Shaik Fareed is a small vendor in the distrct headquarters town. The spread of corona pandemic turned his life upside down and he does not know what to do as taking loan from outside will cost him huge interest. Luckily, a ray of hope came his way. He was one among the few who attended a programme held at Collectorate on Friday where Finance Minister T. Harish Rao has extended a loan of ₹10,000 to each vendor under Atma Nirbhar Bharat, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi few weeks ago. Under this scheme, loans are being extended to street vendors in urban areas. Now Shaik Fareed, aged 50, who sells onions and potatos, wants to sell vegetables too after getting the bank loan.
Union Bank of India, State Bank of India and Andhra Pradesh Grameen Vikas Bank have came forward to extend loans to the street vendors. Each vendor will be extended a loan amount of ₹10,000 on interest rate of 7%. The vendors have to repay the amount within in one year in 12 instalments with each instalment coming to about ₹945. e district administration has identified as many as 5,978 small vendors as eligible for these loans. This can be extended to another 1,500 vendors. “These loans are aimed at bringing life into the lives small vendors. Use the loans for a purpose and repay them in time. The bankers will be ready to double your loan amount once you repay the old loan. Do not waste the money. ₹6 crore is ready for this purpose,” said Mr. Harish Rao while addressing the meeting. The Minister directed the officials to create QR code for each vendor so that they can make digital transactions. The Minister informed the vendors that every 200 digital transactions a day will get them a bonus of ₹100 from the banks. The Minister urged Additional Collector Rajarshi Sha to identify the beneficiaries and extend loans. Lok Sabha member B.B. Patil, MLA Ch. Kranthi Kiran, Collector M. Hanumantha Rao, Zilla Parishad Chairperson P. Manju Sree and others were present.
