New Delhi, May 31 (IANS). According to an official statement, so far more than 75.5 lakh street vendors have availed loans worth more than Rs 112 lakh under the Prime Minister Street Vendors Self-reliant Fund (PM Swanidhi) scheme.
Loans worth more than Rs 17,800 crore have been distributed to street vendors across the country. Apart from this, beneficiaries have also received approximately Rs 800 crore as interest subsidy and digital cashback incentive.
About 46 percent of the beneficiaries of the scheme are women, while about 70 percent of the beneficiaries come from deprived and weaker sections. According to the statement, the scheme has strengthened the integration of street vendors with micro enterprises, local supply chains and urban local bodies.
PM Swanidhi Yojana was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide affordable working capital to street vendors whose business was severely impacted by the pandemic.
This was the country’s first micro credit scheme launched specifically for street vendors. Given the limited access to formal credit arrangements of this large section of the unorganized sector, the objective of the scheme was to promote their businesses and strengthen financial inclusion.
Considering the achievements of the scheme and its positive impact, the government has approved the restructuring and expansion of PM Swanidhi Scheme. Now the period of loan distribution under this scheme has been extended till March 2030.
Under this scheme, all those people who sell or provide services of daily use items, food items or other goods through temporary structures or by roaming on roads, footpaths, footpaths or other public places are eligible. These include vendors selling vegetables, fruits and prepared foods and people providing services like barbers, cobblers and clothes washers.
Under the scheme, working capital loans up to Rs 15,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 are made available to street vendors in a phased manner without any guarantee.
Along with this, the scheme also provides the facility of interest subsidy, loan guarantee support and UPI linked RuPay credit card with a limit of up to Rs 30,000 to eligible sellers.
PM Swanidhi Yojana encourages timely and early loan repayment. Under this, 7 percent interest subsidy is given to the beneficiaries every year. Sellers who repay the loan on time also become eligible for a higher loan amount in the next phase.
The scheme also provides cashback incentive of up to Rs 1,600 and financial literacy support to promote digital transactions. So far, more than 55 lakh sellers have made more than 841 crore digital transactions worth about Rs 8.96 lakh crore.
Under the scheme, training on financial literacy, digital literacy and food safety is also provided in collaboration with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. So far, around 6 lakh street food vendors have been trained on food safety and hygiene standards.
–IANS
DBP
