The Union Cabinet has approved the restructuring and extension of the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme, extending its lending period until March 31, 2030. With a total outlay of Rs 7.33 billion, the restructured scheme aims to benefit 115 million beneficiaries, including 50 million new entrants. The initiative will be jointly implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Department of Financial Services, with the latter facilitating access to loans and credit cards through banks and financial institutions.
Key enhancements include increased loan amounts across the first and second tranches, with the first tranche raised to Rs 15,000 and the second to Rs 25,000. Beneficiaries who repay the second loan will be eligible for a UPI-linked RuPay Credit Card, offering immediate access to credit for business and personal needs. Digital cashback incentives of up to Rs 1,600 will be available for retail and wholesale transactions, promoting digital adoption among street vendors.
The scheme’s coverage will expand beyond statutory towns to include census towns and peri-urban areas. Capacity-building efforts will focus on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, digital skills, and marketing. Hygiene and food safety training will be provided to street food vendors in partnership with FSSAI.
The ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ component will be strengthened through monthly Lok Kalyan Melas, ensuring saturation-level delivery of government benefits to vendors and their families. Since its launch in June 2020, PM SVANidhi has disbursed over 96 million loans amounting to Rs 13.797 billion to more than 68 million street vendors. Nearly 47 million digitally active beneficiaries have conducted over 557 crore digital transactions worth Rs 6.09 trillion, earning Rs 241 crore in cashback.
Under the ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ initiative, 46 million beneficiaries across 3,564 Urban Local Bodies have been profiled, resulting in over 138 million scheme sanctions. The scheme has received national recognition, including the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration (2023) and the Silver Award for Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering for Digital Transformation (2022).
The extension of PM SVANidhi is expected to empower street vendors with reliable finance, foster inclusive economic growth, and transform urban spaces into vibrant, self-sustaining ecosystems.
