PM SVANIDHI SCHEME

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The Government of India has extended the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme beyond March, 2022 with the following provisions:

• Extension of lending period till December 2024;
• Introduction of 3rd loan of upto ₹50,000 in addition to 1st & 2nd loans of ₹10,000 and ₹20,000 respectively.
• To extend ‘SVANidhi Se Samriddhi’ component for all beneficiaries of PM SVANidhi scheme across the country.

About the PM SVANidhi 

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi(PM SVANidhi).

• To provide a user-friendly digital interface for lending institutions (LIs) and their field functionaries for sourcing and processing loan applications of street vendors under the PM SVANidhi scheme.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme to facilitate street vendors to access affordable working capital loan for resuming their livelihoods activities after easing of lockdown.

Eligibility Criteria 

• Initial working capital of up to 10,000/.
• Interest subsidy on timely/ early repayment @ 7%.
• Higher loan eligibility on timely repayment of the first loan.

Beneficiaries: 

• Street vendors/ hawkers vending in urban areas as on or before March 24,2020 including the vendors of surrounding peri-urban and rural areas.
• Street vendors in possession of Certificate of Vending/Identity Card issued by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
• The vendors, who have been identified in the survey but have not been issued Certificate of Vending/Identity Card; Provisional Certificate of Vending would be generated for such vendors through an IT based Platform.

Lending Institutions: 

• Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Small Finance Banks, Cooperative Banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies, Micro-Finance Institutions and SHG Banks.

Question: What are the objectives of the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme?