Indian Bank’s journey in empowering women through financing self-help groups was started in 1982 with a simple yet powerful idea, stated M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.  

Speaking at the mega SHG credit outreach programme conducted by Indian Bank here on Saturday, he said that the idea to link unregistered groups of poor individuals, particularly women, with the formal banking system, started as a pilot project, has now grown into a nationwide movement, touching the lives of 178 million households. 

“As of now, 14.42 million SHGs are linked to savings and 7.74 million have access to credit. Over 58% of these SHGs are under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, a testament to the strength and scale of this programme,” he noted.  

The SHG-bank linkage was particularly strong in the Southern and Eastern regions, each contributing 30% of the total. The central and western regions followed with 14% each, while the northern and north-eastern regions contributed 6% each, Mr. Nagaraju listed. 

Further, he appealed to the SHGs with above two to three years’ experience to seek business loans from the banks. “As the Government of India guarantees loans up to ₹10 lakh, the entrepreneurial loan can uplift the life of many people by helping them step into businesses,” he noted.  

Lauding Indian Bank as a pioneer in SHGs, he said the banks had so far assisted 5.09 lakh SHGs, benefitting more than 60 lakh women.

“Today, the bank stands at the fourth largest public sector bank in SHG linkage with 10% market share and an outstanding credit portfolio of ₹22,224 crore as of March 2025,” he added. 

Also, the bank was the first to introduce the concept of SHG-bank linkage in India as early as 1989, much before National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)’s pilot programme in 1992.  

The effort of the bank which started in Tamil Nadu Dharmapuri district, since them, has grown to serve millions of women across the State and the country, he noted.  

“The Indian bank is the first to open specialised branches called microsate branches to cater to the exclusive needs of SHG members. As of today, there are 57 microsate branches dedicated to support SHG members across India, of which 35 branches are in Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Nagaraju said.  

Mr. Nagaraju distributed loan amounts to women beneficiaries of SHGs. This initiative was part of the broader strategy to disburse over ₹20,000 crore to SHGs nationwide in the financial year 2026, organisers said.