CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR UPSC IAS

A study that evaluated the impact of the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), a small working capital loan scheme for street vendors, has found that the first tranche of Rs 10,000 led to an additional annual income of Rs. 23,460 for each beneficiary.

What is PM SVANiDHI?

• PM SVANiDHI is a special micro-credit facility plan to provide affordable loan of up to Rs. 10,000 to more than 50 lakh street vendors.
• The scheme is a Central Sector Scheme fully funded by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Eligibility: The Scheme is available to all street vendors engaged in vending in urban areas as on or before March 24, 2020. 
• It was announced aims to enable street vendors to resume their livelihoods, which have been hit hard due to the national lockdown.
• Implementing agency: Small Industries Development Bank of Indiais the technical partner for implementation of this scheme. It manages the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises.
• Salient features:
• Vendors can avail working capital loan of up to Rs 10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments within 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
• Monthly cash back incentive on digital transactions
• There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan.

What are the other related schemes for street vendors?

• SVANidhi se Samriddhi: The Ministry has initiated ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ in 125 Urban Local Bodies, selected for saturation in the first phase. In Phase 1, approximately 35 Lakh Street vendors and their families were covered.
• The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014: It was enacted to regulate street vendorsin public areas and protect their rights.
• National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI): NASVI is an organization working for the protection of the livelihood rights of thousands of street vendorsacross the country.