Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had introduced Prime Minister Street Vendor‘s AmtaNirbhar Nidhi Scheme, popularly known as PM SVANidhi Yojana on 1 June 2020 to empower street hawkers by providing loans to them.
Benefits of PM SVANidhi Scheme
The scheme provides collateral free working capital loans of up to Rs. 10,000 of one-year tenure, to more than 50 lakh street vendors across India who had been affected badly due to Covid-19 lockdown and helps them to restart their business.
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Interest subsidy at 7% per year on regular repayment of loan
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Cashback of upto Rs. 1200 per year on undertaking prescribed digital transactions
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Eligibility for enhanced next tranche of loans
For administration, an end-to-end solution has been created in collaboration with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) (implementation partner for the scheme).
It must be noted that loan processing under PM SVANidhi had commenced on 22nd July 2020. As on 16th February 2021, over 37.3 lakh applications have been received under this yojana. Out of these, over 19.6 lakh loans have been approved and 14.6 lakh loans have been distributed.
Rates of Interest Offered by Banks to Avail Loan under PM SVANidhi
The rate of Interest on loans to street vendors being offered by few private banks for availing SVANidhi scheme are high.
SBI
State Bank of India, country's biggest lender offers 9.9% interest rate under PM SVANidhi yojana.
Punjab National Bank
Punjab National Bank (PNB)'s interest rate is slightly low i.e. at 6.9%.
Union Bank of India
Union Bank of India provides 7.3% rate of interest.
UCO Bank
UCO Bank offers 8.5%
Indian Overseas Bank
Indian Overseas Bank provides 8.1% interest rate.
Indian Bank
Indian Bank offers rate of interest at 13.5 %
Bank of Baroda
Bank of Baroda provides 12.7% rate of interest.
As mentioned above that some state-owned banks high interest rates for beneficiaries under SVANidhi yojana, many others also insist on credit ratings of those seeking loans. Interestingly, most of the street vendors do not even have bank accounts.
PNB, SBI and Bank of Baroda insist on credit score of a minimum of 650 & above. Banks like UCO and Indian Overseas Bank don't insist on credit score and the remaining banks like Canara Bank and Indian Bank though don't demand credit score but they do check street vendors' credit history to see whether they are nonpayers or not, before providing loans.
How to apply for PM SVANidhi Scheme
Street vendors can apply directly on the PM SVANidhi website – https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/
Or through a nearby Common Service Centre (CSC)-
