Women in India have always been revered for their roles as a mother, a sister, a wife and as a pivotal force in keeping the family together, looking after the needs of elders and children alike.
However, there exists a great disparity between Indian women in cities, who have opportunities in learning and employment equal to their male counterparts, and the poor, weaker sector women in rural and urban areas.
Way back in 1989, the visionaries in Bank Of Maharashtra and National Institute Of Bank Management came together to help these rural women who were poorest of the poor, had no formal education, but had tremendous capacity to look after the family, cattle, celebrate festivals, cook delicacies and prepare seasonal pickles, papads and yet work as Agriculture Labour.
Bank Of Maharashtra constituted a Trust Gramin Mahila Va Balak Vikas Mandal in June 1989 to improve the Social, Economic and Health Status of women in rural areas. The Trust popularly known as GMBVM, aimed at all round, comprehensive development of women and their empowerment by organizing women into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and helping them to take up income generating activities (IGAs).
