PM Svanidhi Scheme– The Narendra Modi government had started many such schemes in its second term, which benefit the poor class. One such scheme is for street vendors. Its name is PM Svanidhi. The government had started the PM Svanidhi scheme during the Corona period. In this scheme, a loan of up to Rs 50 thousand is available without guarantee, now UPI linked credit cards will also be given. PM Svanidhi 2.0 is going to be launched soon.
The Center will soon launch PM Swanidhi Yojana 2.0, under which street vendors will be provided loans up to Rs 50,000 with 7% annual interest subsidy and UPI-linked credit cards with a limit of Rs 30,000. Recently this information was given to Financial Express by official financial sources. Let us tell you that till March 31, 2025, 68 lakh street vendors got loans worth Rs 13,792 crore in total through this scheme.
Starting with a loan of Rs 10,000
The Swanidhi scheme provides a working capital loan facility of up to Rs 10,000 without any guarantee for a period of one year. The limit increases if this loan is repaid on time. After this, a facility of Rs 20,000 and up to Rs 50,000 is provided. The scheme encourages regular repayment through interest subsidy at the rate of 7 percent per annum. At the same time, digital transactions are encouraged through cashback of up to Rs 1,200 per annum.
The scheme aims to formalise the street vendors and open up new opportunities for economic growth for the sector. They are known by various names in different sectors/contexts such as vendors, hawkers, thelewala, rehriwala, theli-phadwala, etc. The goods supplied by them include vegetables, fruits, ready-to-eat street food, tea, pakoras, bread, eggs, textiles, apparel, footwear, artisan products, books/stationery, etc. The services provided by them include barber shops, cobblers, paan shops, laundry services, etc.