Chhattisgarh Self-Help Groups Boost Voter Turnout | 06 May 2024
Why in News?
An initiative in Balrampur district of Chhattisgarh to increase voter turnout in the third phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is attracting attention.
Key Points
- Women's Self-help groups are utilizing traditional methods by going door-to-door to meet with voters, distributing tamarind leaves and yellow rice, in order to encourage greater public engagement.
- The effort has not only sparked enthusiasm among villagers but has also demonstrated the power of community involvement in promoting democratic values.
- This initiative is also fully supported by the district administration.
Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
- Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are informal associations of people who choose to come together to find ways to improve their living conditions.
- It can be defined as a self-governed, peer-controlled information group of people with similar socio-economic backgrounds and having a desire to collectively perform a common purpose.
- SHG relies on the notion of “Self Help” to encourage self-employment and poverty alleviation.
- Objectives:
- To build the functional capacity of the poor and the marginalized in the field of employment and income generating activities.
- To resolve conflicts through collective leadership and mutual discussion.
- To provide collateral free loans with terms decided by the group at the market driven rates.
- To work as a collective guarantee system for members who propose to borrow from organised sources.
- The poor collect their savings and save it in banks. In return they receive easy access to loans with a small rate of interest to start their micro unit enterprise.