MAINS 2015
GS2
12.5 marks
The Self-Help Group Bank Linkage Programme, which is India’s own innovation, has proved to be one of the most effective poverty alleviation and women empowerment programmes. Elucidate.
WRITE IN
9 min
200 words
What the examiner wants
Explain why SHG-BLP is seen as a home-grown, effective tool for poverty reduction and women's empowerment.
ElucidateExplain the statement clearly and bring out its meaning with examples.
Demand-wise check
- 1Origin: NABARD pilot 1992 linking groups to banks without collateral; group guarantee and peer pressure≈35 words
- 2Poverty impact: credit access, savings, livelihoods, reduced moneylender dependence, high repayment≈35 words
- 3Empowerment: decision-making, mobility, political participation, collective action (Kudumbashree)≈35 words
- 4Limits: regional skew to South, NPAs in some states, small loan sizes, elite capture - DAY-NRLM to scale up≈35 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
What BLP isPoverty outcomesEmpowermentLimitsConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Not explaining why it is 'India's own innovation'
- No mention of regional imbalance
Draw this
- Flow: savings group → bank linkage → credit → livelihood → empowerment
Value addition
- SchemeUnder DAY-NRLM (2011) about 10 crore rural women are mobilised into some 90 lakh SHGs.Ministry of Rural Development
- ExampleKerala's Kudumbashree (1998) links SHGs to local governments for livelihoods and microenterprise.Government of Kerala
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Aditya Srivastava · AIR 1 · Page 13 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
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