The awakening

Thirty years after Indira Gandhi gave NABARD, P Chidambaram promises to give financial wings to the women to fly to their real freedom. The “all women” bank is much more than what it’s being taken for by a large number of people. It's about means to becoming part of society in true sense, which otherwise is handicapped, standing on one leg, with other being crippled. 

Society stands on two legs. Men and women constitute the two legs. A nation is made of societies. India story except for the last one decade has been that of a nation running on one leg. The other leg is sluggish and laggard for being not put to use for centuries. In a sense, India had been marching ahead with a self-imposed disability.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has taken two distinct steps to bring the “other leg” to its full vigour. First is an all women bank and secondly a Rs 1,000 crore fund of women safety. Together they address key concerns of women – financial exclusion and lack of security. In the absence of financial inclusion and a sense of security, hoping women to enjoy their freedom is a mere day-dreaming.

Not only India, a host of countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Arab world, whole of Africa, claim to firmly stand on their feet; but with one leg largely crippled and paralyzed. Consequently, they all present a picture of refusing to wake up from their medieval age slumber.

Bangladesh is a case in contrast. The youngest nation led by two powerful women alternatively has been able to open large windows of awakening and development. While the Shahbag movement is ruling full steam, there is a clear sense that the youth there is hitting the Jihadi wall quite hard. The day the wall is brought down the region will surely breathe a new air of moderation and reason. If that happens, we shall reserve our congratulations for the powerful woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh – Sheikh Hasina.

Women can bring around revolution. There had been a number of revolutions, which were in nature of nations caught in implosion. But the one brought about by women invariably take the nations forward.

India’s Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi too had seeded revolution for food security through green revolution. A revolution needs fuels of all kinds – human resources, technological breakthroughs and interventions, financial outreach, etc.

Thirty years back Gandhi gave India NABARD (National Bank for agriculture and rural development). This intervention triggered India’s robust agricultural march. Now India’s agriculture not only feeds more than a billion mouths but earns foreign exchange through export of foodgrains.

Another thirty years later since Gandhi’s deeds, Chidambaram promises to give financial wings to the women to fly to their real freedom. The “all women” bank is much more than what it’s being taken for by a large number of people.

However, Chidambaram’s measure has come a little late. Three years ago, the government had launched the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) as Aajivika. The programme was based on setting up of a financial institution, with a corpus of over Rs 9,000 crores, to give support after support to women self help groups (SHGs). This, however, did not materialize. Predictably, the Aajivika too did not take off in the true sense.

But the Finance Minister has made some amends. The proposal to set up India’s first ever state owned bank by the women and for the women, with an initial support of Rs 1,000 crore, could just give a fresh lease of life to Aajivika.

The proposed “women all” bank is supposed to lend mostly to women and women-run businesses, which supports women SHGs and women's livelihood, that employs predominantly women, and that addresses gender related aspects of empowerment and financial inclusion.

The financial weakness has seen the women led SHG movement largely confined to four southern states -- Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnatka. These states largely benefit from the Central government’s annual funds for NRLM (RS 39,000 crore for 2012-13 but actually spent Rs 26,000 crore).

In the absence of financial support and lack of collateral to claim loans for the livelihoods activities, women in North and eastern parts of India have hardly gained from the government scheme for livelihoods mission (Aajivika).

Currently, India has about 25 lakh SHGs headed by women. They in all engage three crore women. The government is targeting to expand the SHGs from the current 25 lakh to 60 lakh in five years. The government hopes that seven crore women would engage in SHGs in five year’s time. So, the government is actually looking ahead to just double the strength and participation.

It’s here the proposed “all women” bank fits in the picture of India attempting to empower women. Such a bank nonetheless is neither novel nor first. The Pandiyan bank was the first “all women” bank launched in 1947 but later merged with Canara bank.

Thus, such a bank may over a period of time have the potential to transform Indian society and the nation too. It’s worth noting the contribution of women in heralding stability to Indian polity. The stable governments of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Gujrat, Tripura, Delhi, owe a lot to women, who vote in a large numbers outnumbering their male counterparts.

So, the story may just be unfolding.