On July 18, 2024, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organized a significant event titled “Utkrishtata ki Ore Badhte Kadam: Celebrating Achievements, Inspiring Excellence,” to honor the best performers under the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Yojana and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM). The event was graced by Shri Manohar Lal, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, who expressed his gratitude to all stakeholders, including Central Ministries, State Governments, Urban Local Bodies, Lending Institutions, and partners, for their immense contribution to the success of these initiatives.
Event Highlights
The event witnessed the presence of key dignitaries, including Shri Tokhan Sahu, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, and Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, MoHUA, along with senior officials from various government bodies, lending institutions, digital payment aggregators, key partners, and beneficiaries of DAY-NULM and PM SVANidhi.
Achievements and Launches
During the event, notable achievements of the PM SVANidhi and DAY-NULM initiatives were showcased. A compendium featuring inspiring stories of DAY-NULM beneficiaries and the Annual Report of PM SVANidhi, detailing the various initiatives and reforms undertaken in the past year, were released. Additionally, Shri Manohar Lal launched new features of the PM SVANidhi mobile application, including a voice-based grievance tool, a chatbot, and an e-Parichay card. These enhancements aim to streamline user experience by enabling convenient voice-based complaint submission, efficient query resolution, and easy access to the Parichay Board, thereby empowering PM SVANidhi beneficiaries.
Recognition of Excellence
The event also served as an opportunity to recognize and honor the exemplary contributions of key stakeholders in the successful implementation of PM SVANidhi and DAY-NULM initiatives. States, urban local bodies, and lending institutions that demonstrated exceptional performance were awarded the PRAISE and SPARK awards. In particular, the ‘Best Performing States – Loan Performance’ award category highlighted outstanding achievements across various state categories:
- Large States
- 1st Place: Madhya Pradesh
- 2nd Place: Andhra Pradesh
- 3rd Place: Punjab
- Small States & UTs
- 1st Place: Ladakh
- 2nd Place: Puducherry
- Hilly and North Eastern States
- 1st Place: Assam
- 2nd Place: Sikkim
- Special Awards for Outstanding Performance
- 1st Place: Maharashtra
- 2nd Place: Uttar Pradesh
These accolades celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of the year 2023-24 and the tireless efforts of all involved stakeholders.
Expert Panel Discussions
Two expert panel discussions were convened during the event to chart the future course of DAY-NULM and PM SVANidhi. The discussions focused on critical topics such as “The Role of Partnerships for Sustainable Urban Poverty Alleviation” for DAY-NULM and “Creating Inclusive Spaces for Street Vendors in City Planning and Exploring Financial Partnerships” for PM SVANidhi. These discussions brought together diverse perspectives to enhance the development and impact of these programs.
About PM SVANidhi Scheme
Launched on June 1, 2020, the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme is a central sector initiative that provides collateral-free working capital loans of up to ₹80,000 to urban street vendors. The scheme incentivizes regular repayment with a 7% interest subsidy and rewards digital transactions with cashback up to ₹1,200 per year. It extends benefits to vendors from surrounding rural and peri-urban areas and employs an Aadhaar-based e-KYC system with an end-to-end IT platform. As of July 17, 2024, more than 86 lakh loans, totaling over INR 11,680 crores, have been disbursed to almost 65 lakh street vendors across India.
About DAY-NULM
The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), launched on September 24, 2013, by MoHUA, aims to reduce poverty and vulnerability among urban poor households. It seeks to enable access to gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, thereby improving livelihoods sustainably. The mission focuses on building strong grassroots-level institutions, providing shelters equipped with essential services to the urban homeless, and addressing the livelihood concerns of urban street vendors. DAY-NULM has empowered 98 lakh urban poor households through the creation of self-help groups, created over 38 lakh livelihoods through skill training and entrepreneurship, and built almost 2,000 permanent shelters for the urban homeless.
The “Utkrishtata ki Ore Badhte Kadam” event celebrated the significant achievements under the PM SVANidhi and DAY-NULM initiatives, while also setting the stage for future advancements. The recognition of key stakeholders and the introduction of enhanced features in the PM SVANidhi mobile application underscore the government’s commitment to empowering urban street vendors and improving the livelihoods of the urban poor.
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