Uttar Pradesh has disbursed loans to nearly 2.6 lakh street vendors under a scheme launched by the Centre in June to help street vendors and hawkers affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, the State government said on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a virtual dialogue with the beneficiaries of the ‘PM Street Vendors Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme (SVANidhi scheme)’ from the State on Tuesday.
The State government said Uttar Pradesh had secured the first rank in all three categories under the scheme — applications, sanctions and disbursal of loans.
Till October 26, loans had been disbursed to 2.59 lakh beneficiaries. While 6.4 lakh applications were submitted, loans were sanctioned to 3.62 lakh vendors.
Deepak Kumar, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, said there were 3,050 registered vending zones in the 651 urban local bodies in the State. More than 7.78 lakh vendors had been identified in these zones.
While the State has more than 6.68 lakh registered vendors, the government said it had issued certificates to 4.70 lakh vendors.
