Speaking about the Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) in an event today, Shri Hardeep S. Puri, Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, said that the scheme has received an enormously positive response from street vendors across the country, and has become one of the fastest growing micro-credit schemes of the Government of India. In the past two years, PM SVANidhi has disbursed more than 40.07 lakh loans worth Rs. 4,606.36 crore to 45.32 lakh beneficiaries across two tranches.

“In line with the Digital India vision, PM SVANidhi has also provided a platform for financial inclusion by facilitating the street vendors to carry out digital transactions. I am glad to say that so far, street vendors have recorded 37.70 crore digital transactions to the tune of more than Rs. 45,000 crore. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has released Rs. 23.02 crore as cashback to the beneficiaries to promote the use of digital transactions.”, added Shri Hardeep S. Puri.

The Minister further stated that the PM SVANidhi scheme has also helped in providing occupational recognition to street vendors by giving them Letters of Recommendation (LOR) for easy access to loans. Further, a Parichay Board has been given to street vendors to provide them with a sense of identity and dignity in their work. These boards serve as a tool to promote ease of doing business for street vendors while protecting them from undue harassment.

The Minister was speaking at the inauguration of the 12th edition of the National Street Food Festival, which is being organized by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI). It is a unique platform for street food vendors to showcase cuisines from every corner of the country.

“It is a novel idea that brings attention to the various success stories of street vendors in the last few years, even as people enjoy local delicacies.”, the Minister said. He further added, “I believe this platform also has the potential to strengthen employment opportunities for street vendors. Today, as we see a wave of start-ups and entrepreneurship being fostered in the country, the merit of self-employment is being recognized. The importance of vendors in the micro-economy is being understood and appreciated.”

Talking about the tie-up with food delivery platforms (Zomato, Swiggy etc.), the Minister highlighted that PM SVANidhi has enabled the onboarding of 9,326 street vendors on food delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato. As of 9 January 2023, total sales worth Rs. 21.93 crore have occurred on these platforms. Through such partnerships, a wider market has been made accessible to both vendors and consumers.

Outlining the pro-welfare governance measures by Government in recent years, he said that in the Modi government, the welfare of the people has always been the foundational stone upon which all policies are designed. Citizen-centric schemes such as PM SVANidhi encapsulate this focus. “It is our mantra that dignity should be extended to everyone and that the service and contribution of each individual should be recognized fairly. The vulnerable and marginalised sections of our society, especially in cities and towns, have benefitted immensely from various government-led interventions.”, he added further.

RKJ/M