  on  clothing  (from  Rs.  351  to  Rs. 655),  education  (from  Rs.  375  to  Rs.  942)  and  health  (Rs.  351  to  Rs.532)  has increased after taking RMK loan.
-  There  was  a  noticeable  change  in  the  consumption  pattern  and  better  household nutrition through SHG activities. Food items were purchased once in a week or once in a month collectively rather than on daily consumption basis. The financial mobility due to participation in the SHG has led to the improvement in the quality of life.
-  Majority (95 per cent) of the beneficiaries had improved their usage of medical facility after seeking RMK loan.