PM SVANidhi Scheme

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance

Why in News?

Recently, the PM SVANidhi completes six years of empowering street vendors through access to affordable credit and social security.

PM SVANidhi – PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi.
Objective – It is a Central Sector Scheme supporting street vendors through affordable working capital, financial inclusion and social protection measures.
Launch – In 2020, emerged as a transformative initiative for street vendors which has facilitated access to formal credit and enabling beneficiaries to strengthen and expand their livelihoods.
Nodal Ministry – Joint responsibility of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) & Department of Financial Services (DFS).
Street Vendor/Hawker – Any person as mobile or stall‑based sellers of daily goods and services, ranging from food and vegetables to basic services like haircuts, shoe repairs, laundry services, etc.

Key Features

Working Capital Loan – Collateral-free loans of Rs.15,000, Rs.25,000, and Rs.50,000 are provided in three progressive tranches with interest subsidy and credit guarantee support.
UPI-linked RuPay Credit Cards – Vendors successfully repaying the second tranche are eligible for UPI-linked RuPay Credit Cards with limits up to Rs.30,000.
Digital Adoption – Cashback incentives of up to Rs.1,600 are provided to street vendors for retail/wholesale digital transactions to encourage digital adoption and financial literacy.
SVANidhi se Samriddhi (SSS) – Socio-economic profiling of beneficiaries and their families is undertaken to link them with eight selected Central welfare schemes and create a holistic social security net.
Capacity Building & Entrepreneurship Development – Vendors are provided with training in financial literacy, digital literacy, and food safety & hygiene in collaboration with FSSAI.

Key Achievements

1.05 crore+ loan sanctions facilitated.
Rs.17,800 crore+ disbursed under the scheme.
34.81 lakh women street vendors empowered.
Nearly 46% of beneficiaries are women & around 70% belong to marginalized communities.
50 lakh+ street vendor families socio-economically profiled under SVANidhi Se Samriddhi.
1.52 crore+ welfare scheme sanctions facilitated under eight Central Government welfare schemes.

References