PM SVANidhi Scheme

In News

• The recent data pertaining to the loans given under PM SVANidhi draws a bleak picture for minority street vendors.

More about the news:

• Scheme disbursal for minority community:
  • A total of 42.7 lakh loans amounting to ?5,152.37 crore had been disbursed to street vendors under the PM SVANidhi scheme out of which only 3.98 lakh or 9.3% were to hawkers from the minority communities.
  • In 2020-21, 2,10,457 loans were disbursed to minorities while it was 98,973 loans in 2021-22 and 88,609 in 2022-23.  
• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ data:
  • According to the data shared by the Ministry, the State-wise disbursal of loans seemed to be aligned with its population. 
  • Uttar Pradesh disbursed the maximum number of loans at 11,22,397, while Sikkim gave out just one loan.
    • Incidentally, Uttar Pradesh also gave the largest number of loans to hawkers from minority communities at 95,032.

More about the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors’ Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Yojana

• About:
  • The PM SVANidhi is a micro-credit scheme which was launched by the government in 2020.
  • The scheme is funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Aim:
  • It was launched with an aim to provide credit for working capital to street vendors who have been affected due to the Covid-19 crisis.
• Scheme highlights:
  • PM SVANidhi facilitates collateral-free loans of ?10,000, with subsequent loans of ?20,000 and ?50,000 with 7% interest subsidy for vendors, and rewards digital transactions. 
  • All street vendors who have been in the business on or before March 24, 2020, are eligible to avail the benefits. 
  • For this scheme launched in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Centre has earmarked a stimulus package of Rs 5,000 crore for nearly 50 lakh vendors.

Street vendors in India

• Anyone who doesn’t have a permanent shop is considered a street vendor. 
• Data:
  • There are an estimated 50-60 lakh street vendors in India, with the largest concentrations in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad. 
  • According to government estimates, street-vending accounts for 14 per cent of the total (non-agricultural) urban informal employment in the country.
• Challenges faced by Street vendors:
  • Most of them are migrants who typically work for 10–12 hours every day on average.
  • Often, local bodies conduct eviction drives to clear the pavements of encroachers, and confiscate their goods. Fines for recovery are heavy.

Source: TH