The Pradhan Mantri Swanidhi Yojana, launched as an initiative to help people become self-employed during COVID-19, is now facing a major crisis. Under this scheme, 28,903 street vendors in the district were given loans totaling ₹404.83 million, but 83.63 percent have not yet repaid the loans. This means that approximately 24,935 individuals owe ₹338.55 million.

Bank officials are working hard to locate beneficiaries

According to the lead bank, most of these beneficiaries are no longer available at their addresses. Bank officials are continuously trying to locate them. In many cases, it has been revealed that the beneficiaries initially ran local businesses, achieved their goals, and then returned to their native states or cities. For example, Navneet came to Shahjahanpur during the COVID-19 pandemic and took a loan of 10,000 rupees to set up a street stall, but after normalcy returned, he moved to Delhi. Vinod, meanwhile, started selling vegetables, but the business didn’t do well and he returned to Punjab.

PM Swanidhi Scheme: Three Phases of the Scheme and Loan Distribution

Data from the three phases of the scheme shows that in the first phase, 20,632 people applied, and 20,515 were approved for loans. In the second phase, 7,382 people applied, of whom 7,324 received loans of 20,000 rupees. In the third phase, 11,114 people applied, and 1,064 were given loans totaling over 5 crore rupees. Despite this, only 3,968 people were able to repay the loans honestly and run their businesses successfully.

PM Swanidhi Scheme: New Changes and Future Plans

The scheme has now been revised. The first loan amount will be ₹15,000, the second loan amount will be ₹25,000, and the third loan amount will be ₹50,000. Bank officials stated that those who have not repaid their loans will be repaid based on ration cards and other identification documents.

This scheme is not only important for promoting self-employment, but also plays a vital role in ensuring economic stability and the participation of both male and female entrepreneurs in society. Therefore, the bank and district administration are striving to recover the outstanding amount and fulfill the scheme’s objective.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. For official information regarding the amount and benefits, please consult the relevant bank or government website.