The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has signed a memorandum with Swiggy (e-commerce food delivery platform) to onboard street food vendors. MoU enables street food vendors to have online access and helps in their business's growth. The MoU was signed under the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.
The pilot project will on-board 250 vendors in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Indore, and Varanasi, as per the ministry. The aim is to protect street vendors from loss and taking their business to next level. This ensures the safety and facilitates access to customers via online business model whereas amid the COVID-19 pandemic where physical distancing is the key. Swiggy will help street vendors with PAN and FSSAI registration, technology or partner app usage training, menu digitization and pricing, and best hygiene and packaging practices. Upon successful completion of the Pilot Project, this plan will be extended throughout the country.
The MoU was signed between the joint secretary Sanjay Kumar and Swiggy CEO Rahul Bothra, via video conference. MoHUA secretary Durga Shanker Mishra, ministry and Swiggy officials, and the Municipal Commissioners of Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Indore, and Varanasi were also present in the meeting. The PM Swanidhi Scheme was implemented to provide an affordable working capital loans of up to Rs 10,000 to street vendors who have been greatly impacted by the pandemic and lockdown.
Successful repayment gives an interest subsidy of 7% per annum. The subsidy will be credited to the bank account of beneficiaries through direct benefit transfer on a quarterly basis. The PMSVANidhi gives benefits to more than 50 lakh street vendors. The street vendors have to be in the business from or before March 24, 2020, and the operating location includes urban, semi-urban, and rural areas. As of October 4, 2020, more than 20 lakh loan applications were received under the PM SVANidhi Scheme. Of these, over loans of 7.5 lakh were sanctioned and over 2.4 lakh loans disbursed.
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