Nagpur: 96,777 street vendors get PM SVANidhi loans, 56,580 repay in full

The PM SVANidhi scheme has become a major support for roadside handcart vendors and hawkers in Nagpur. Over more than six years, more than Rs 153 crore has reached the city's hawkers and handcart vendors through the scheme. Its aim is to provide money to small traders so they can keep their business going and expand it.

The figures were provided by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation to RTI activist Abhay Kolhatkar. They show that the corporation's social development department has extended financial assistance to a total of 96,777 hawkers. The total amount comes to Rs 1,53,57,04,129.

According to the social development department, a large number of applications came in under the scheme between June 1, 2020 and August 31, 2026. In other words, thousands of small traders in Nagpur turned to the scheme over this period of about six and a half years.

Under the scheme, the loan is not given at one go but in stages. In the first stage, the beneficiary receives Rs 10,000. In the second stage the amount is Rs 20,000, and in the third stage Rs 50,000.

Most significantly, 56,580 of these beneficiaries have repaid their entire loan and had their loan accounts closed. According to the information received from the municipal corporation, these hawkers and handcart vendors followed the guidelines framed by banks for disbursing the money.

Thus, of the 96,777 beneficiaries in Nagpur, 56,580 have become financially self-reliant and fully paid off their loans. The scheme appears to be opening a new path to financial stability in the lives of ordinary small traders in Nagpur district.

The growing number of hawkers repaying on time shows that hardworking people can stand on their own feet if they get financial support at the right time. Such people can also make an important contribution to strengthening the local economy.