The Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme is proving to be a boon for thousands of small businessmen who earn their livelihood by setting up roadside carts. Under this scheme, Uttarakhand has provided financial assistance for business to more than 40 thousand small traders, achieving 100 percent target.
The Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme was started mainly to help small businessmen affected during the Covid period to get self-employed again. In Uttarakhand, the Urban Development Department plays the role of nodal agency for this scheme. Under the scheme, small businessmen are provided a loan of Rs 10 thousand in the first phase, Rs 20 thousand in the second phase and Rs 50 thousand in the third phase as working capital in a smooth loan period without any guarantee. Under the scheme, beneficiaries can take a loan for the second time only after returning the first loan within the stipulated time, similarly, after repaying the second loan, street vendors are eligible to take the third phase loan. Under the scheme, Uttarakhand has provided a loan of Rs 10,000 each to 27330 beneficiaries in the first phase, Rs 20,000 each to 10349 beneficiaries in the second phase and Rs 50,000 each to 2364 beneficiaries under the third phase. In this way, against the target of 40005 beneficiaries given by the Government of India, Uttarakhand has provided a total loan of Rs 59.64 crore by connecting 40043 to the scheme. CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said that with the inspiration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central and State Governments always make policies keeping Antyodaya in mind. Similarly, the PM Swanidhi Yojana has been introduced to help small businessmen, which has shown better results. The officials and staff of the Urban Development Department and the concerned municipal bodies deserve congratulations for benefiting more people than the target allotted for the scheme. Poonam Devi lives with her family in Balveer Road Basti. To support the family’s finances, she sets up a hawker on the Ring Road. Poonam tells that the Municipal Corporation employees themselves came to her and gave her information about the scheme and also helped her in filling the form and opening the bank account. After this, Poonam Devi has received a loan of ten thousand rupees in the first phase and twenty thousand rupees in the second phase under the scheme.
