PM SVANidhi - UPSC Current Affairs

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Context: Just 9.3% of loans under PM SVANidhi are offered to vendors from minority communities.

Details

According to Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs data, there was a decrease in the percentage of loans to minority street sellers with 10.23% in 2020-21, 9.25% in 2021-22, and an all-time low of 7.76% in 2022-23.
The data about loans made under PM SVANidhi portrays a poor picture of minority street sellers. Although minorities account for around 20% of the entire population of the country, their participation among street vendors is said to be vast for a variety of socioeconomic reasons.
According to Ministry data, Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of loans disbursed at 11,22,397.
- Uttar Pradesh also provided the most loans to hawkers from minority communities, at 95,032.

Keywords

Minority Community

The Constitution of India does not define the term minority.
The Union Government notified 6 communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), Act, 1992 as minority communities; Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains.
As per the Census 2011, the percentage of minorities in the country is about 19.3% of the total population of the country. The populations of Muslims are 14.2%; Christians 2.3%; Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7%, Jain 0.4% and Parsis 0.006%

Must Read Articles:

PM SVANidhi: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/pm-svanidhi

Minorities: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/minorities

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Consider the following Statement about the PM SVANidhi;

1. It was launched by the Union Ministry of Finance.

2. Vendors can get collateral-free working capital loans up to Rs 1, 00,000.

3. There is no eligibility criterion and it is open to all street vendors.

Which of the following Statement is/are incorrect?

(A) 1 and 2 only

(B) 2 and 3 only

(D) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: D

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in June 2020.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Vendors can get collateral-free working capital loans up to ₹10,000, which are repayable in monthly instalments in terms of one year. An enhanced loan of up to ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 on the second and third times respectively, on repayment of earlier loans.

Statement 3 is incorrect: To avail of the loan, a vendor should: Possess a Certificate of Vending / Identity Card issued by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

KYC documents needed: Aadhar Card / Voter’s Identity Card / Driving License / MGNREGA Card / PAN Card.

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