PM Street Vendor Atmanirbhar Nidhi scheme

Street Vendors are an important constituent of the urban informal economy. It plays a significant role in ensuring the availability of goods and services at an affordable rate at the doorstep of the city dwellers. They are known as hawkers, vendors, rehriwala, Thelewala, etc. Supply of the most common good by them are food, pakodas, tea, bread, eggs, footwear, apparel, artisan products, books, stationery, etc. The other services offer by street vendors are barbershops, cobblers, laundry services, or Pan shops. 

The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns have adversely impacted the livelihoods of street vendors. They usually work with a small capital base and might have consumed the same during the lockdown. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide credit assistance in the form of working capital to street vendors to resume their business.

The objective of launching the PM SVANidhi Scheme

The scheme is a central scheme, fully funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with the following objectives:

  • Facilitating working capital loan up to Rs 10,000
  • To incentivize regular payment
  • To reward digital transaction

The main objective of the scheme is to provide an economic boost to the street vendors by offering them working capital loans so that they start their businesses again and bring them back to normalcy. 

The Eligibility criteria of States and Union Territories:

Only those beneficiaries can avail of the scheme who belongs to States/ Union Territories which have notified Rules and Scheme under Street Vendors as per the Protection of Livelihood and Street Vending Act, 2014. Beneficiaries from Meghalaya, which has its own State Street Vendors Act may, however, participate.

The Eligibility criteria of an individual to enroll in PM SVANidhi Scheme

  • The scheme is available to all street vendors who are engaged in vending in urban areas as before March 24, 2020.
  • Street Vendors in possession of a certificate of Vending/ Identity card issued by Urban Local Bodies.
  • The vendors who are identified during the survey but have not been issued a certificate of vending or identity card.
  • The provisional certificate of vending would be given to such a vendor by using the IT-Based platform. ULBs are encouraged to issue such vendors the permanent certificate of Vending and Identification Card immediately and positively within one month.
  • Street Vendors left out of the ULB identification survey or who have started vending after completion of the survey and have been issued a Letter of Recommendation (LoR) to that effect by the ULB / Town Vending Committee (TVC)
  • The vendors of surrounding development/peri-urban/rural areas vending in the geographical limits of the ULBs and have been issued a Letter of Recommendation (LoR) to that effect by the ULB / TVC.

Pre-Application Process of PM SVANidhi

The below-mentioned steps will guide you to start the application process on the portal.

  • Firstly, you are required to check your name in the Vendor Survey list and note down the Survey Reference number.
  • Keep with yourself the copy of your coefficient of variation and Identity Card ready for easy uploading during the application process.

A Provisional COV  would be generated for you by the system while making an online application.

  • Keep a copy of the Letter of Recommendation (LOR) ready for uploading.
  • The Vendor needs to give a declaration for the following:
  • The vendor has received one-time assistance during the pandemic lockdown
  • The Vendor should be a member of any of the hawking association

How to get enrolled for PM SVANidhi Scheme

  • Visit the official website at http://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/
  • Next, you need to download the PM SVANidhi Scheme Loan Application Form.
  • Select the vendor category as per the eligibility
  • Fill the Loan application form (LAF). It is a must to have your Aadhaar number linked to your mobile number.
  • Form submission after filling in the necessary details.

The COVID 19 Pandemic crisis has left a major impact on the livelihoods of street vendors that work with the small capital base or used all the funds during the lockdown. Hence, there is a need to provide credit for working capital to street vendors to resume their business. For all those financial needs, PM Street Vendor Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme is available.