American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The present study focuses on the actual socio economic condition of tribal people prevailing in Odisha. The study has been undertaken in the two tribal blocks of Kalahandi district such as Koksara and Madanpur Rampur among the SHGs having bank linkage experience only. India’s preoccupation with rural credit dates back to the pre-colonial period. Successive attempts by governments in the post-independent period failed in providing credit to the vulnerable and poor people in rural areas thereby leaving an estimated 38 per cent of household dependant to the informal sector lending. NABARD developed the SHG-Bank Linkage approach as the core strategy that could be used by the banking system in India to increase financial inclusion of the poor. Odisha is the only state in India that accommodates the largest number of STs and PTGs in her soil who is of course the matrix of poverty and leads an unprivileged and deprived life. This isolated group of our society has been perishing in the secluded, most backward, remote and inaccessible tribal region of the state in an ever impoverished mental, economic and physical conditions. To analyse the above subject matter three research questions were established and Focus of the questions ware: (i) Whether Micro-Financing has generated any impact to deal with the problem of isolation and secluded living style of tribal people; (ii) Whether Micro Financing has created awareness in the minds of tribal people for development through any attitudinal transformation; (iii) Whether Micro-Financing has enhanced the tribal participation in development programmes to accrue increased benefits thereof. To study these questions same numbers of objectives are framed and which are the major thrust of this present study. Results of this study show that there is a clear empirical evidence of impact of SHGs in the lives of poor. The intervention has made significant change in the attitude of poor towards saving and on the other hand to mobilise a considerable quantum of credit with repeat support from formal financing institutions. The paper recommended several empirical steps to overcome these problems including provision of a better planning and implementation of the intervention with regular nurturing and support to the SHGs can result in better socio-economic outcome.