The Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme, an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), has reached a historic point by providing assistance to more than 50 lakh street vendors across the country.
According to the union government, nearly 50 lakh street vendors have received loans totalling Rs. 8,600 crore (US$ 1.03 billion) under a micro-credit scheme introduced in 2020 to assist them in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme seeks to give collateral-free working capital loans of up to Rs. 50,000 (US$ 600.65). Under the plan, regular repayments are rewarded with a 7% interest subsidy, while digital transactions are rewarded with a cashback of up to Rs. 1,200 (US$ 14.42) per year.
Beginning on July 1st, 2023, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) initiated a campaign to revise the Scheme’s targets. Many high-level review meetings and monitoring were undertaken for the review of public sector banks by the Finance Minister. More than 50 lakh street vendors received a total of 65.75 lakh loans with a value of more than Rs. 8,600 crore (US$ 1.03 billion).
In the last three months, states have successfully added over 12 lakh new vendors to the system. Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Gujarat are among the best-performing states, whereas Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Indore, and Mumbai are the most active cities in implementing the scheme.
In addition to facilitating microcredits, the PM SVANidhi scheme empowers street vendors through digital payments. Participating Lending Institutions or Banks and Digital Payment Aggregators (DPAs) have provided digital onboarding and training to promote digital transactions. These engagements have resulted in nearly 113.2 crore digital transactions worth Rs. 1,33,003 crore (US$ 15.97 billion), with recipients receiving Rs. 58.2 crore (US$ 6.99 million) as cashbacks.
On January 4th, 2021, a special programme known as “SVANidhi se Samriddhi” was introduced with the goal of connecting participants’ families to eight socioeconomic welfare schemes of the government, fostering holistic development.
Union Urban Development Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri said, “The PM SVANidhi Scheme has exceeded our expectations by reaching over 50 lakh beneficiaries in just over three years. This achievement underscores our commitment to empowering street vendors and integrating them into formal financial systems”.
