For a small-time vegetable vendor Boya Bhagyamma at Ramnagar in Anantapur, the day starts even before the dawn breaks. Leaving behind her children at home, Bhagyamma, along with two other women, hire an autorickshaw at around 3 a.m. to fetch fresh vegetables from the Ananthasagaram Tank Bund, where wholesalers stock produce by midnight.
She goes back with half a dozen sacks of leafy and other vegetables. Every morning, she comes with ₹3,000 in her purse, but at times falls short by a few hundreds when there is a sudden increase in the price of goods.
At any given time, she needs to maintain a stock of vegetables worth ₹20,000 at her shack. In addition to commuting charges, capital investment in buying the plastic display/storage baskets, weighing machine, she needs working capital for buying stock daily and paying for the transport. For a vendor like her, the PM’s Street Vendor Atmanirbhar Nidhi scheme came in handy.
Funded by the Central Government, PM SVANidhi is useful for street vendors and hawkers on the roadside, says District Collector Gandham Chandrudu. Under the scheme, the beneficiaries get ₹10,000 from the district administration. In addition to food joints, stationery and apparel stores et al, barbershops, pan shops, laundry services are also eligible for the scheme.
Impact of lockdown on vendors
“The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns have adversely impacted the livelihoods of street vendors. They usually work with a small capital base and might have consumed it during the lockdown. We, therefore, identified it as an urgent need to provide credit for working capital to street vendors to resume their businesses,” said the Collector.
By August-end, Anantapur district, with 76.72% of targeted loans disbursed, topped the three districts chosen in Andhra Pradesh. In all, 939 loans have been sanctioned and ₹93.9 lakh disbursed from the banks and the district has a target of 2,098 beneficiaries and got 1,224 applications so far.
The remaining applicants would also be given loans by September-end, he added. Kadapa district with ₹72.5 lakh and Kurnool with ₹60.3 lakh disbursement were the other districts in the State. Those districts will be attempting to disburse loans to 1,721 and 1,802 beneficiaries under the scheme.
Objective
The aim of the scheme is to incentivise regular repayment and to reward digital transactions. Vendors engaged in the business in urban areas on or before March 24, are eligible if they possess a Certificate of Vending / Identity Card issued by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). A survey has been done and those not having IDs but in genuine need, will also be included in this.
Interest subsidy of 7% is given to vendors availing loan under the scheme to all the eligible.
