Abstract Self Help Group is a microfinance setup of 15-20 women and it is a village & urban-based financial mediate. SHGs are based on monthly saving and are affiliated to NGOs and Bank. SHGs are under-age and innovative organisational setup in India for welfare and empowerment of women and it is promoted by Government. SHGs are also the best means for providing an opportunity for women in order to explore the inner selves and to build their leadership capacity and share ideas with each other. Empowerment is a larger process to enable women to build capacity aimed at greater participation, effective decision making and build greater leadership in them. This paper will try to find answers to questions like: Are SHGs playing an important role in empowering women? What is the role of organisation and what are other different initiatives taken by SHGs to empower women and put them in the development of India? The paper will draw experiences from the fieldwork setting.

This paper has been published in India.