The scheme has sanctioned 74.78 lakh applications involving Rs 9,815 crore of which 69.91 lakh applications involving Rs 9,152 crore were disbursed as October 25, as per the data from the scheme’s portal.
Loans for street vendors: The government’s scheme to formalise street vendors and enable them for bank credit PM SVANidhi has 43 per cent women beneficiaries, informed finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. A recent study by SBI titled PM SVANidhi: Strengthening Country’s Social Fabric Through Empowering Grassroot Market Mavericks highlighting the impact of the scheme launched in 2020, had noted that 43 per cent female share “indicates empowerment of entrepreneurial capabilities of urban female, giving SVANidhi a gender equalizer tag.” The other 57 per cent were male beneficiaries.
The scheme has sanctioned 74.78 lakh applications involving Rs 9,815 crore of which 69.91 lakh applications involving Rs 9,152 crore were disbursed as October 25, as per the data from the scheme’s portal.
The scheme incentivises a 7 per cent interest subsidy and digital transactions. As per the report, repayment of the first loan and the borrowing for the second loan of Rs 20,000 is 68 per cent, while repaying the second loan for the third loan of Rs 50,000 is 75 per cent under the scheme.
The scheme’s beneficiaries have recorded a 50 per cent increase in debit card spending, the average being Rs 80,000 in FY23 as compared to FY21. Over the same period, average spending has also increased by an average of Rs 28,000, stated SBI report.
PM SVANidhi is a micro-credit scheme aimed at safeguarding the informal street vendors in urban areas affected by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, which constitute vegetable sellers, street food stalls, pan shops, artisans, tea shops, barbers, laundry and cobblers, etc.
