Kudumbashree as a Catalyst for Entrepreneurship Development & Economic Empowerment of Rural Women through Self Help Groups

The empowerment of women in economic, social and political settings has become one of the most important concerns of modern and elite world of 21 st century. The organizations of Self Help Groups (SHGs) constitute a widely accepted development strategy for entrepreneurship development, women empowerment and poverty alleviation. The present paper focuses on the role of Kudumbashree (KDMS) in women‟s socio-economic empowerment through SHGs in Kerala. It is one of the largest women's movement in Asia having over 37 lakh members covering more than 50 pecent of households in Kerala. The broader objectives of the study is to examine the demographic profile of the KDMS members, to identify the effects of the various demographic variables on socio-economic empowerment of KDMS members for the samples based on age, marital status, educational level and occupation. The study is mainly based on primary data from 150 KDMS members collected through interviews and meetings. Secondary data from research studies, annual reports, websites etc of government and non-governmental organisations were also used. Data and information were collected by employing a structured interview schedule and data analysis was done by using SPSS software by applying one way ANOVA as the main statistical technique. The demographic profile of NHG members selected as sample reveals that majority of the members in KDMS are married and most of them belong to the age group of 31 to 45 years. Majority of them have secondary education and are mostly daily wage labourers. It was found that there is economic empowerment among the members with respect to certain demographic variables. Statistical significance in the inter group differences between the various categories of demographic variables and economic empowerment in general and with respect to certain specific economic parameters were also identified. KDMS thus function as a catalyst for entrepreneurship development & socio-economic empowerment of women by building up women‟s capacity to become economically selfreliant and self-sufficient, acquire the ability to make better decisions in their family, improve their familial and societal status and enjoy a better standard of living. It thereby brings entrepreneurship development, economic security, social solidarity and political betterment of women of the particular region or state / province of the country concerned.