SVANidhi se Samriddhi

The ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ program has been launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in additional 126 cities across 14 States and UTs of India. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic-related challenges in 2020-21, this program was successful in providing social security benefits to lakhs of street vendors and their families across the country thus protecting them from the livelihoods risks.

Coverage

• In Phase 1, it covered approximately 35 Lakh Street vendors and their families.
• Phase 2 aims to cover 28 Lakh Street vendors and their families, with a total target of 20 Lakh scheme sanctions for FY 2022-23. The remaining cities would be gradually added to the program.

Achievements

• In the year 2020-21 (despite challenges posed due to Covid-19 pandemic), the program was successful in providing social security benefits to the street vendor families and thereby protecting them from any risks and vulnerabilities of life and livelihoods.

The program has two-fold achievements

• One, a central database of Street vendors and their families is created on various socio-economic indicators.
• Second, a first of its kind inter-ministerial convergence platform is established between various Central Ministries to extend the safety net of welfare schemes to street vendor households.

PM SVANidhi Scheme

• Prime Minister Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) was announced as a part of the Economic Stimulus-II under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
• It has been implemented since 1st June 2020, for providing affordable working capital loans to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to Covid-19 lockdowns, with a sanctioned budget of Rs. 700 crore.

Aims

• To benefit over 50 lakh street vendors who had been vending on or before 24th March 2020, in urban areas including those from surrounding peri-urban/rural areas.
• To promote digital transactions through cash-back incentives up to an amount of Rs. 1,200 per annum.

Features

• The vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly installments in the tenure of one year.
• On timely/early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy of 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer on a quarterly basis.
• There will be no penalty on early repayment of the loan. The vendors can avail the facility of the enhanced credit limit on timely/early repayment of the loan.

Challenges

• Several banks are seeking applications on stamp papers worth between Rs. 100 and Rs. 500.
• There have also been instances of banks seeking PAN cards and even checking the CIBIL or Credit score of applicants or state authorities asking for voter ID cards, which many migrant vendors do not carry with them.
• CIBIL score is an evaluation of one’s credit history and determines their eligibility for a loan.
• There have also been complaints of harassment by police and municipal officials.

Solutions

• States should be asked to ensure that street vendors are not harassed by the authorities as all they are asking is a right to livelihood.
• The Centre has also decided to send the applications directly to bank branches listed by the applicant as a “preferred lender” or where the vendor holds a savings bank account.
• A software has also been developed that can “push” around 3 lakh applications to the banks.