The decision to continue the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi scheme was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
New Delhi: In what could be good news for street vendors, the Central government has approved the continuation of the Prime Minister Street Vendor`s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme till December 2024. The Central Government took the decision on Wednesday.
The move to continue the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi scheme till December 2024 was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The extension of lending till December 2024, would assist in institutionalizing the access to formal credit channels, provide an assured source of credit to help them plan their business expansion, increasing the adoption of digital transactions, reducing the impact of potential NPAs on the Lending Institutions and providing holistic socio-economic upliftment for the Street Vendors and their families,” it added.
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10 things to know about PM SVANidhi
1. PM SVANidhi scheme aims to provide collateral-free affordable loans to street vendors. The aim is to provide financial assistance for the holistic socio-economic development of the street vendors and their families.
2. The scheme had envisaged facilitating loans for an amount of Rs 5,000 crore, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
3. The extension of the scheme had envisaged facilitating loans for an amount of Rs. 5,000 crore. “Today’s approval has increased the loan amount to Rs 8,100 crore, thereby providing the Street vendors working capital to further expand their business and making them AtmaNirbhar,” the ministry said.
4. The latest move is expected to benefit nearly 1.2 crore citizens of Urban India.
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5. The ministry also pointed out that as of April 25, 2022, 31.9 lakh loans have been sanctioned.
6. So far, 29.6 lakh loans amounting to Rs 2,931 crore have been disbursed under the scheme.
7. Also, as regards the second loan, 2.3 lakh loans have been sanctioned and 1.9 lakh loans amounting to Rs.385 crore have been disbursed, the ministry said.
8. The beneficiary street vendors have conducted more than 13.5 crore digital transactions and have been given a cashback of Rs 10 crore.
9. Till April 25, 2022, an amount of Rs 51 crore has been paid as Interest Subsidy.
10. The Ministry said that the extension of the Scheme has been necessitated as the circumstances that led to the launch of the Scheme in June 2020 i.e. the pandemic and related stress on the small businesses, have not fully retracted.
