The Self-Help Group–Bank Linkage Programme (SHG–BLP) was designed with the objective of bridging the prevailing gap in the financial network and spreading banking facilities to the poor in rural and urban areas. This paper examines the progress of SHG–BLP over the last two decades in terms of: (a) the outreach of SHG–BLP; (b) spatial disparity in SHG–BLP; (c) SHG spread with respect to banking and socio-economic indicators; and (d) potential vis-à-vis achievement under the programme in terms of coverage of rural poor population.
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