Lok Sabha Question No. 3326 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-12
Subject: PM SVANidhi Loans
Ministry: HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Asaduddin Owaisi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3326

## TO BE ANSWERED ON MARCH 12, 2026

## PM SVANIDHI LOANS

## NO. 3326.  SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI:

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

- (a) the total number of identified street vendors eligible for PM SVANidhi loans as of January 2026;
- (b) the percentage of such identified street vendors who have successfully accessed PM SVANidhi loans as of January 2026, Statewise;
- (c) whether the Government has received complaints regarding exclusion  of  migrant  and  seasonal  vendors  from  PM  SVANidhi surveys and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken for their inclusion and revision of vendor lists;
- (d) whether the Government is aware of barriers such as poor digital literacy,  delayed  loan  disbursement  and  inadequate  awareness among  informal  vendors  preventing  widespread  utilisation  of  the scheme;
- (e) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  steps  taken  by  the Government to overcome these barriers; and
- (f) whether the Government proposes to introduce offline application channels,  community-based  grievance  redressal  mechanisms  and targeted awareness campaigns in vernacular languages to ensure inclusive access to PM SVANidhi loans for all eligible street vendors and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c): The identification of street vendors is carried out by States/UTs through  surveys  conducted  under  the  provisions  of  the  Street  Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. The responsibility for conducting surveys, issuing Certificates of Vending etc. rests with the respective Urban Local Bodies and State/UT Governments. The  PM  SVANidhi  is  a  demand  driven  scheme,  wherein  eligible  street vendors,  including  migrant  and  seasonal  vendors,  who  seek  working capital support apply for loans on the PM SVANidhi portal or PM SVANidhi mobile app. Since the inception of PM SVANidhi scheme till 31 st  January 2026,  the  number  of  street  vendors  who  have  availed  loans  under  the scheme is 72.71 lakh.

(d) to (f): To ensure effective implementation of the scheme, the Ministry has undertaken following steps:

To  spread  the  awareness  of  PM  SVANidhi  Scheme  across  the country, M/o. Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has undertaken several initiatives, including periodic awareness campaigns through radio jingles, television, social media 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.  Further, following the restructuring of the scheme, SMS messages were sent to around 69 lakh beneficiaries to inform them about the new features and benefits introduced under the scheme.

After the approval of the restructured PM SVANidhi scheme on 27 th August  2025,  Lok  Kalyan  Melas  were  organized  in  ULBs  from  17 th September 2025 to 15 th   October 2025. These Melas promoted the new features of the schemes  and  supported  vendor  mobilization, loan application submission, faster loan disbursement, and digital onboarding of beneficiaries. A special  campaign  across  all  States  and  Union Territories was also undertaken from 3rd November 2025 to 2nd December 2025 for clearing pendency at both the bank and Urban Local Body (ULB) levels.

Urban  Local  Bodies  (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.

MoHUA along with Department of Financial Services (DFS) conducts regular review meetings with States/UTs/ULBs/Lending Institutions (LIs) to assess the ground level performance and address the issue, if any.

The PM SVANidhi mobile application has a voice-based grievance redressal system that allows vendors to easily submit their grievances. The street vendors also approach ULBs and banks directly for grievance redressal.

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