Parliament Question: Assistance and Incentives under PM SVANidhi Scheme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 276 TO BE ANSWERED ON AUGUST 06, 2026 ASSISTANCE AND INCENTIVES UNDER PM SVANIDHI SCHEME NO. 276 SHRI BIPLAB KUMAR DEB: Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) the details of the assistance and incentives extended to beneficiaries under the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme; (b) the measures undertaken to improve financial inclusion and access to institutional credit for street vendors; (c) whether any assessment has been made with regard to the impact of the scheme on the livelihood of street vendors, particularly in Tripura and if so, the details thereof; and (d) the initiatives undertaken to expand the outreach of the scheme? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI MANOHAR LAL) (a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 276 (16TH POSITION) FOR ANSWER ON 06.08.2026 REGARDING “ASSISTANCE AND INCENTIVES UNDER PM SVANIDHI SCHEME” (a): Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme was launched on 1st June, 2020 with the objective of facilitating collateral free working capital term loans to urban street vendors. Under the restructured scheme which was approved by the Union Cabinet in August 2025, working capital term loans are provided to the street vendors in three tranches of up to ₹15,000, ₹25,000, and ₹50,000 for repayment in 12 months, 18 months, and 36 months respectively through monthly instalments. As on 12th July, 2026, 76.95 lakh street vendors have availed 1.15 crore collateral-free loans amounting to ₹18,475.06 crore under the Scheme. To incentivise regular repayment, 7% interest subsidy is provided on regular repayment of loans under the scheme. Under the restructured scheme, UPI-linked RuPay Credit Card has been introduced for beneficiaries who have repaid the second loan tranche. Further, to promote digital adoption, street vendor beneficiaries are incentivized with a cashback of up to ₹100 per month for a period of 12 months (maximum digital incentive of ₹1200), for every tranche of loan provided to the street vendor. The restructured scheme also provisions for cashback of maximum ₹100 per quarter for 4 quarters (maximum incentive of ₹400) to street vendor beneficiaries for conducting digital transactions on wholesale purchases of at least ₹2,000. ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ component under the PM SVANidhi Scheme, was launched on 04 January, 2021, to build social security net for the beneficiaries and their family members. This facilitates linkages to eight selected Central Government welfare schemes. As on 12th July 2026, socio economic profiling is completed for 50.63 lakh PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and a total of 1.56 crore scheme sanctions have been extended to them. (b): Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme is implemented to improve financial inclusion and access to institutional credit for Street Vendors. Under the Scheme, eligible street vendors are provided collateral-free working capital loans in three progressive tranches of up to ₹15,000, ₹25,000 and ₹50,000. Street vendors move to the next tranche upon timely repayment, enabling them to avail themselves of the next higher loan tranche. To reduce the cost of borrowing and encourage repayment, the Scheme provides an interestsubsidy of 7% per annum on timely repayment of loans. Further, credit guarantee cover is provided to lending institutions and credit card issuers to mitigate credit risk, and encourage them to extend collateral- free credit with greater confidence. UPI-linked RuPay Credit Cards have been introduced for beneficiaries who have repaid the second loan tranche, providing them with further access to credit to meet their immediate business/financial needs. Applications are received through the PM SVANidhi Portal and PM SVANidhi Mobile App. Officials of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Blocks assist eligible street vendors in availing loans and credit cards under the Scheme. (c): In Tripura, since scheme inception till 12th July 2026, 6,202 street vendors have availed 9,517 collateral-free loans amounting to ₹15.88 crore. Impact assessment studies of the PM SVANidhi Scheme were undertaken by Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad in 2023 & 2025. The 2023 study was conducted in 100 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the country covering more than 5,000 beneficiaries and it found that PM SVANidhi was the first loan from a bank for 95% of the beneficiaries. The 2025 study was conducted in 99 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the country covering more than 5,000 beneficiaries (with around 60% of the respondents being part of the 2023 study sample) and it found that the average annualized business income among SVANidhi borrowers grew by around 20 percent, between 2023 and 2025. Around 30 percent of borrowers across all cycles reported holding loans other than PM SVANidhi loans which underscores the scheme’s role in building credit histories for vendors who previously had little or no access to formal credit. The study also found the scheme’s impact extends well beyond business recovery. By easing credit constraints and stabilizing household cash flows, the scheme has enabled vendor families to improve living conditions, strengthen food security, enhance access to health-care, and support children’s education. (d): The PM SVANidhi Scheme was initially implemented in statutory urban areas. The eligibility was also extended to street vendors from surrounding peri-urban areas who vend within the geographical limits of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). Under the restructured PM SVANidhi Scheme, the coverage of the scheme is expanded beyond statutory urban areas to include census towns, peri-urban areas etc in a graded manner.To ensure wider inclusion of street vendor beneficiaries, the Ministry has undertaken several initiatives, including periodic awareness campaigns through radio jingles, television and newspaper advertisements. States and Union Territories are also regularly provided with Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials in local languages to facilitate outreach and dissemination of scheme benefits among street vendors. Regular reviews are also conducted with States/UTs/ULBs and banks /lending institutions. Under the scheme, MoHUA has organized various campaigns and events to enhance outreach to street vendors. After the approval of the restructured PM SVANidhi Scheme on 27th August 2025, Lok Kalyan Melas have been organized from time to time in ULBs across all States/UTs. These Melas promote awareness about the new features of the scheme and support vendor mobilisation, loan application submission, faster loan disbursement, and digital onboarding of beneficiaries. ULBs, in collaboration with Digital Payment Aggregators (DPAs), also conduct regular digital literacy camps. To enhance digital onboarding and promote the adoption of cashless payments among street vendors, beneficiaries are provided cashback incentives. *****