About the scheme

• The Prime Minister Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for providing affordable Working Capital loans to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to Covid-19 lockdown. It was launched in 2020.
• Under the Scheme, vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year. The loans would be without collateral.
• If the vendor repays the instalments in time or earlier, they will develop his credible credit score that makes him eligible for a higher amount of term loan to 20 thousand rupees and so on.
• On timely/ early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy @ 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer on quarterly basis.
• There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan. The scheme promotes digital transactions through cash back incentives up to an amount of Rs. 100 per month.
• The scheme targets to benefit over 50 lakh street vendors.
• SIDBI is implementing the scheme.
• The lending institutions under the Scheme include Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Small Finance Banks, Cooperative Banks, NBFCs, Microfinance institutions and Self Help Group banks.

Why in News?

• The PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) program has been extended by the central government till December 2024.

Reference:

https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/