PM SVANidhi Scheme for Street Vendors: Online dashboard launched, over 1-7 lakh applications sanctioned so far

New Delhi: The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs on Friday launched the online dashboard of the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme. It was launched by Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Housing and Urban Affairs through video conferencing.

"The online dashboard is dynamic, interactive and would provide a one stop solution to all stakeholders looking for information and tracking monitoring of progress of PM SVANidhi up to city level," an official release said. 

Since the commencement of online submission of applications on PM SVANidhi portal on July 2, 2020, more than 7.15 lakh applications have been received and over 1.70 lakh have been sanctioned in different States and UTs, the Housing and Urban Affairs ministry informed.  

The PM SVANidhi Scheme was launched under the ambit of ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’. It aims at facilitating collateral free working capital loans upto Rs 10,000 of 1 year tenure, to about 50 lakh street vendors in the urban areas, including those from the surrounding peri-urban/ rural areas, to resume their businesses post COVID-19 lockdown. Incentives in the form of interest subsidy of 7% per annum on regular repayment of loan, cashback upto Rs 1,200 per annum on undertaking prescribed digital transactions and eligibility for enhanced next tranche of loan have also been provided.

PM SVANidhi Scheme envisages bringing ‘Banks at the door steps’ of these ‘nano-entrepreneurs’ by engaging the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and the Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) as lending institutions in addition to Scheduled Commercial Banks - Public & Private, Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Banks, SHG Banks etc. The onboarding of the vendors on digital payment platforms is a very important component to build the credit profile of the vendors to help them become part of the formal urban economy.

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the implementation partner for the scheme. A graded guarantee cover is provided, on portfolio basis, to these lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) to encourage lending to street vendors.

The street vendors mostly operate their businesses on very thin margins. The micro-credit support under the scheme is expected to provide not only major relief to such vendors but also help them climb the economic ladder. Use of an integrated IT Platform (pmsvanidhi.mohua.org.in), Web Portal and Mobile App, has enabled the Scheme to extend its reach and benefits to this segment of society with the objective of minimum government and maximum governance.