Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday, 2 June 2026 shared an article on X highlighting how the PM SVANidhi scheme is bringing India's street vendors into the formal economy, amplifying the government's narrative on urban financial inclusion ahead of the scheme's sixth anniversary.

Context

The post, shared via the NaMo App, carried the headline 'पीएम स्वानिधि: कैसे भारत के स्ट्रीट वेंडर्स औपचारिक अर्थव्यवस्था से जुड़ रहे हैं' ('PM SVANidhi: How India's street vendors are being brought into the formal economy'). Singh's decision to amplify the story comes just a day after the scheme completed its sixth year since launch on 1 June 2020.

PM SVANidhi — formally the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi scheme — was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat stimulus package during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, with the explicit goal of restoring the livelihoods of millions of urban street vendors who had lost income overnight.

Policy Backdrop

The scheme provides collateral-free working capital loans in graduated tranches: an initial loan of up to Rs 10,000, a second tranche of up to Rs 20,000, and a third tranche of up to Rs 50,000 — each unlocked upon timely repayment of the previous loan. Vendors are also incentivised through cashback rewards for adopting digital payment platforms, directly linking the scheme to the government's broader push for a less-cash economy.

The nodal implementing body is the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which works through urban local bodies to identify, certify and onboard eligible vendors. The scheme has been progressively integrated with PM Jan Dhan Yojana and the PM Mudra Yojana ecosystem, enabling beneficiaries to build a formal credit history that was previously inaccessible to them.

Stakeholders and Impact

India's street vending population — estimated in the tens of millions — has historically operated entirely outside the formal financial system, relying on moneylenders at usurious rates. PM SVANidhi targets this segment directly, offering institutional credit at subsidised interest rates with a 7 per cent per annum interest subsidy credited to beneficiary accounts.

Beyond credit access, enrolment under the scheme links vendors to the e-Shram portal and other social protection programmes, creating a layered safety net. Urban local bodies benefit from cleaner data on the informal vending economy, which in turn aids city planning and hawking zone policy.

What's Next

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is expected to publish quarterly progress reports on loan disbursal targets and repayment rates. Parliamentary scrutiny is likely during the upcoming monsoon session, with questions anticipated on coverage gaps in states with large vending populations such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal.

Singh's amplification of the scheme's narrative, though he heads the Ministry of Textiles rather than the nodal ministry, signals the BJP's intent to keep welfare-to-formalisation messaging prominent across its ministerial ranks as the government approaches mid-term. The scheme's trajectory — from pandemic relief to a structural formalisation tool — will be watched closely by urban economists and opposition benches alike.