Lok Sabha Question No. 3273 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-20
Subject: Women Beneficiaries under PM-SVANidhi Scheme
Ministry: HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Navaskani K, Shri Selvam G

## MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3273 TO BE ANSWERED ON MARCH 20, 2025

## WOMEN BENEFICIARIES UNDER PM-SVANIDHI SCHEME

NO. 3273.

SHRI NAVASKANI K: SHRI SELVAM G:

Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  total  number  of  women  street  vendors  availed  benefits  under  PMSVANidhi scheme in Tamil Nadu;
- (b)  The  measures  taken  to  encourage  the  participation  of  women  and marginalized communities under the said scheme;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  introduced  any  special  incentives  or relaxations for SC/ST/OBC and differently-abled street vendors under the said scheme and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  the  details  of  the  interest  subsidy  provided  to  beneficiaries  under  the said  scheme  during  the  last  three  years  and  the  current  year  in  Tamil Nadu;
- (e)  the number of street vendors benefitted from the cashback incentives for digital transactions;
- (f) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  promote  digital payment adoption among street vendors under the said scheme;
- (g)  the  impact  assessment  of  the  said  scheme  on  street  vendors'  income levels and economic stability; and
- (h)  whether the Government proposes to expand the said scheme to include higher loan amounts or additional benefits and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU)

- (a) As  on  12.03.2025,  a  total  of  2,73,576  women  street  vendors  have availed benefits under Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme in Tamil Nadu as per PMSVANidhi Portal.

(b) & (c) PM SVANidhi was launched on June 01, 2020 with the objective to facilitate collateral free working capital loan to the street vendors across the country whose business had been adversely affected due to lockdown. The scheme has been designed to support street vendors across all backgrounds, irrespective of religion, caste, creed, gender, or social status. 45% (around 30.97  lakhs)  of  total  beneficiaries  are  women  street  vendors  and  69%  ( around 43.68 Lakhs) are from marginalized communities (OBC, SC and ST).

(d) The  details  of  interest  subsidy  provided  for  beneficiaries  under  PM SVANidhi Scheme for Tamil Nadu State during last three years are as under:

| Financial Year          | Beneficiaries   |   Interest subsidy (₹ in Cr) |
|-------------------------|-----------------|------------------------------|
| 2021-22                 | 75,070          |                         2.95 |
| 2022-23                 | 17,633          |                         1.85 |
| 2023-24                 | 2,00,284        |                         5.75 |
| 2024-25 (as 12.03.2025) | 19,207          |                         6.21 |

(e)  As  on  January  2025,  a  total  of  45.47  lakh  Street  vendors  are  digitally active conducted 444.55 Crore digital transactions, with a total transaction value  of  ₹4,90,801  Crore  and  amount  of  ₹  164.77  crore  has  been  paid  as cashback for digital transactions.

(f) The Government has taken several measures to promote digital payment adoption among street vendors under the PM SVANidhi scheme. For digital onboarding  and  training  of  PM  SVANidhi  beneficiaries,  a  special  campaign 'Main  Bhi  Digital'  was  launched  from  January  4,  to  February  15,  2021.  To provide  renewed  push  to  digital  transactions,  'Main  Bhi  Digital  2.0'  was launched from July 1, to August 15, 2021. Furthermore, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has partnered with Reserve Bank of India's Payment Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) Scheme & Ministry of Electronics & Information  Technology  (MeitY)  to  digitally  onboard  and  train  PM  SVANidhi beneficiaries. In order to further amplify this initiative, MoHUA&MeitY have jointly launched 'Main Bhi Digital 3.0' on a pilot basis from September 09 to November  30,  2021  under  which  5  DPAs  (Paytm,  PhonePe,  BharatPe, Aceware, Mswipe) were engaged to digitally onboard and train PM SVANidhi beneficiaries  in  223  select  ULBs.  'Main  Bhi  Digital  4.0'-  To  expedite  the digital  on-boarding,  one  week  long  campaign,  along  with  SVANidhi  se Samridhhi  -City  level  camps,  are  being  organized  from  the  first  Monday  of every month starting from February 06, 2023.  As on January, 2025, around 67% of the beneficiaries are digitally active.

…3/-

- (g) Two  evaluation  studies  have  been  conducted  by  Indian  School  of Business (ISB) and State Bank of India (SBI) measuring the impact achieved under the PM SVANidhi scheme and the key findings are given as below:

## 1. Indian Business School

- i. 95% of vendors received their first bank loan, and 72% received
2. their first business loan
- ii. Previously, vendors lacked credit scores and relied on informal
4. credit sources
- iii. Initial loans generated an average monthly return of INR 1,955 (INR 23,460 annually)
- iv. 9% debt-to-income ratio indicates high credit worthiness
- v. 62% experienced improved business regularity with registration cards.

## 2. State Bank of India

- Financial Impact
- i. PM  SVANidhi  is  one  of  the  largest  urban  micro-credit programs globally.
- ii. Promotes  societal  harmony  and  integrates  urban  microentrepreneurs from marginalised segments.
- iii. Average debit card spending increased by 50% post-loan
- disbursement.
- iv. 61%  probability  of  inactive  recipients  becoming  active spenders.
- Behavioural Impact
- i. PM SVANidhi borrowers increased spending by approximately Rs 1500 more than non-borrowers
- ii. Borrowers' spending shifted towards consumeristic avenues, while non-borrowers focused on basic necessities.
- (h) The proposal of expansion/restructuring of PMSVANidhi scheme, which includes  enhanced  loans,  credit  cards  with  ₹30,000  limit  and  capacity building of street vendors, is under consideration of the Government.

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