Tools To India
LivelihoodCentral schemeLaunched June 2020

PM SVANidhi — Working Capital Loans for Street Vendors

A micro-credit scheme giving street vendors collateral-free working capital loans, with an interest subsidy on timely repayment and rising loan limits for those who repay on schedule.

Administered by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Last updated

Official source last verified 9 August 2026

At a glance

First loan
Working capital loan of up to ₹10,000
Progression
Higher limits on timely repayment of the previous loan
Collateral
None required
Interest subsidy
Available on timely repayment, as notified under the scheme
Digital transactions
Monthly cashback for verified digital payments
Who runs it
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, through Urban Local Bodies and lenders

Who this scheme is for

  • Street vendors operating in urban areas, including those vending in peri-urban and rural areas adjoining urban local bodies.
  • Vendors who were displaced or whose livelihoods were disrupted and who need working capital to restart or sustain their business.

Benefits

  • A collateral-free working capital loan, starting at up to ₹10,000 for a first-time borrower.
  • Access to higher loan amounts on timely repayment of the earlier loan, creating a graduated credit history.
  • An interest subsidy on timely repayment, credited to the loan account as notified under the scheme.
  • A monthly cashback incentive for verified digital transactions, which encourages a digital payment record.
  • A formal credit record, which is often the more durable benefit — many vendors have no prior borrowing history with a regulated lender.

Eligibility

  • The applicant must be a street vendor engaged in vending in an urban area.
  • Vendors holding a certificate of vending or an identity card issued by the Urban Local Body are directly eligible.
  • Vendors identified in the survey conducted by the Urban Local Body but not yet issued a certificate can also apply, on the basis of the provisional certificate the ULB issues.
  • Vendors left out of the survey, or who began vending afterwards, can apply with a letter of recommendation from the Urban Local Body or the Town Vending Committee.
  • Vendors from surrounding peri-urban and rural areas who vend within the geographical limits of the Urban Local Body are covered, again with a letter of recommendation.

Documents required

  • Certificate of vending or identity card issued by the Urban Local Body, where held
  • Letter of recommendation from the ULB or Town Vending Committee, where a certificate has not been issued
  • Aadhaar card — used for identification and e-KYC
  • Bank account details with IFSC, seeded with Aadhaar
  • Mobile number linked to Aadhaar, for OTP verification
  • A passport-size photograph

How to apply

  1. Open the official portal at pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in and choose the loan application option.
  2. Verify your mobile number with the OTP sent to it.
  3. Select the category that describes your situation — certificate holder, surveyed vendor, or vendor requiring a letter of recommendation.
  4. Complete the application with your personal, vending and bank details, and upload the documents required for your category.
  5. Submit the application. It is routed to a lender — a bank, a small finance bank, a non-banking finance company, a micro finance institution or a self-help group federation — for processing.
  6. Applications can also be submitted with help from a Common Service Centre, the Urban Local Body office, or the lender’s branch directly.
PM SVANidhi official portal — pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.inThe official portal for this scheme.https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/(opens the official website in a new tab)Apply for a PM SVANidhi loan on the official portalApply directly on the official portal.https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/Apply/ApplyLoan(opens the official website in a new tab)

How to check your status

  1. Log in to pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in with your registered mobile number and OTP.
  2. The application tracking option shows the current stage and which lender it is with.
  3. If the application is pending with a lender for an extended period, the Urban Local Body can follow it up. The grievance option on the portal is the formal route.
  4. Where the issue is a missing letter of recommendation, the Urban Local Body or Town Vending Committee is the body that issues it.

Why timely repayment matters more than the first loan

The first loan under PM SVANidhi is deliberately small. The design intention is a ladder rather than a lump sum: repay the first loan on schedule and a larger amount becomes available, and so on.

Repaying on time also triggers the interest subsidy and, taken together with the digital transaction cashback, materially reduces the effective cost of borrowing. For a vendor whose alternative is an informal moneylender charging far more, the difference over a year is substantial.

The less obvious benefit is the credit record. A repaid loan from a regulated lender creates a formal borrowing history, which is what eventually opens access to larger and cheaper credit outside the scheme.

If you do not have a vending certificate

A significant share of street vendors were not covered by the Urban Local Body survey, or began vending after it. The scheme provides for this rather than excluding them.

  1. Approach your Urban Local Body or the Town Vending Committee for your area.
  2. Request a letter of recommendation confirming that you are vending in that area.
  3. The ULB is expected to issue this within the timeline set out in the scheme guidelines.
  4. Attach the letter to your application on the portal and proceed as normal.

Frequently asked questions

How much can I borrow under PM SVANidhi?
A first-time borrower can receive a working capital loan of up to ₹10,000. Repaying it on schedule makes a larger loan available, and the same applies again at the next stage. The current limits at each stage are set out on the official portal.
Do I need collateral or a guarantor?
No. Loans under the scheme are collateral-free. That is a defining feature — the alternative for most street vendors is informal credit at a far higher cost.
What if I do not have a certificate of vending?
You can still apply. Vendors identified in the Urban Local Body survey can use the provisional certificate, and vendors who were not surveyed can apply with a letter of recommendation from the Urban Local Body or Town Vending Committee. The scheme was designed to include vendors outside the formal survey.
How does the interest subsidy work?
An interest subsidy is credited to the loan account for borrowers who repay on schedule, as notified under the scheme. Repaying late does not simply delay the benefit — it forfeits it, which makes the repayment schedule worth taking seriously.
What is the digital transaction cashback?
Vendors who accept and make payments digitally through the specified channels earn a monthly cashback, subject to the conditions and limits notified under the scheme. The intention is to build a verifiable digital transaction record alongside the credit record.
Is there a fee to apply?
No fee is payable to the scheme, to the Urban Local Body for a letter of recommendation, or to a lender for processing a SVANidhi loan. Report any demand for payment through the grievance option on pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in.

Official sources

Every figure on this page is traceable to the official source below. If a source has changed since the date shown, please tell us and we will correct it.