The PM Street Sellers Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (SVANidhi) Scheme was created in June 2020 as a Micro-Credit facility to assist street vendors in recovering from losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was founded under the auspices of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)
Features
- It is a government programme.
- It will offer low-interest working capital loans to street vendors afflicted by the new coronavirus outbreak.
- It will remain in effect until March 2022.
- Initial operating capital of up to Rs. 10,000 would be supplied to vendors.
- A vendor will receive a 7% interest subsidy if loans are repaid early or on schedule.
- There is a monthly cash-back incentive for digital payments.
- Monthly payback of between Rs. 50 and Rs. 100.
- If a vendor repays the first loan on time, he or she has a good chance of being approved for a larger loan.
- To obtain the loan, a vendor is not required to submit any collateral security.
Objectives
- To provide vendors with access to cheap working capital loans that will allow them to restart their livelihood operations following the countrywide shutdown (due to the pandemic.)
- To encourage regular loan payback by features such as cashback, larger loans on subsequent demands, and so on.
- To encourage digitalization by rewarding suppliers that choose digital loan repayment.
Impact
The Scheme, which was launched with the goal of assisting a particularly vulnerable population at risk due to broad movement restrictions, has had a tremendous impact.
So far, 33.6 lakh loan applications have been received. More than 17.3 lakh loans have been sanctioned, with more than 12.7 lakh loans issued.
The establishment of a comprehensive capacity-building plan that addressed numerous stakeholders and digital payment aggregators facilitated the Scheme’s effective delivery.
The capacity-building strategy was supplemented with branding and communication initiatives that reinforced the Scheme’s desired impact.
Lending Institutions
- Commercial Banks Scheduled
- Rural Regional Banks
- Banks that work together
- Non-Banking Financial Institutions
- Institutions of Microfinance
- Banks for Self-Help Groups (SHG)
Eligibility Criteria
- Beneficiaries from States/UTs that have notified regulations and guidelines under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 are eligible for the Scheme.
- Beneficiaries’ Eligibility:
The plan is open to street vendors who were operating in metropolitan areas on or before March 24, 2020. The following criteria will be used to identify eligible vendors:
- Possession of a Vending Certificate/Identity Card issued by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)
- Identification in the survey, but no Certificate of Vending / Identity Card.
- Possession of a Letter of Recommendation from an Urban Local Body (ULB) or the Town Vending Committee (TVC)
Beneficiaries
- Hawkers or street vendors in metropolitan areas
- Peri-urban region street vendors
- Rural Area Street Vendors
(Those street sellers as of/on March 24, 2020)
Implementation Partner
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) would be the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ implementation partner for scheme administration. For scheme implementation, SIDBI will rely on its network of lending institutions, which includes SCBs, RRBs, SFBs, Cooperative Banks, NBFCs, and MFIs.