SRINAGAR: As part of efforts to protect the livelihood of street vendors in Sopore, 258 vendors have availed working-capital loans under the PM Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has informed the Legislative Assembly.
The disclosure was made by the Housing and Urban Development Department in reply to a question tabled by Sopore MLA Irshad Rasool Kar.
The Government said a survey and identification exercise had been undertaken by the Municipal Council Sopore to identify eligible street vendors and facilitate their coverage under various government schemes.
Under PM SVANidhi, vendors are being provided collateral-free working-capital loans in three tranches. The Government said the scheme now provides loans of Rs 15,000 in the first tranche, Rs 25,000 in the second and Rs 50,000 in the third, taking the potential total credit to Rs 90,000.
The lending period of the scheme, originally launched in June 2020, has been extended up to March 31, 2030, according to the Government reply.
Of the 258 Sopore vendors who availed the loan facility, 157 are digitally active, while the Government has also reported disbursement of loans, release of interest subsidy and payment of cashback under the scheme. The figures supplied in the reply indicate Rs 0.84 crore in loans disbursed, Rs 0.04 crore in interest subsidy released and Rs 0.01 crore in cashback paid.
The Government said the scheme also facilitates access to UPI-linked credit cards, incentives for digital transactions, capacity-building support and linkages with social-security schemes.
Under the SVANidhi se Samriddhi component, 181 street vendors and 559 family members have been profiled for coverage under eight socio-economic and welfare schemes.
The profiling has resulted in 244 eligible beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, 364 under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, 32 under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, 70 under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana, one under One Nation One Ration Card, and four under Janani Suraksha Yojana. The supplied Government table also lists the Building and Other Construction Workers Act registration and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, with no beneficiaries shown against those entries.
The Municipal Council, the Government said, is also working on systematic regulation of street vending and identification or development of suitable vending spaces, while seeking to maintain public convenience, traffic movement and cleanliness.
Eligible vendors are being facilitated in obtaining vending certificates and identity cards, while awareness and facilitation camps are organised to inform them about government schemes, digital payments, financial inclusion and other welfare measures.
The Government said that while regulating vending activities, efforts were being made to ensure that eligible vendors were not deprived of their legitimate source of livelihood and that vending was managed in a planned and orderly manner.
