SHG Member Name Mismatch in Anandadhara, West Bengal
Millions of women in West Bengal belong to Anandadhara Self Help Groups. A member's name is written in many places: the group's own register, the digital LokOS record, the group's bank account if she is an office bearer, and her own Aadhaar, bank account and scheme records. After marriage, a spelling slip or a Bengali to English mix-up, these stop matching. This page shows which record matters for what, who corrects each one, and when a simple affidavit is enough.
Get Call and Name Change Format
How to Fix an SHG Member's Name in West Bengal (Quick Answer)
Correct the member's Aadhaar and her own bank account first, because benefits and insurance read those. Then ask the group's bookkeeper or the Upasangha to update her name in the SHG register and LokOS. If she is an office bearer, the bank holding the group account needs her updated KYC, since RBI says KYC of office bearers suffices for the group. A gazette is usually not needed.
| Record | Who corrects it |
|---|---|
| Her Aadhaar | UIDAI, at an Aadhaar Seva Kendra |
| Her own bank account | Her bank branch, after Aadhaar |
| SHG register and LokOS member record | The group, through its bookkeeper and the Upasangha or Sangha |
| Group bank account (office bearers only) | The group's bank branch, with the member's KYC and the group's resolution |
| Swasthya Sathi, Lakshmir Bhandar and other schemes | Each scheme separately |
How Anandadhara SHGs Are Organised in West Bengal
Anandadhara is the West Bengal State Rural Livelihoods Mission, the state's arm of the national DAY-NRLM programme. Its own website describes four levels: the Self Help Group at hamlet level with 10 to 20 members, the Upasangha at village level where SHGs federate, the Sangha at Gram Panchayat level, and the Sangha Cooperative, registered as a primary multipurpose cooperative society.
Each group is expected to keep up-to-date books of accounts as one of its five core practices. So the first place a member's name lives is her own group's register.
Above the groups sit the mission staff: a Block Mission Management Unit in each block and a District Mission Management Unit in each district, run from the district rural development cell.
When a member's record needs correcting and the group cannot do it, the Upasangha, the Sangha and then the block unit are the people to ask, in that order.
Which Records Carry an SHG Member's Name
An SHG member's name sits in two kinds of records, and they are fixed in different places. The group records are the SHG register, the meeting and savings books, and the member profile in LokOS, the national digital platform for SHG accounts. The personal records are her Aadhaar, her own savings account, and her enrolment in schemes such as Swasthya Sathi or Lakshmir Bhandar.
Money for the group, such as savings, inter-lending and bank loans, runs through the group's account. Money for her as a person, such as insurance claims and state scheme payments, runs through her own account and her Aadhaar. A mismatch in the second set is what usually stops a payment.
Anandadhara says almost 80% of SHG members are covered under Swasthya Sathi, so that card is often one more place her name must match; see Swasthya Sathi card name correction.
Fix Aadhaar First, Then Her Bank, Then the Group Record
Start with Aadhaar. Banks and most schemes copy the name from Aadhaar, so correcting anything else first only creates a second mismatch. A name change in Aadhaar is done in person at a Seva Kendra with one photo ID in the correct name, and Aadhaar allows a name change only twice in a lifetime, so get it right in one go.
Next, her own bank account. Every Indian bank completes a name change at the branch, with Aadhaar and PAN in the new name; see name correction in bank account.
Last, the group record. Once her ID and bank show the right name, the bookkeeper can update the SHG register and LokOS to match.
Office Bearers: Name Mismatch and the SHG Bank Account
An SHG's savings account is opened in the group's name. RBI's master circular on the SHG Bank Linkage Programme (RBI/2017-18/11, 3 July 2017) says KYC verification of all the office bearers shall suffice, and that no separate KYC of members or office bearers is needed at the time of credit linking.
So the bank holds KYC only for the office bearers, usually the president, secretary and treasurer who sign. If one of them changes her name after marriage, or her KYC shows a different spelling, the bank may hold up withdrawals or a loan until her KYC is updated.
Banks usually ask for the office bearer's updated Aadhaar or other KYC and a fresh resolution of the group, signed in the group's meeting, recording the change. Ask your branch for its own format.
If the group is changing who signs, rather than correcting a name, that is a change of signatories by resolution, not a name correction. An ordinary member who is not a signatory does not need to file anything with the group's bank.
The LokOS Member Record and the Bookkeeper
LokOS (Lok Operating System) is the digital platform under the Ministry of Rural Development's DAY-NRLM that records SHG and member profiles, meetings, savings, internal lending and repayments. It is run with Digital India Corporation, and entries are made through trained e-bookkeepers with approval workflows.
A member cannot edit her LokOS record herself. Ask the group's bookkeeper, or the bookkeeper at the Upasangha, to correct the name, and show them the corrected Aadhaar. If the correction needs a higher approval, it goes to the Block Mission Management Unit.
We cannot correct LokOS for you, and nobody outside the mission can. Be wary of anyone who offers to.
SHG Member Name Change After Marriage
Many members join an SHG in their parents' village and marry into another, or take the husband's surname years after joining. The group register then shows one name and Aadhaar another.
Taking the husband's surname is a choice, not a rule. If she wants it, update Aadhaar first; see Aadhaar name change after marriage. If she moves to another village, she joins a group there; she does not carry the old group's record with her.
Keeping her maiden name everywhere is equally valid and avoids all of this. What matters is that her records match each other.
When a One and the Same Person Affidavit Helps
If an old passbook, an old loan paper or the SHG register shows her old name, and she does not want to change those, an affidavit stating that both names belong to the same person links them. See one and the same person affidavit.
This is useful for insurance claims and old loan closures, where a paper in the old name cannot be rewritten. A gazette is not needed for SHG records. It is needed only if she is making a true change of name and an authority asks for one.
For insurance claims through a member's account, see PMJJBY and PMSBY claim name mismatch.
Mistakes With SHG Member Names
Fixing the group record before Aadhaar
Fix Aadhaar first, then copy it.
Changing the name only in the register
Her own bank and schemes still show the old name.
Office bearer KYC left in the old name
The group account can be held up.
Paying for a LokOS correction
Only the mission's bookkeepers can do it.
Getting a gazette by default
Not needed for SHG records.
Different spellings in Bengali and English
Pick one spelling and use it everywhere.
How to Fix an SHG Member's Name in West Bengal, in Order
Decide the correct name
Usually the one on her Aadhaar or school certificate.
Correct Aadhaar
At a Seva Kendra, with one photo ID in the correct name.
Correct her own bank account
At the branch, with Aadhaar and PAN.
Tell the group
Ask the bookkeeper to update the SHG register and LokOS.
Office bearer? Update the group account
Give the bank her new KYC and the group's resolution.
Update schemes
Swasthya Sathi, Lakshmir Bhandar and insurance, one by one.
SHG Member Name Mismatch in West Bengal: FAQs
How do I correct my name in the SHG records in West Bengal?
Correct Aadhaar first, then ask your group's bookkeeper or the Upasangha to update the SHG register and LokOS.
What is Anandadhara?
The West Bengal State Rural Livelihoods Mission, the state's part of DAY-NRLM, which forms and supports SHGs.
Can I edit my LokOS record myself?
No. Entries are made by trained bookkeepers through an approval process. Ask your group's bookkeeper.
Does the bank need KYC of every SHG member?
No. RBI says KYC of all the office bearers suffices for the group account.
I am the SHG secretary and my name changed. What now?
Give the group's bank your updated KYC, with a resolution of the group recording the change, in the format the branch asks for.
My name in the SHG register is my maiden name.
Either update it after Aadhaar, or keep it and use a one and the same person affidavit where needed.
Is a gazette needed for SHG name correction?
No, not for SHG records.
I moved to my husband's village. Does my SHG record move?
No. You join a group there; the old group's record stays with that group.
My insurance claim is stuck because of the name.
Match Aadhaar and the bank account first; an affidavit helps link old papers.
Who do I ask if the group cannot help?
The Upasangha, then the Sangha, then the Block Mission Management Unit.
Is there a fee?
The group and mission charge nothing to correct a record. Aadhaar and stamp paper have their own small fees.
Does Swasthya Sathi follow the SHG record?
No. Swasthya Sathi is corrected separately.
Sources for SHG Member Records in West Bengal
Anandadhara: Institution Building (official)
anandadhara.wb.gov.in: SHG, Upasangha, Sangha and Sangha Cooperative.
Anandadhara: Financial Inclusion (official)
anandadhara.wb.gov.in: bank linkage, Swasthya Sathi coverage.
RBI Master Circular, SHG Bank Linkage (official)
rbi.org.in: KYC of office bearers suffices.
District Mission Management Unit (official)
hooghly.nic.in: Anandadhara district office and DMMU.
Get Call and Name Change Format
Help With an SHG Member's Name Mismatch
SHG records are corrected by the group and the mission, free, and we cannot touch them. Where we help is the paperwork around them: a one and the same person affidavit for old passbooks and claims, or advice on which record to fix first. Monday to Saturday, across West Bengal.