Lakshmi's story is one of the many success stories of women from rural areas of India, who have changed the destiny of their families. She has been a member of a self help group of National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) -a government programme to boost rural income. The programme's earliest adopters like Lakshmi, who got a 2.5 years head-start over those who joined later, have seen their household income increase by atleast 19% and their savings by 28%. Easier access to loans has reduced informal credit, such as from money lenders who typically charge high interest rates by 20%, financial access have enabled village women to boost their families' incomes and educated women have benefited the most from the programme with those with more years of schooling receiving larger loans. These are the findings of a recent evaluation of NRLM across seven states. NRLM provides village level SHGs that have existed for atleast three months, a one time revolving fund of Rs 15,000 to be disbursed among members. Some SHGs also qualify for loans from banks upto Rs 3 lakhs, which can be used for members' livelihood and other needs. Several evaluations have found positive impacts on income, women's health spending and labour force participation. Currently India has 6.6 million SHGS with 72 million members. The NRLM aims to reach 70-80 million poor households by 2025, according to the government's implementation plan. Research suggests providing more training and support through SHGS and leadership opportunities to less educated women and greater emphases on livelihood generation and inclusion of the most marginalised.
Every SHG has a President and Secretary. Lakshmi, who is the secretary, has studied untill grade X, she herself said, you need to be little educated to be secretary or president because you have to sign in the bank and understand these matters.