Street vendors do not infringe; rather, they help create a new India

Jul 23,2022

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri emphasised the importance of street vendors in India’s economic development, claiming that they are not intruders but rather independent contractors who contribute to the country’s collective aspiration of a modern India. “Street vendors have been, are, and will always be an integral part of India’s economic growth story, with strong links to the urban informal sector,” Puri stated in his address to the 16th convention of the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI).

According to him, the Center has instructed all states, municipalities, and urban local bodies to observe SVANidhi Mahotsav with the active involvement of street vendors around the nation as the nation marks its 75th anniversary of independence. He continued by saying that many street vendor success stories and their contributions to India’s economic development story would also be made public. He claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the largest supporter of street vendors.

The minister said that the meeting’s topic, “From Encroachers to Self-Employed,” is particularly appropriate given that the government values street sellers. He continued, “They are not intruders; they are independent contractors who have contributed to our shared vision of a modern India.

According to the minister, capital working loans were given to street sellers to enable them restart their companies after the epidemic had a negative influence on them. According to Puri, more than 30 lakh street sellers had received microcredits totaling Rs 3,661 crore as of July 11, 2022. According to him, the objective was to provide street vendors with collateral-free working capital loans of Rs 10,000, Rs 20,000, and Rs 50,000 upon repayment of their prior loans.

He said that numerous government-led actions have greatly benefited the weak and marginalised segments of our society, particularly in cities and towns. In response to the NASVI’s request, the minister promised that grievance panels will be constituted very soon. A gathering of roughly 4,500 Town Vending Committees is also crucial since these forums will enable you to address the local problems of people who are on an equal footing with you.

This allowed the vendors plan the expansion of their businesses. He noted that the first phase of SVANidhi se Samriddhi, which covered 31 lakh street vendors and their families across 125 cities, was inaugurated in January 2021. Puri said that our motto is that everyone should be treated with dignity and that each person’s service and contribution should be duly acknowledged.