Archive · 17 Sep 2026
Minister Urges Digital Banking Push to Empower SHG Women
Minister Kondapalli Srinivas wants banks to make borrowing easier for women in self-help groups.
The government hopes to help five lakh women start very small businesses.
Many women already repay Stree Nidhi loans using mobile applications.
The minister wants banks to offer the same digital repayment option for other SHG loans.
He also asked banks to charge fair and consistent interest rates.
Banks should process loan applications faster and avoid making every group member visit a branch for renewals.
The government is also supporting small businesses through its One Family-One Entrepreneur plan.
It said millions of enterprises are registered in the State and that a new portal will make loans easier to apply for.
Minister Kondapalli Srinivas urged banks to make services simpler, more transparent and women-friendly for self-help groups.
The government aims to turn five lakh women into micro-entrepreneurs and asked banks to set branch-level lending targets.
About 80 per cent of women use mobile applications to repay Stree Nidhi loans, prompting calls to extend digital repayment to bank-linked SHG loans.
Banks were directed to work toward the Rs 36,000-crore SHG credit target for 2026-27 and reduce delays in loan processing.
The State has registered 23.85 lakh enterprises on the Udyam portal, including 5.70 lakh manufacturing units, officials said.
- Who
- Minister for MSME, rural poverty alleviation and NRI empowerment Kondapalli Srinivas, banks and self-help groups.
- What
- The minister called for simpler digital banking, more SHG lending and stronger support for women and MSME entrepreneurs.
- When
- At a State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting on Wednesday; the SHG credit target applies to 2026-27.
- Where
- The Secretariat in Amaravati.
- Why
- To promote women’s economic empowerment, reduce loan-processing burdens and expand entrepreneurship.
- Women entrepreneur target
- Five lakh women
- Current digital repayment
- Nearly 80 per cent of women repay Stree Nidhi installments through mobile applications
- SHG credit target
- Rs 36,000 crore under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission framework for 2026-27
- Udyam-registered enterprises
- 23.85 lakh enterprises in the State
- Manufacturing units
- 5.70 lakh registered enterprises are directly engaged in manufacturing
- Micro-enterprise share
- Micro enterprises account for 99 per cent of Udyam-registered enterprises
- Data-update delay
- Current bank data updates take 40-45 days