Role of Self-Help Groups in Women Empowerment and Rural Livelihood Enhancement: A Study of Gautam Buddh Nagar District, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have emerged as an important institutional mechanism for promoting women's empowerment, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and sustainable rural livelihoods in India. By bringing women together into small, community-based savings and credit groups, SHGs facilitate access to formal financial services, capacity building, livelihood opportunities, and collective decision-making. The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) places women-led SHGs at the centre of rural poverty reduction and seeks to connect rural households with sustainable livelihoods, financial services, skills, markets, and government entitlements. The present study examines the role of Self-Help Groups in women empowerment and rural livelihood enhancement with special reference to Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh. The study analyses the contribution of SHGs to savings, access to credit, income generation, entrepreneurship, employment, household decision-making, social participation, financial literacy, and livelihood diversification. A qualitative and analytical methodology based on secondary literature, government reports, DAY-NRLM documents, and official rural-development information published up to 2025 is adopted. The findings indicate that SHGs can strengthen women's economic participation by improving access to institutional finance, encouraging collective entrepreneurship, supporting small-scale enterprises, and creating opportunities for income diversification. However, challenges including inadequate market access, limited business skills, low financial literacy, restricted access to larger credit, social constraints, and inadequate technological knowledge may limit the sustainability of SHG-based enterprises. The study concludes that stronger financial linkages, skill development, digital literacy, market connectivity, entrepreneurship training, and institutional support are essential for maximizing the contribution of SHGs to women's empowerment and sustainable rural livelihoods in Gautam Buddh Nagar.