The economic research department (ERD) of State Bank of India has reported that 43% of the beneficiaries of the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme are females.

This represents a significant boost for the entrepreneurial capabilities of urban women, and makes the Scheme an equalizer in terms of gender empowerment.

About Report

It is a remarkable testament to the power of effective policy schemes that almost 75 percent of loan beneficiaries come from the "non-general category," bringing about transformative changes.
According to a special report by the Economic Research Department, over 70 lakh loans have been disbursed in three tranches (1st tranche: up to ₹10,000; 2nd tranche: up to ₹20,000; and 3rd tranche: up to ₹50,000), which benefited over 53 lakh street vendors, with a total worth exceeding ₹9,100 crore.
The ratio of people who repay the first loan of ₹10,000 and take the second loan of ₹20,000 is 68 percent. The ratio of people who repay the second loan of ₹20,000 and take the third loan of ₹50,000 is 75 percent.
Compared to FY21, the average debit card spending of PM SVANidhi account holders increased by 50 percent to about ₹80,000 in FY23. It means that in just two years, the average annual spending increased by about ₹28,000 with a relatively small amount of seed capital infused into informal urban entrepreneurs.
The first micro-credit scheme for urban poor was supported by public sector banks.
SBI alone disbursed about 31 percent of the total loans. The top five banks, including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, and Canara Bank, accounted for two-thirds of the total disbursement.

About PM SVANidhi Scheme

In order to help street vendors who were negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to restart their businesses, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme on June 01, 2020.
This scheme aims to provide collateral-free working capital loans to street vendors.

Objectives

Facilitate collateral free working capital loan upto ₹10,000, of 1 year tenure, with enhanced loan of ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 in the second and third tranches respectively, on repayments of earlier loans.
One way to encourage people to make regular payments is by offering an interest subsidy at a rate of 7% per year.
Encourage digital transactions by offering cashback up to ₹1,200 per year.

The scheme is fully funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and is classified as a Central Sector Scheme.

The scheme aims to formalize street vendors, providing new economic opportunities.

Eligibility of States/UTs

The Scheme is only available to beneficiaries in States/UTs that have notified rules and schemes under the Street Vendors Act, 2014, for the protection of livelihoods and regulation of street vending.