Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted with SVANidhi scheme beneficiaries from Agra, Varanasi, Lucknow and inquired about the well-being of providers who received up to Rs 10.00 working capital at subsidized rates under the scheme.
“How is your business going?” “How many officers did you have to visit to get this loan?” “How much are you making daily now?” PM Modi asked vendors and added on a lighter note: “Although I shouldn’t ask this question … I am not an income tax official.”
Speaking with a Varanasi momo supplier, Prime Minister Modi said: “I have heard that momos have become popular in Varanasi. But nobody has offered me momos. “
Also read: PM Modi will virtually distribute loans to 300,000 street vendors under the PM SVANidhi scheme today
The prime minister also asked the beneficiaries if they know that they can make this loan without interest. While interacting with the vendors, he inquired about the social distancing guidelines that were maintained at their stalls.
“Our selling brothers and sisters have suffered greatly during the closing. Now it is our duty to empower them. There was a time when even wage earners had to run from pillar to post to obtain a loan. Poor people did not even have the courage to enter a bank. But now the bank has come to them. This would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of the banks, ”said Prime Minister Modi.
Also read: PM SVANidhi Scheme for Street Vendors: Benefits, Loan Amount, Tenure
So far more than 24 lakh applications have been received under this scheme, with 557,000 applications from providers in Uttar Pradesh, the highest in the entire country. Up to 3.27 lakh PU applications have been approved and a loan of 1.87 lakh has been disbursed. Of the total applications, 12 lakhs were approved and 5.35 lakh loans were disbursed. PM SVANidhi Scheme was launched on June 1, 2020 for poor people selling goods on roads and tracks, which were affected due to the coronavirus pandemic.
.
