Continuing its thrust on pro-poor initiatives, the Yogi Adityanath government is leaving no stone unturned in uplifting the needy and deprived as 8.76 lakh loans have been disbursed under PM Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi Scheme) in all the districts of UP till December 2022.
“Committed to providing economic and social security to the poor, the state government in the last six years, has not only formulated many schemes but has also effectively implemented the Central schemes for every needy to benefit them. Under the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme in Uttar Pradesh, over four lakh street vendors are getting benefits. Moreover, till December, about 46 per cent of the active registered vendors have carried out transactions worth Rs 7 crore,” a government spokesman said in a statement issued here on Wednesday.
The UP districts where maximum number of street vendors are digitally active are Varanasi, Prayagraj, Firozabad, Lucknow and Meerut. About 34,514 loans have been settled digitally in Varanasi, which has about 25,851 street vendors. Of these, 74.90 per cent have got loans under the scheme. Transactions of more than Rs 32 lakh have taken place here.
Similarly, 25,851 street vendors are active in Prayagraj. Here, more than 37 lakh transactions have been done. As many as 12,347 street vendors are active in Firozabad. Similarly, there are 40,740 active vendors in Lucknow. Here, transactions totaling Rs 1.14 crore have taken place through 77,247 loans. Meerut also has 16,957 active vendors registered. Here, 35,015 loans have been disbursed and transactions of more than Rs 26 lakhs have been completed.
To ensure benefits to maximum vendors, the state government is constantly making efforts to make street vendors digitally active. A survey was conducted in all the districts to identify the vendors who have been using other UPI IDs. The government is also setting up camps to ensure that the vendors become digitally advanced.
Under the PM SVANidhi scheme, the government provides loans to the street vendors to resume their work. These include people like vegetable sellers, fruit sellers and even those having small fast food shops. Under the scheme, the government provides loans up to Rs 50,000. Under this scheme, the government also provides subsidies on the loan. Once the application is approved, the loan amount is transferred to the account in three installments.