PM SVANIDHI scheme (Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s AtmanirbharNidhi)

Subject: Welfare schemes

Context: Focus on the schemes come as the Centre has alerted banks about slowdown in loans to the street vendors.

Concept:

It is a special micro-credit facility scheme for providing affordable loan to street vendors.
The scheme is aimed at daily wage workers (mostly migrant workers) to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to COVID-19 lockdown.
Under the scheme, each of these streets’ vendors will be given collateral free loan of Rs 10,000, which they can return as monthly installments within a year.
Those who repay their loans on time will get 7 percent annual interest as subsidy which will be transferred in their bank accounts. There is no provision for penalty.
The street vendors belonging to the surrounding peri-urban or rural areas are being included as beneficiaries under the urban livelihoods programme for the first time.
According to the ministry data there are around 42.7 lakh street vendors in country (except West Bengal), out of which 37 lakh application was received under the scheme and 20 lakh applications have been sanctioned.
The lending institutions under the Scheme include Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Small Finance Banks, Cooperative Banks, NBFCs, Micro Finance institutions and Self-Help Group banks.