India has the largest network of Self-Help Groups in the world. Over 80 million women in India are in Self-Help Groups. Over time, these groups have improved the resilience of women and communities. They have helped women build their income and savings, led to higher levels of empowerment and enhanced their decision-making in the

this episode, we explore how Self-Help Groups can evolve in the future to become more effective institutions for women, adopt emerging areas of work and make use of technological innovations. Our guests Sanchita Mitra, National Coordinator at the Self Employed Women’s Association and Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Panchayati Raj, Government of Karnataka, have spent their lifetimes building women’s institutions for collective action.

The episode includes stories of women in Self-Help Groups:

i) Sunita Shinde works in rural Maharashtra, helping rural women access digital technology. She works with Mann Deshi Foundation.

ii) Shamima Begum works in Odisha, helping her community access social security schemes through technology. She works with Urban Management Centre.

Studies on Self-Help Groups in India

·

Handbook on institutional mechanisms for addressing gender issues

· From Aspiration to Empowerment: Impact of Women’s Collectives

· Stories of Resilience and Hope

· Digitisation of Self Help Groups in India

· Community and Institutional Response to COVID-19 in India: Role of Women's Self-Help Groups and National Rural Livelihoods Mission

· Strengthening Socio-Economic Rights of Women in the Informal Economy

You can follow Uma on social media:

Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/readingkafka )

Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-buteau-25b0452/ )

You can follow Sanchita on social media:

Twitter: (https://twitter.com/SEWABharat )

Instagram: ( https://www.instagram.com/sewa.bharat/?hl=en )

Linkedin: ( https://in.linkedin.com/company/sewa-bharat )

You can follow our host Sunaina Kumar on her social media:

Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/sunaina_kumar )

Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunaina-kumar )

Facebook: ( https://www.facebook.com/sunaina.kumar.37 )

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the https://ivmpodcasts.com, the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.