Policy Update
Dipankar Mazumder
Background
Launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on June 1, 2020, as part of the “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) aimed at empowering and improving the economic conditions of the street vendors that were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The need for this scheme arises as India’s street vendor forms an integral part of the urban economy. The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted their livelihood causing economic distress. Hence, in order to safeguard their interest and bring them to the formal sector, fostering self-reliance and economic resilience, the Government of India brought this scheme.
At its core, PM-SVANidhi intends to benefit 50 lakhs street vendors which include hawkers, thelawala, pheriwalas, rehriwalas, theliphadwalas, etc. by offering collateral-free loans to help them resume their businesses in the urban areas including neighboring peri-urban and rural areas. This scheme ensures them to revive their business and recover from the losses incurred as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. Under this scheme, street vendors are supported not only by providing loans but also aimed for their holistic development.
Source: https://x.com/PIB_India/status/1748584645015613528
Functioning
PM-SVANidhi is a credit linked subsidy scheme that targets the street vendors operating in the urban areas. The functioning of the scheme can be broken down into several components:
1. Eligibility Criteria: The scheme is available to beneficiaries from States and Union Territories which have notified rules and guidelines under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. In addition, street vendors who have been vending in urban areas before March 24, 2020 are eligible for the scheme. The eligible vendors must ensure that they possess a valid vending / identity card and a letter of recommendation issued by the Urban Local Bodies (ULB’s).
2. Loan Facility: Under this scheme, an initial collateral-free working capital loan of upto Rs 10,000 of 1-year tenure is offered to approximately 50 lakhs street vendors. There is also a provision for the street vendors to avail loan amounts of Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000 in the second and third tranches respectively on timely repayment of the previous loans. This initiative will help vendors to increase their business and promote good credit behavior.
3. Interest Subsidy: To ease the financial burden of the vendors, the government offers a 7% annual interest subsidy which will be credited directly to the borrower’s bank account.
4. Digital Platform: To ensure effective implementation, the scheme offers online digital portals and mobile application, which provide real time data on the progress and performance of the scheme and facilitate transparent monitoring. Beneficiaries are entitled to get cashback upto Rs 1200/- per annum on adopting cashless transactions through apps like BHIM, PayTM, GooglePay, BharatPay, AmazonPay, PhonePay, etc. These efforts aim to bring street vendors under formalized banking networks and ensure digital footprint in India by streamlining the process and promoting digital transactions.
Source: https://religaredigital.in/pmsvanidhi/
Performance
Since its launch in 2020, the PM-SVANidhi scheme has shown promising results in terms of both loan disbursement and vendor participation. As of 9th March, 2025, nearly 68.08 lakhs vendors have been benefited under the scheme, a total of 14,316 crore loans have been sanctioned, and over 13,772 crore loans have been disbursed.
The scheme is available across all States and Union Territories in India, subjected to Street Vendors Act, 2014. The state wise details are annexed below.
According to the official dashboard, notably, states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Gujarat demonstrated exceptional performance. Uttar Pradesh reached a disbursement target of 105.22% while Madhya Pradesh reached a target of 117.63%. However, if we compare the data we can see certain disparities when analyzed against the number of applications. Telangana (7.20 lakhs) stands out with effective disbursement despite minimum application. While larger states like Gujarat (8.75 lakhs) show moderate disbursement.
Source: https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/Home/PMSDashboard
Source: https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in
However, much contrasting figures were seen at Northeastern states which highlighted poor performances. Only Assam (2.01 lakhs) was able to reach its disbursement percentage figure of 111.08%, reflecting strong implementation, while other states were not able to reach maximum
participants. This wide variation in state-wise enrollment highlights regional disparities in awareness and accessibility.
Source: https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/Home/PMSDashboard
According to the official data, out of 68.08 lakhs beneficiaries, male beneficiaries accounted for 55% while women accounted for 45% which depicts that the scheme is gender-neutral. However, efforts need to be made to increase women’s participation.
Source: https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/Home/PMSDashboard
Impact
The impact of PM-SVANidhi on street vendors has been multi-faceted. The loans provided to the street vendors have enabled them to restart their enterprises, businesses, buy supplies, and enhance their working conditions. Thus, this initiative brought in a transformative change in the livelihood of the street vendors plying in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas.
As mentioned earlier, as of March 9th, 2025, loans of around 95.99 lakhs were disbursed, amounting to 13,772 crore, directly supporting 68+ lakhs street vendors. This highlights that the micro-credit initiative has promoted inclusive entrepreneurship and proved to be a gender equalizer thereby positively impacting several livelihoods and creating more opportunities for the economy.
A report by SBI (2023) has hailed the performance of the scheme stating that 43% beneficiaries are women street vendors. Moreover, 44% of the PM SVANidhi beneficiaries belong to OBC category, while Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes account for 22%. It highlights the inclusive nature of the scheme by empowering the marginalised sections.
Further, the monthly cashback benefits of upto Rs 100, have made beneficiaries to embrace cashless and digital transactions methods, thereby further solidifying their inclusion into the digital economy. This highlights a behavioral shift for digital acceptability. It has restructured the entire process of loan giving and repaying. As a result, vendors have developed a positive attitude towards the scheme in order to build a better credit history, which they can use to avail future loans and other financial services.
In the social sphere, PM-SVANidhi has promoted social upliftment, particularly for women vendors who make up a sizable section of the targeted demography. Previously, the contributions made by the women in informal sectors went unnoticed, however, through PM-SVANidhi, by bringing street vendors to the formal sectors they are equally contributing in building India’s economy.
Emerging Issues
Despite its success, the scheme faces challenges. The main issue lies in its urban challenges. Despite being essential to the economy, street vendors frequently violates local laws related to garbage management, vehicle movement, congestion in streets, land allocation, etc.
Another pressing issue is street vending has resulted in increasing rural to urban migration. This migration has further worsened the situation in urban areas by exceeding its carrying capacity and putting pressure on its limited resources.
Limited awareness is another challenge which has limited the wider impact of the scheme. At the same time, many vendors’ lacks the necessary paperwork and documents to take advantage of the scheme. As the application method was online, it was difficult for many people who lacked digital literacy found it challenging.
Way Forward
A multifaceted strategy is necessary to fully achieve PM-SVANidhi’s prospective. More vendors need to be incorporated under the scheme which can be achieved by disseminating related information and generating awareness in remote areas. Online application process can be improved by offering helpline assistance, especially for those with limited online literacy. Similarly, to balance urban development and control the influx, it is crucial to reinforce city structures, such as by designating specific vending locations and enhancing trash management. The advantages of PM-SVANidhi can only be completely realized with integrated strategy.
In conclusion, PM SVANidhi scheme has played a crucial role in helping street vendors nationwide by giving them financial support, allowing them to maintain their businesses and bounce back from the pandemic’s negative economic effects.
References
- PM SVANidhi (scheme guidelines), 2020, Ministry of Housing and urban affairs. https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/Default/ViewFile/?id=Guideline_English_Svanidhi.pdf&path=MiscFiles
- PM SVANidhi, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/
- PM SVANidhi (PMS – Dashboard), Ministry of Housing And Urban Development. https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/Home/PMSDashboard
- Sinha, A. (2024, December 24). PM SVANidhi Yojana, 2020. IMPRI India. https://www.impriindia.com/insights/pm-svanidhi-yojana/#:~:text=The%20PM%20SVANidhi%20scheme%20has,urban%2C%20and%20rural%20areas%E2%80%8B
- Aggarwal, A. (2022, September 1) PM SVANidhi: Assessing the Hurdles. IMPRI India. https://www.impriindia.com/insights/svanidhi-vendors-street/
- Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. (2023). PM Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme [Fact Sheet].https://pib.gov.in/FactsheetDetails.aspx?Id=149047®=3&lang=1
- PIB Chennai. (2023, October 26). PM-SVANidhi promoting inclusive entrepreneurship.[Press Release].https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1971579
- State Bank of India. (2023). PM SVANidhi: Strengthening Country’s Social Fabric. Economic ResearchDepartment. https://sbi.co.in/documents/13958/36530824/251023-PM+SVANidhi.pdf/0657de1f-93b5-950c-f8e6-57b658b93c89?t=1698212207155
About the Contributor: Dipankar Mazumder is a Research Intern at Impact and Policy Research Institute. He holds a Master’s degree in Sociology and Social Anthropology from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati. Having cleared UGC-NET in Sociology, APSC Civil Services Mains, and APSC CDPO Mains, his passion for social issues and governance continues to guide his career aspirations.
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
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