Capacity Building and Empowerment of Self Help Group in Thane District

Women are the valuable Human Resource and their socio economic development is imperative for sustainable growth of the economy. Yet more often than not, women¿s economic contributions go unrecognized, their work undervalued and their promise unnourished. Unequal opportunities between women and men continue to hamper women¿s ability to lift themselves from poverty and gain more options to improve their lives. But, economically strengthening women who are half the world¿s workforce is not only a means by which to spur economic growth, but also a matter of advancing women's human rights. When governments, businesses and communities invest in women, and when they work to eliminate inequalities, developing countries are less likely to be plagued by poverty. As stated earlier, in Maharashtra there are total 2.20 lakhs number of Self Help Groups out of which only 45, 449 S H G¿s are operational carrying out different economic activities. This is due to the lack of efforts taken to build their capacities and empower them to take decisions. There is ability to initiate the approach to build their capacities in the Self Help Group¿s and also empower them to seek their active participation.