In News
- The recent data pertaining to the loans given under PM SVANidhi draws a bleak picture for minority street vendors.
More about the news:
- Scheme disbursal for minority community:
- A total of 42.7 lakh loans amounting to ?5,152.37 crore had been disbursed to street vendors under the PM SVANidhi scheme out of which only 3.98 lakh or 9.3% were to hawkers from the minority communities.
- In 2020-21, 2,10,457 loans were disbursed to minorities while it was 98,973 loans in 2021-22 and 88,609 in 2022-23.
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ data:
- According to the data shared by the Ministry, the State-wise disbursal of loans seemed to be aligned with its population.
- Uttar Pradesh disbursed the maximum number of loans at 11,22,397, while Sikkim gave out just one loan.
- Incidentally, Uttar Pradesh also gave the largest number of loans to hawkers from minority communities at 95,032.
More about the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors’ Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Yojana
- About:
- The PM SVANidhi is a micro-credit scheme which was launched by the government in 2020.
- The scheme is funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
- Aim:
- It was launched with an aim to provide credit for working capital to street vendors who have been affected due to the Covid-19 crisis.
- Scheme highlights:
- PM SVANidhi facilitates collateral-free loans of ?10,000, with subsequent loans of ?20,000 and ?50,000 with 7% interest subsidy for vendors, and rewards digital transactions.
- All street vendors who have been in the business on or before March 24, 2020, are eligible to avail the benefits.
- For this scheme launched in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Centre has earmarked a stimulus package of Rs 5,000 crore for nearly 50 lakh vendors.
Street vendors in India
- Anyone who doesn’t have a permanent shop is considered a street vendor.
- Data:
- There are an estimated 50-60 lakh street vendors in India, with the largest concentrations in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad.
- According to government estimates, street-vending accounts for 14 per cent of the total (non-agricultural) urban informal employment in the country.
- Challenges faced by Street vendors:
- Most of them are migrants who typically work for 10–12 hours every day on average.
- Often, local bodies conduct eviction drives to clear the pavements of encroachers, and confiscate their goods. Fines for recovery are heavy.
Source: TH
