
On Wednesday, the Rural Development Ministry and the State Bank of India formalized their collaboration by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at streamlining enterprise financing for rural self-help groups (SHGs), according to an official statement.
The MoU was endorsed by Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission’s Additional Secretary, Charanjit Singh, and Shantanu Pendsey, Chief General Manager at the State Bank of India’s Corporate Office in Mumbai.

Under this partnership, the State Bank of India has introduced a specialized financial product named Svyam Siddha, specifically designed to cater to SHG women entrepreneurs seeking loans up to Rs 5 lakhs.
This initiative seeks to address challenges associated with the extensive documentation required for bank loan applications and aims to reduce the turnaround time (TAT).
It simplifies the application process by eliminating the need for cumbersome documents such as quotations and detailed project reports (DPRs). Instead, a straightforward loan application with KYC details can be submitted at local SBI bank branches.
The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission will play a pivotal role in facilitating the loan application process and overseeing loan repayment through its dedicated field cadre.
Additionally, as part of the collaborative efforts, a training toolkit package was unveiled during the event. This toolkit, developed in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank-funded National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP), aims to promote access to formal finance for SHG women entrepreneurs.
Its purpose is to enhance the capacities of State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs) to facilitate increased access to formal finance for SHG members engaged in economic enterprises.