Vol. 1, Issue 7, Part L (2015)

Abstract
Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have emerged in order to help poor women to secure inputs like credit and other services. The concept of SHG in India was introduced in 1985. Self-Help Groups are small, economical, homogeneous, affinity groups of rural poor who are voluntarily ready to contribute to a common fund to be lent to their members as per the group decision. They work for group solidarity, self-group awareness and social and economic empowerment through democratic functioning. The Self-Help Groups in urban areas started functioning along with rural SHGs. But the real progress of urban SHGs stated in the new millennium. The paper analyzes the impact of SHG membership on the possession of household durables and household amenities in three urban areas of Ananthapuramu district