SDG 1 – No Poverty

• Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance

SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
• Target 8.6: By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training
• Target 8.10: Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all

SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities

• Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
• Target 10.b: Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes

In June 2020, amidst the severe economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi). Designed as a ‘Special Micro-Credit Facility’, the programme provides vital working capital to Street Vendors (SVs) operating in urban areas with the aim of helping them restart their businesses, which were adversely affected due to the pandemic.

The initiative provides these informal workers with access to working capital loans of up to INR 80,000, which are disbursed progressively across three tranches. To reduces the effective cost of borrowing, making credit more affordable for economically vulnerable vendors, the programme incorporates a 7 per cent annual interest subsidy. This subsidy is provided to street vendors on a quarterly basis upon timely repayment of their loan, directly credited to the beneficiaries’ bank account.

To mitigate the risk faced by Lending Institutions (LIs), the scheme offers credit guarantee coverage through the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE). This structural support ensures that banks and financial institutions are protected against potential loan defaults, encouraging them to lend confidently to street vendors without demanding collateral, which is often a major barrier for informal workers in accessing formal credit.

Crucially, the programme transcends conventional micro-finance to function as a comprehensive vehicle for economic inclusion. Through the ‘SVANidhi Se Samriddhi’ (SSS) initiative, which is currently active across 3,564 Urban Local Bodies with plans for universal expansion, the scheme systematically profiles beneficiaries and their families to seamlessly link them to eight existing socio-economic welfare schemes of the Government of India for their socio-economic upliftment. By deliberately coupling livelihood-sustaining credit with social safety nets, the initiative distinguishes itself from purely financial interventions.

Specific approaches to reach and support vulnerable groups:

• Targeting the Urban Informal Economy: The programme explicitly targets street vendors, a highly vulnerable and often marginalised demographic.
• Occupational Formalisation and Protection: To formalise their status and protect them from undue harassment, the scheme issues a SVANidhi Beneficiary Parichay Board (SBPB) to every beneficiary. Displayed at their vending sites, these boards provide crucial occupational visibility and a formal sense of identity.

Finally, the scheme serves as a vital stepping stone within India’s broader financial architecture: by helping entirely unbanked street vendors build a formal credit history, it enables them to eventually graduate to larger enterprise loans under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).

Lessons Learned from the Implementation of PM SVANidhi:

• Demand-based identification must be backed by robust local validation: To ensure that only genuine SVs are covered under the scheme, demand-driven identification has been supported through verifiable means, such as a LoR issued by ULBs, SVs surveys, or Town Vending Committee records. This enhances the credibility and inclusiveness of the beneficiary list.
• Digital inclusion and paperless processes improve transparency and reduce exclusion errors: The adoption of end-to-end digital workflows, including online application, verification, sanctioning, and disbursement, ensures transparency, traceability, and efficiency, while reducing the chances of manual errors and beneficiary exclusion.
• Timely API integration with Lending Institutions ensures smoother loan processing: Seamless digital integration via APIs between the PM SVANidhi portal and various LIs allows for faster approval, minimal data duplication, and real-time application tracking, improving service delivery for beneficiaries.
• Real-time monitoring helps detect and address bottlenecks early: A centralized dashboard and Management Information System enable ULBs and financial institutions to monitor application status, disbursement progress, and repayment behaviour, thereby helping to identify gaps and delays proactively.
• Grievance redressal via call centres and field facilitation reduces delays and builds trust: A responsive and accessible grievance redressal mechanism, through dedicated call centres and on-ground facilitation teams, helps address issues promptly, ensuring vendor confidence and reducing dropouts from the process.
• E-commerce integration and digital onboarding can significantly enhance market access: Linking street vendors to digital commerce platforms and online payment systems not only modernizes their operations but also expands their customer base, improving their income potential and resilience.
• Training and capacity-building are essential for uptake of digital tools and financial services: Continuous efforts to train vendors in digital literacy, financial management, and entrepreneurial skills are key to ensuring that they fully benefit from the scheme and sustain their livelihoods in a competitive urban environment.

Inclusive credit, insurance and financial services; Multilevel governance

In India:

• National Institution of Urban Affairs (NIUA)
• Reserve Bank of India (RBl)
• NITI Aayog

Decentralised, Multi-Level, and Multi-Sectoral Approach. The scheme involves the following stakeholders:

• Central Policy Oversight: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) provides the overarching policy direction while. It coordinates with states, develops implementation guidelines, and operates the PM SVANidhi portal for real-time monitoring and inter-agency coordination.
• Decentralised Implementation: Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) act as the primary implementing agencies at the city level. They are responsible for beneficiary identification, verification, issuing Letters of Recommendation, and facilitating digital and financial inclusion through local field teams and support centres.
• Multi-Sectoral Financial Integration: Lending Institutions (Commercial banks, NBFCs, and MFI) play a critical role in providing collateral-free loans, integrated digitally via APIs for rapid processing and disbursement.
• Technology and Payment Partners: These stakeholders enable paperless processing, digital onboarding, UPI integration, and e-commerce linkages to promote financial and market access inclusion.

The initiative has achieved significant scale across urban centres, highlighted by the following statistics:

• Total number of beneficiaries covered (as of March 2026): 6.8 million (68 lakh).
• Total number of loans disbursed: 9.24 million (92.4 lakh).
• Urban population coverage: The scheme has reached approximately 1.3 per cent of the total urban population.

Projected Total Cost of the Policy: INR 36.18 billion (3,618 crore)

• Credit Guarantee: INR 19.69 billion (1,969.25 crore)
• Interest Subsidy: INR 5.39 billion (539 crore)
• Incentives for digital transactions: INR 6.54 billion (654 crore)
• Convergence & Social Welfare: INR 2.00 billion (200 crore)
• Professional services & Admin cost: INR 1.07 billion (107 crore)
• Capacity Building: INR 0.135 billion (13.5 crore)
• Parichay Board: INR 1.353 billion (135.3 crore)

Cost per beneficiary: INR 5,320

To ensure efficiency and transparency, the programme is underpinned by an integrated IT platform comprising a dedicated web portal, comprehensive analytical dashboards, and a mobile application.  This unified system streamlines the entire credit lifecycle, facilitating application generation, e-KYC (electronic Know Your Customer) verification, the issuance of Letters of Recommendation (LoRs), and final loan disbursement.

The MIS enables real-time daily, weekly, and monthly progress tracking, which has successfully reduced the overall processing cycle to just 20 days. Furthermore, this digital infrastructure is supported by an integrated call centre designed to address beneficiary grievances within 24 hours, a highly effective feedback loop that has drastically reduced outstanding complaints to an average of just four per month.

https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/