Benefits of PM SVANidhi scheme availed by over 50 lakh street vendors: HUA ministry

New Delhi: Benefits of the Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi scheme has been availed by more than 50 lakh street vendors across the country, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on Tuesday and termed it a momentous milestone.

In a statement, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said PM SVANidhi is a pioneering initiative by the Central government aimed at integrating street vendors into the formal economic system and facilitating access to formal channels of credit.

"This collective endeavour resulted in the disbursement of a remarkable 65.75 lakh loans, benefiting over 50 lakh street vendors, with a total value exceeding Rs 8,600 crore.

"It is noteworthy that public sector banks have played a pivotal role in achieving this significant milestone through their support of the first-ever micro-credit scheme designed for urban poor socio-economic section," it stated.

According to the ministry, states have wholeheartedly embraced the scheme with the recent campaign yielding impressive results.

Over the past three months, states have successfully onboarded more than 12 lakh new vendors, the highest ever, with many more in the process of enrolment, it said, adding that the ministry has allocated targets to all states and union territories for the identification of beneficiaries and loan disbursement.

"States, in turn, have assigned targets to their cities, with the aim of achieving them by December 31, 2023. Currently, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Gujarat are among the top-performing states, while Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Indore, and Mumbai are the leading cities in the programme's implementation.

"However, all states are actively participating in the scheme to provide tangible benefits to street vendors," it said.

The ministry said that beyond facilitating micro-credits, the PM SVANidhi scheme empowers street vendors through digital payments.

"Promoting digital transactions, participating lending institutions/banks, and digital payment aggregators have offered digital onboarding and training. These collaborations have resulted in over 113.2 Crore digital transactions worth Rs 1,33,003 crore, with Rs 58.2 crore in cashback disbursed to beneficiaries," it added.