PM SVANidhi scheme's spread among fastest, says Hardeep Puri

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said the PM SVANidhi scheme, launched to help street vendors get easy loans, is witnessing one of the fastest roll-outs among all government schemes.

The Union housing and urban affairs minister was speaking at an event on the completion of three years of the Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi, also known as PM SVANidhi.

According to a statement, the minister at the event said the PM SVANidhi has led to an unparalleled wave of financial inclusion and digital literacy in the countries cities and small towns.

The scheme, launched on June 1, 2020, with an aim to instil 'Swarozgar, Svavlamban, Swabhimaan' (Self Employment, Self-Sustenance, and Self-Confidence) in street vendors has become one of the fastest growing microcredit schemes of the central government and has given people access to credit and social security schemes, the statement said.

Puri on Thursday also launched a PM SVANidhi mobile app to ease the loan application process for street vendors. He also interacted with the beneficiaries of the scheme.

The ministry said the scheme facilitates working capital loans in three tranches to the street vendors. It has been providing microcredit to more than 36 lakh street vendors across India.

As on June 30, 2023, 48.5 lakh loan applications have been sanctioned with the disbursal of more than 46.4 lakh loans amounting to a total of Rs 5,795 crore, the government said.