Govt sets fresh target of 63 lakh loans for street vendors by year-end

During its launch, the target was set at 50 lakh beneficiaries.

As of Tuesday, the PM SVANidhi website showed that 51.45 lakh loans, amounting to Rs 6,623.36 crore, had been disbursed to 39.07 lakh beneficiaries.

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The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has set a new target for its loan scheme for street vendors — 63 lakh new loans in less than six months till December this year — after having disbursed 50 lakh loans to 39 lakh beneficiaries in the three years since the scheme’s launch in 2020.

The Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown to provide street vendors with small working capital loans of Rs 10,000 each. During its launch, the target was set at 50 lakh beneficiaries.

On July 14, in a letter to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories, Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Manoj Joshi set the new targets: 60,99,000 first-term loans (up to Rs 10,000 each) to beneficiaries in big states, 34,990 such loans in small states and UTs, and 1,66,200 loans in hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and the Northeast.

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Joshi also set the target of 22.63 lakh beneficiaries for second-term loans, which are up to Rs 20,000 each and will be given to those who have paid off the first loans, and 2.93 lakh for third-term loans — up to Rs 50,000 given to those who have paid the second.

While the Cabinet extended the scheme’s lending period until December 2024 in April last year, these targets are “till December 2023” — months before the scheduled 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Govt sets fresh target of 63 lakh loans for street vendors by year-end

As of Tuesday, the PM SVANidhi website showed that 51.45 lakh loans, amounting to Rs 6,623.36 crore, had been disbursed to 39.07 lakh beneficiaries. This included first-, second- and third-term loans.

In his letter, Joshi wrote: “The scheme not only provides micro-credit to street vendors but is facilitating their inclusion into the formal economy…. Considering the extension of lending period of the scheme and to benefit more street vendors across the country, the ministry has decided to revise the disbursement target for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd tranche loans.”

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He said the ministry had taken into account the population of urban areas, the loan applications received, and the pending applications to firm up the new targets.

He asked the chief secretaries to assign the new targets to urban local bodies in their states and devise a monitoring mechanism to achieve targets by December 31.

National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) national coordinator Arbind Singh said the number of street vendors in the country is not known, even though municipality-level surveys of street vendors do take place. He estimates the figure to be around 2 crore.

Damini Nath

Damini Nath is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. She covers the housing and urban affairs and Election Commission beats. She has 11 years of experience as a reporter and sub-editor. Before joining The Indian Express in 2022, she was a reporter with The Hindu’s national bureau covering culture, social justice, housing and urban affairs and the Election Commission. ... Read More

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