Centre Extends PM SVANidhi Scheme Until December 2024

The PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) program has been extended by the central government till December 2024. In addition to the first and second loans of Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 20,000, respectively, the center has also launched a third credit of up to Rs. 50,000.

The plan has a clause that allows it to expand the "SVANidhi Se Samriddhi" component to all plan beneficiaries across India.

It is worth mentioning that 31.73 lakh street sellers have availed benefits of first part of loan worth Rs 10,000 as of November 30.

On the other hand, around 5.81 lakh of them have availed the advantage of the second part of loan worth Rs 20,000. 6,926 street vendors have availed Rs 50,000 loan.

As per the media reports, the creation of vending zones is covered by the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, according to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), which stated this in a written response to the Lok Sabha on Thursday. This Act is being implemented by the relevant State/UT.

The States/United Territories reported that there are now 13,403 vending zones. According to the Ministry, 42 lakh street vendors would benefit from the PM SVANidhi Scheme by December 2024.

The MoHUA will put into action the PM SVANidhi program on June 1, 2020, to help street vendors recover from the detrimental effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and resume their enterprises.

Following the repayment of the prior loans, the first loan is up to Rs 10,000, followed by a second credit up to Rs 20,000 and a third loan up to Rs 50,000.

About the PM SVANidhi Scheme:

In order to empower street vendors, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs created the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) program. This program provides loans to street vendors, but it also focuses on their overall growth and economic advancement. About 50 lakh street vendors would be eligible for collateral-free working capital loans with a one-year term under the program to assist them reopen their shops in metropolitan regions, including peri-urban and rural areas nearby.

The PM SVANidhi scheme provides rewards in the following ways:

• interest subsidy of 7% per year on timely loan payback

• payback of up to INR 1200 per year on the completion of certain digital transactions

• eligibility for a loan upgrade in the upcoming phase

This program has received about 2 million applications, of which 752191 have been approved and 218751 loans have already been issued.