PM Modi talks to the beneficiaries of the SVANidhi scheme and to see how it would help them.
The scheme that works to help street vendors was announced on June 1st.
“The scheme was announced on June 1 and within one month, there were applications online. Looking at the past, no one could have imagined that an announcement for the poor could be implemented so quickly,” he said.
“No paperwork, no middlemen or repeated trips to government offices are needed for the application. A street vendor does not have to go to anyone else to fill the form. Banks are coming forward to give loans,” the PM said.
Uttar Pradesh has been sanctioning loans to the COVID-19 hit street vendors by this scheme. This is to help them get back on their feet.
25 lakh applications have been received so far and 12 lakh have been sanctioned. 6.5 lakh applications have been received from Uttar Pradesh according to Prime Minister Modi.
“Those who played politics with the poor spread the impression that the poor would not pay back loans. But the poor have once again presented an example of their honesty. Vendors are repaying their loans. The Jan Dhan accounts were made fun of, but today these accounts are being used to benefit the poor,” said a very proud Prime Minister.
The Beneficiaries
The Prime Minister says that those who could not enter the bank, the bank has now come to them.
On Tuesday the Prime Minister interacted with all those who benefited from the scheme. He asked them how they were doing.
“How are your business going?” “Did you have to visit many offices to get this loan?” “How much are you earning daily now?” PM Modi asked the vendors. On a lighter note, “ Though I should not be asking this question… I am not an income tax officer.”
Talking to a momo vendor of Varanasi, PM Modi said, “I have heard momos have become popular in Varanasi. But no one has offered me momos.”
He also asked them of their knowledge about the scheme and do them know if they can make it interest free.
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He also asked them about the social distancing they are maintaining with regards to the virus on their stalls.
Mr. Modi praised Arvind Maurya, a momo and coffee stall owner in Varanasi, for his scheme of giving one free momo to those who wear masks and pay digitally. The PM also expressed that security personnel don’t let him eat street food when he visits.