The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has recently launched the ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ program across 14 states and union territories, targeting an additional 126 cities. Quality Council of India (QCI) will implement this program. This addition marks a significant step forward in the government’s effort to improve the well-being and financial security of street vendors and their families.
About the SVANidhi se Samriddhi Program
As an extension of PMSVANidhi, the SVANidhi se Samriddhi was initiated on January 4th, 2021, in 125 cities. Its main objective is to map the socioeconomic profile of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and their families. This includes assessing their potential eligibility for various central welfare schemes and facilitating linkages to these programs.
The welfare schemes encompassed by the program include Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, PM Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana, Building and other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act registration, National Food Security Act portability benefit, Janani Suraksha Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.
Coverage and Achievements
In its first phase, SVANidhi se Samriddhi covered approximately 35 lakh street vendors and their families. The second phase aims to extend coverage to an extra 28 lakh street vendors and their families, with a total target of 20 lakh scheme sanctions for FY 2022-23. The remaining cities will gradually be incorporated into the program.
Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the program marked notable achievements in its first year (2020-21) by providing street vendor families with social security benefits. This not only protected them from potential risks and vulnerabilities but also created a central database of street vendors based on various socioeconomic indicators. Moreover, it established an inter-ministerial convergence platform to extend welfare schemes to street vendor households.
The PM SVANidhi Scheme
The Prime Minister Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), a part of Economic Stimulus-II under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan was launched. Implemented since June 1st, 2020, it aims to provide affordable working capital loans to street vendors whose livelihoods have been negatively affected by Covid-19 lockdowns. With a sanctioned budget of Rs. 700 crore, the scheme is designed to aid over 50 lakh street vendors vending in or before March 24th, 2020, in urban and surrounding peri-urban/rural areas.
Vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, repayable in monthly installments within a year. On timely or early repayment, they will receive a 7% per annum interest subsidy through Direct Benefit Transfer, and no penalty will be levied on early repayment of the loan.
Challenges and Solutions in Implementation
Implementation challenges include banks seeking applications on stamp papers worth between Rs. 100 and Rs. 500, and sometimes even requiring PAN cards, checking credit scores, or authorities asking for voter ID cards from applicants. Additionally, reports of harassment by police and municipal officials have also emerged. This has led to multiple complaints from street vendors.
To mitigate these issues, states are instructed to protect street vendors from undue harassment. Moreover, the Centre has decided to forward applications directly to bank branches listed by the applicant as a preferred lender or where the vendor possesses a savings bank account. A software that can push around 3 lakh applications to banks has also been developed. The implementation of these solutions is crucial for the success of the SVANidhi se Samriddhi and PM SVANidhi programs, thereby ensuring that street vendors receive the full benefits from these initiatives.
