The scope of PM Svanidhi Yojana, which provides loans from banks to street vendors for business, can be increased. The Central Government is preparing to expand this scheme by assessing its impact so far. Work has started in the direction of increasing the number of beneficiaries of this ambitious scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to one crore.
Now this number is a little more than fifty lakhs. The special thing is that the number of women among the beneficiaries of this scheme is close to fifty percent. It is clear that PM Svanidhi Yojana can make a significant contribution in the future in terms of financial inclusion.
What is PM Svanidhi Yojana?
The southern states have performed best in terms of providing benefits to women under the PM Svanidhi scheme. According to sources in the ministry, the scheme has yielded results. During the Corona period, there was a livelihood crisis for the street vendors. Then this plan was thought of. Under this, eligible street vendors are given a loan of ten thousand rupees from the banks.
It has been recognized that the PM Svanidhi Yojana has shown a very positive effect, especially in the urban areas. The shopkeepers who repay the first loan are given loans up to Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000 later. The Standing Committee of the Parliament related to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had also recommended the expansion of the PM Svanidhi scheme and described it as an important step to institutionalize the business of street vendors.