Residential street vendors in urban areas most affected by the lockdown in India will start receiving financial support from September. For this, 108 cities have been identified for the first phase of Pradhan Mantri Swanidhi Yojana. In this regard, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Urban Development and SIDBI on Friday.
50 lakh street vendors will get the benefit of the scheme. Swanidhi scheme has been started to make the street vendors self-sufficient. The Ministry of Urban Development launched this scheme on 1 June 2020. The objective of the scheme is to provide affordable working capital to the street vendors affected by Covid-19 to start their livelihoods. Under this, these shopkeepers can take a loan of up to 10 thousand rupees.
Those who pay the loan will have to pay only seven percent interest annually. The loan limit can be increased further if the loan is repaid soon. The ministry had sent information to all the parties involved in the scheme and requested to participate in it. Among them are all heads of state including banks, NBFCs, SIDBI, street vendors association. The first phase of Swanidhi will be completed by September. More than a hundred cities have been selected with the advice of all states and union territories. Under the agreement reached between the Urban Development Ministry and SIDBI on Friday, the loan amount will go directly to the consumer's bank account. Its process will be launched in the last week of June, while it is likely to be completed by September.
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