P. Sarojini’
Uttar Pradesh, India (CWBN)_ Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the street vendors of Uttar Pradesh and the role played by them in the state’s economy. He appreciated the street vendors for their contribution in the state’s economy and also appreciated the banks for supporting them. During an interaction with PM SVANidhi Scheme beneficiaries of Uttar Pradesh, the PM said that the maximum number of applications for the microcredit facility under the PM SVANidhi scheme has come from Uttar Pradesh. He added that among the 25 lakh applications received so far, around 6.5 lakh applications are from UP and around 12 lakh applications have been approved. Also, the PM announced that the stamp duty has been waived off for the loan agreements under this scheme.
The PM discussed on the major problems faced by the poor and the street vendors and stated that in the past even the employed workers had to struggle , while applying for bank loans and the weaker category never had a choice for bank loans. But the current situation is different. Things have changed drastically. Now, the banks themselves reach the poor and the needy with their services. Today, even the poor can avail hassle-free loans from the banks. The PM appreciated mainly the efforts by the banks and their services for the success in providing uninterrupted loan services to the needy.
The Prime Minister highlighted the facts on how the poor community was affected during the coronavirus pandemic. He said that when the pandemic hit India, the most affected was the poor and the street vendors. The PM recalled his PM Garib Kalyan package worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore and said that many were benefitted through this scheme. He said that government took numerous measures to reduce the pain of the poor during the pandemic and to resume their livelihoods. He noted that the PM SVANidhi scheme was one such measure taken by the government especially for the street vendors affected by pandemic. He said that these measures were also an effort to keep the economy active.
Moreover, the PM SVANidhi scheme offers the street vendors a working capital loan up to INR 10,000 at a subsidised rate of interest. The government had also arranged for a regular repayment of the loan and rewarded digital transactions too. It was also announced that an interest subsidy of 7 per cent will be credited back on timely repayment of the loan and the vendors can also avail the allowance of increased credit limit, if they repay the loan on time. It was said that this was the first relief measure taken by the country to support the street vendors especially. These relief measures not only help the street vendors in resuming their lives from the pandemic, but also encourage them to actively involve and improve their business in future as well.
