Lucknow, Aug 24: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that due to PM SVANidhi scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the street vendors are no longer dependent on the money lenders to start their business and no one can dare to extort money from them.
Speaking at the programme organised at Lok Bhawan to distribute loans to 11,000 beneficiaries under the PM SVANidhi and Self-Help Group Loan Scheme, Yogi said that 15 lakh street vendors are currently benefiting from the scheme in UP alone.
During this event, he also handed over loan cheques to nearly a dozen street vendors and women from self-help groups.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has linked street vendors with banks and provided interest-free loans for them. “As a result of the scheme, the street vendors are getting loans in three instalments of Rs 10,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively under the PM SVANidhi scheme to make them self-reliant,” he said.
The CM said, “A comprehensive cleanliness campaign has been conducted in the state in the last six years, under which not only mafias have been swept out, but the dirt has been removed completely.”
Yogi said that no scheme was ever formulated for the street vendors before, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi understood their pain and brought the PM SVANidhi scheme for them. He said that the Punjab National Bank, which is associated with the scheme now, has connected 200,000 people with this scheme so far.
Yogi said that the state government has provided security insurance of Rs 5 lakhs to the street vendors associated with SVANidhi Yojana so that their families do not face any kind of problem.
“The PM SVANidhi scheme is the foundation of women empowerment and their self-reliance, as mostly women handle household work and then engage in street vending,” he said.
During the program, the first installment of a 10,000 revolving fund was given to 2,000 women of urban self-help groups. Two women self-help groups, associated with the dairy sector, were given a sum of Rs 6,00,000.
He said that to empower half of the state’s population, the women of self-help groups have been integrated under the Take Home Ration Scheme. “This has not only curbed corruption but has also enabled these women to earn extra income and support their families,” Yogi said.
The CM said that in 2019 with the support of the central government, Balini Milk Producers in Jhansi was set up. “It began with 6 women and now, about 40,000 women are part of the group. The annual turnover of the company is more than Rs 150 crores and net profit is approximately Rs 15 crores. The double engine government is relentlessly working to strengthen the society by standing with the last person in the last rung of society,” he said.
Yogi informed that when funds were needed for the construction of Ganga Expressway, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman came to Lucknow and assisted through PNB to overcome the financial shortfall. “This expressway is one of the major expressways and highways being built in the country, connecting Meerut with Prayagraj.
Currently, it takes 15 to 16 hours to travel from Meerut to Prayagraj, but with the completion of this expressway, the distance will be covered in just 6 hours,” he said.
He said that the expressway being constructed at a cost of Rs 36,000 crores will also lead to the creation of industrial corridors. “It will also provide employment opportunities to youth,” the CM said.
Yogi said, “The Reserve Bank of India’s report states that UP has emerged as the leading state in terms of investments across the country. The state’s economy has doubled in the last 6 years. UP has transformed from being a Bimaru (sick) state to being categorised with developed states within the country. This expressway reflects the new UP of new India,” he added.
