Consider the following statements : 1. The Self-Help Group (SHG) programme was originally initiated by the State Bank of India by providing microcredit to the financially deprived. 2. In an SHG, all members of a group take responsibility for a loan that an individual member takes. 3. The Regional Rural Banks and Scheduled Commercial Banks support SHGs. How many of the above statements are correct?

Option (b) is correct because Statements 2 and 3 are accurate: SHGs operate on the principle of collective responsibility (joint liability) for individual loans, and they are actively integrated into the formal financial system through support from Regional Rural Banks and Scheduled Commercial Banks. Statement 1 is incorrect because the SHG-Bank Linkage Project was pioneered and launched by NABARD in 1992, not the State Bank of India, making option (c) the most tempting but incorrect choice. This question tests the core concept of the institutional framework and operational mechanisms of microfinance and the SHG-Bank Linkage Project in India.