Hardeep S Puri addresses the 16th meeting of National Association of Street Vendors of India
Minister stresses that Street vendors have been an
essential part of India’s economic growth story
Street Vendors are not encroachers, they are self-employed, contributors
in our collective dream of a ‘new India’: Puri
The Minister
for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri has said that the Street
Vendors have been, are and will always be an essential part of India’s economic
growth story, with strong linkages with the urban informal economy. He was
addressing the 16th meeting of National Association of Street Vendors of India
(NASVI), here today. The Minister said that the theme of today’s
meeting 'From Encroachers to Self-Employed' is very apt as we appreciate street
vendors. They are not encroachers, they are self-employed, contributors in our
collective dream of a ‘new India’, he added.
Puri said that
during the pandemic, while launching the PM SVANidhi scheme on 1 June 2020 the
Prime Minister said "the PM SVANidhi scheme is to provide 'Swarozgar, Svavlamban, Swabhimaan' (Self
Employment, Self-Sustenance and Self-Confidence)". He further said that
for the success of any Government scheme, it should become a peoples' movement.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Swachch Bharat Mission are some of other schemes
which have become grand success with the participation of people, he added.
The Minister
said that as we are celebrating 75 years of Independence, we have given a
message to all States, Municipalities, Urban Local Bodies to celebrate SVANidhi
Mahotsav with the active participation of Street Vendors all over the country.
Various success stories of street vendors and their contributions to India’s
economic growth story will also be brought to the public, he added. He said
that biggest supporter to Street Vendors is our Prime Minister.The
Minister said that Street vendors were provided with capital working loans to
help resume their businesses which were impacted during the pandemic. As of 11
July 2022, Rs 3,661 crores had been provided as micro-credits to more than 30
lakh street vendors which was a large figure, he added.
Puri said that
the design of the scheme was to offer collateral-free working capital loans of
Rs10,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively on repayment of the earlier
loans to street vendors and this helped them to plan their business expansion. Under
Phase 1 of SVANidhi se Samriddhi was launched in January 2021, under which 31 lakh street vendors and their families
across 125 cities were covered, he added.
Puri further
said that it is our mantra that dignity should be extended to everyone, and
that the service and contribution of each individual should be recognized
fairly. The vulnerable and marginalised sections of our society, especially in
cities and towns, have benefitted immensely from various government-led
interventions, he added.
Reacting
to the request made by NASVI for setting up of Grievances committees, the
Minister assured that these will be formed very soon. It is also important to
have the meeting of about 4500 Town Vending Committees, and these platforms
will help address the local issues of others at your level, he added.
Congratulated NASVI for organizing the conference, He said that the dialogue
today will be part of the roadmap to further uplift the Street Vendor community.
The
Minister gave away Mementos to the best performing Town Vending Committees and
had interaction with the Street Vendors present in the conference.