• Karumujji Padmavathi
• Prof. Biddiki Addai

Andhra Pradesh stood first among all the states in women empowerment programmes starting from equal property rights for women, reservation in jobs and educational institutions as well as political reservations in local self-Governments. The DWCRA programme in Andhra Pradesh has been judged number one in the country in terms of mobilising women for social, political and economic development of the poorest of the poor families in rural areas. All these programmes were implemented by an independent society called Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) which functions under the Ministry of Rural Development. These groups have to graduate into promoting micro-enterprises. Though micro-enterprises are not a panacea for the complex problems of chronic unemployment and poverty, yet promoting micro- enterprises is a viable and effective strategy for achieving significant gains in income and assets for poor and marginalized people. Women run SHGs go by various names, including mothers' committees, DWCRA groups, and thrift groups. While most groups function to mobilise household savings, a few have attempted to deliver services previously rendered by government agencies. The total number of SHGs in Andhra Pradesh is reported at 8,54,120 of which highest number of SHGs reported in Srikakulam district 495777. The women members belong to Minority category are more 688 in SPSR Nellore district while it is lower in Parvathipuram Manyam district only 7 members. The highest number of the PWDs women members joined SHGs found in Vizianagaram district 17990 and least is Visakhapatnam 1535.

Self Help Groups, SERP, Sustainability, DWCRA, women empowerment, Poverty, social category, micro-enterprises

"SOCIAL CATEGORY-WISE PERFORMANCE OF SELF-HELP GROUPS (SHGs) IN ANDHRA PRADESH", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 9, page no.d425-d433, September-2024, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2409350.pdf

"SOCIAL CATEGORY-WISE PERFORMANCE OF SELF-HELP GROUPS (SHGs) IN ANDHRA PRADESH", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 9, page no. ppd425-d433, September-2024, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2409350.pdf