Raipur Municipal Corporation has set a target of bringing 53,000 street vendors under the PM SVANidhi scheme by 2030, after more than 33,000 vendors in the city had already benefited from loans and related support. The target was announced at the PM SVANidhi Mahotsav organised at Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium.
Mayor Meenal Choubey announced the target at the event, which was organised by the state urban administration department and the State Urban Development Agency. Around 2,500 street vendors and their family members attended the programme.
Choubey urged women vendors to use the scheme to expand their businesses and said the municipal corporation was working to extend the programme’s benefits and strengthen vendors’ financial independence. Beneficiaries at the event received loan cheques, UPI payment sound boxes and appreciation certificates.
Deputy Chief Minister and Urban Administration Minister Arun Sao said PM SVANidhi, launched in June 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted livelihoods, had helped small traders access institutional credit instead of depending on moneylenders. He encouraged beneficiaries to apply for third-tranche loans of Rs 50,000 to expand their enterprises.
Sao also expressed the hope that more beneficiaries would receive UPI-linked credit cards by the next PM SVANidhi Mahotsav. The event included financial literacy and digital payment awareness sessions, with the Reserve Bank of India helping vendors understand financial services and safe digital transactions.
The programme brought together banks, branches and urban local bodies involved in implementing the scheme. Organisations and institutions recognised for their performance were felicitated. The focus on formal credit and digital transactions places municipal support for street vendors within a wider effort to connect informal businesses with banking and payment systems.
Principal Secretary of the Urban Administration Department Sonmani Bora said more than 1.23 lakh street vendors across Chhattisgarh had benefited from PM SVANidhi and were contributing to the state’s economy. He urged urban local bodies and banks to provide financial and technical assistance to more eligible vendors.
The event also highlighted the everyday commercial and cultural role of street vendors. Vendor-run food stalls, exhibitions, cultural performances and street plays formed part of the programme. Organisers described the gathering as zero-waste, with single-use plastic bottles, water pouches, disposable plates, cups and spoons avoided. Food stalls used bamboo plates and wooden spoons, while waste was separated into wet, dry and reject categories.
The 2030 target now places the municipal corporation, banks and urban administration agencies at the centre of the next phase of PM SVANidhi implementation in Raipur. The next milestone indicated at the event is the expansion of third-tranche lending, UPI-linked credit cards, financial literacy and digital payment support for eligible vendors.
