The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed to hawkers once again to apply for PM SVANidhi scheme and will hold ward-wise meetings to create awareness about it. However, the civic body is apparently restraining itself from giving licences to hawkers as the election process of the town vending committee, which is an essential link for the authorisation of vendors, is still pending.

Under the PM SVANidhi scheme, a vendor is initially entitled to a loan of Rs 10,000 and must repay the same in monthly instalments over a year. Upon full repayment, the vendor can avail themselves of another loan of Rs 20,000, and later on, Rs 50,000. So far 1,38,000 applicants have been approved for loans under this scheme in Mumbai. “Out of these, approximately one lakh vendors have been allocated financial assistance through various banks,” said a BMC official.