Self Help Groups (SHGs) have become a people's movement in Tamil Nadu and the performance of Women SHGs in the State is the best in the country, Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has said.
Addressing a loan distribution function organised by Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Mr. Stalin said their performance was exemplified by the fact that SHGs in Tamil Nadu had bagged a considerable amount of financial assistance from various banks in the form of loans.
The total amount released by various banks at the national level was Rs.10,527.37 crore of which Tamil Nadu's share was Rs.2,174.57 lakh.
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“It goes to show the faith reposed by the banks on the SHGs. They are promptly repaying the loans,” Mr. Stalin said. IOB alone had released Rs.1230.77 crore for SHGs in Tamil Nadu.
“This is 48 per cent of the total loan amount released by the bank across the country.”
Stressing that SHGs were started to provide economic independence to women, Mr. Stalin said the DMK government never intended to utilise them for political purposes.
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Chairman and managing director of IOB S.A. Bhat said the bank was always been in the forefront to serve the cause of the priority sector. He had a word of praise for the SHGs in Tamil Nadu, saying their repayment record was good.
General manager of the bank T. Thenappan and chief general managers T. Veerappan, T.V. Nagarajan and A. Narayanan participated.