Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday interacted with the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi Yojana (PM SVANidhi Scheme) from Uttar Pradesh today via video conferencing. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath is also present on the occasion. PM also virtually distributed loans to nearly 3 lakh vendors under the scheme. 

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PM Modi lauded bank employees for working hard during the pandemic and helping poor get benefits of government schemes. He said that there was a time when street vendors did not go inside a bank but today the bank is actually going to their home.  

"Today is an important day for self-reliant India. Today we show how this country copes with the most difficult situations," said PM Modi.  

Speaking to a fruit vendor Priti, the prime minister asked about the problems faced during the lockdown and also enquired about the benefits of the scheme. PM also interacted with Arvind, a momo seller, Vijay Bahadur, a chana seller and discussed with them how the PM SVANidhi Scheme has helped them gain a livelihood in an honourable manner. 

Vendors told PM that the loan disbursed under the PM SVANidhi Scheme was a paperless and hassle-free affair. They added that they used technology and digital payment to maintain cashless transaction and at the same time maintain social distancing. 

Note that PM SVANidhi scheme was launched on 1 June 2020 to help poor street vendors, impacted by COVID-19, resume livelihood activities.  

Under PM SVANidhi Scheme, street vendors can get working capital of up to Rs 10,000 at subsidised rates. According to news agency ANI, over 24 lakh applications have been received under this scheme so far, with 557,000 applications from vendors in Uttar Pradesh, the highest across the country. 

As many as 3.27 lakh applications from UP have been approved and loan of 1.87 lakh has been disbursed, ANI said quoting the website narendramodi.in. Out of the total applications, 12 lakh have been approved and loans worth about 5.35 lakh have been disbursed, it added.