In August 2025, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi approved the restructuring and extension of the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme, extending its lending period from December 31, 2024, to March 31, 2030.
Exam Hints:
- What? Cabinet approved restructuring of PM SVANidhi scheme
- New Deadline: March 31, 2030 from December 31, 2024
- Financial outlay: Rs. 7332 crores
- Implementation: MoHUA, DFS(MoF)
- Revised Tranches: 1st – Rs. 15,000, 2nd tranche – Rs. 25,000, 3rd tranche – 50,000
- Credit Access: UPI-linked RuPay Credit Card
- Cashback incentives: Rs. 1,600
About PM SVANidhi scheme:
Launched in: It is a central-sector micro-credit scheme launched on 1st June 2020 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to provide handholding support to street vendors.
- The scheme facilitates a working capital collateral-free loan of Rs. 10,000, with subsequent loans of Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 50,000 with a 7% interest subsidy.
Milestone: As of July 30, 2025 over 96 lakh loans amounting to Rs 13,797 crore have been disbursed to more than 68 lakh street vendors,
- Nearly 47 lakh digitally active beneficiaries have conducted over 557 crore digital transactions worth Rs. 6.09 lakh crore, earning a total cashback of Rs. 241 crores.
- Under the ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ initiative, 46 lakh beneficiaries across 3,564 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) were profiled, enabling over 1.38 crore scheme sanctions.
Awards received: The scheme has won the PM’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration (2023) for Innovation (Central Level) and the Silver Award for Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering for Digital Transformation (2022).
Highlights of the Approval:
Outlay: The decision involves a budgetary provision of Rs. 7,332 crore and will extend benefits to about 1.15 crore street vendors, including 50 lakh first-time recipients.
Implementation: The scheme is a joint responsibility of MoHUA and the Department of Financial Services (DFS), under the Ministry of Finance(MoF).
- The MoHUA will act as the main coordinating authority for the scheme.
- The DFS will facilitate the access to loans and credit cards through banks and financial institutions.
About Restructured PM SVANidhi Scheme:
Enhanced Loan Slabs: The loan slabs have been revised in the restructured scheme.
- The 1st tranche has been increased to Rs. 15,000 from the earlier Rs. 10,000.
- The 2nd tranche is enhanced to Rs. 25,000 from Rs. 20,000 and the 3rd tranche remains unchanged at Rs. 50,000.
Credit Access via RuPay Card:The introduction of Unified Payments Interface(UPI)-linked RUPAY Credit card would provide immediate access of credit to the street vendors in order to meet any emergent business and personal requirements.
Cashback Incentives: In order to encourage digital adoption, street vendors will now be able to earn cash back incentives of up to Rs. 1,600 on retail and wholesale transactions.
Expanded Coverage: The coverage of the scheme is also being expanded beyond the statutory towns to include census towns and peri-urban areas in a phased manner.
Capacity building measures: It also focuses on building the capacity of the street vendors with a focus on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, digital skills, and marketing through convergence.
- Standardized hygiene and food safety training programs will be organized for street food vendors in collaboration with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Component enhanced: The ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ component is being strengthened to ensure convergence with other government schemes.
- Monthly Lok Kalyan Melas (Public welfare fair) will be organised to link beneficiaries and their families with welfare programmes.
About Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA):
Union Minister- Manohar Lal Khattar (Constituency- Karnal, Haryana) Minister of State (MoS)– Tokhan Sahu (Constituency- Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh)
