The Urban Development & Municipal Department of Nagaland, under the initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), hosted the state-level PM SvANidhi 'PRAISE' (Performance Recognition for Access to Financial Inclusion and Street Vendors Empowerment) awards at the Capital Convention Centre, Kohima on 28th August 2024.
Commissioner & Secretary, Kekhrievor Kevichusa, IPoS, in his keynote address, highlighted the program's objectives to celebrate notable achievements and inspire others to follow suit. The PM SvANidhi scheme, he noted, aims to provide working capital loans of up to Rs. 10,000 to street vendors. Owing to the scheme's success, the Ministry has introduced two additional tranches, offering loan amounts of Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 60,000 to beneficiaries who have successfully repaid their previous loans.
Kevichusa also revealed that while the scheme initially aimed to support 50 lakh street vendors, as of 27th August 2024, a total of 91.70 lakh loans have been sanctioned nationwide. In Nagaland, out of the 39 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), 25 have availed of the loans. Despite Nagaland ranking 8th in terms of absolute numbers among Hilly and North Eastern States, the state has performed well in terms of target achievement percentage. Efforts are on-going in partnership with ULBs and lending institutions to improve success rates.
The scheme is supported by the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE). However, Kevichusa pointed out a significant concern with the application rejection/return rate by lending institutions, which stands at 38.75%. He urged these institutions to be more proactive in processing loan applications to expand coverage to more street vendors. He also appealed to the Executive Officers of ULBs, especially in the 14 smaller ULBs where no loans have been registered, to spread awareness among street vendors and guide them in accessing these opportunities. The District Urban Development Agencies (DUDAs) are ready to assist in this effort, which is linked to eight central schemes.
State Mission Director, NLUM, SUDA, Peteville Khatau, in his welcome speech, emphasized the program's significance in recognizing the commendable efforts of the State, ULBs, and lending institutions. He announced that the State Government has sanctioned 4,047 loans so far. The awards ceremony recognized the top nine institutions and bank branches, as well as seven best-performing ULBs, as acknowledged by MoHUA.
Deputy Director, Kiniholi Kinimi, during the award ceremony, mentioned that the state-level awards ceremony targets the facilitation of 831 winners within August 2024. The Ministry has recognized one Best Performing Lending Institution, eight Best Performing Bank Branches, and seven best-performing ULBs across various cities and towns in Nagaland.
Best Performing Lending Institution was awarded to State Bank of India, while the Best Performing Bank Branches were awarded to: 1. Canara Bank, Dimapur; 2. Indian Bank, Dimapur; 3. State Bank of India, Dimapur; 4. State Bank of India, Bazar, Dimapur; 5. State Bank of India, Kiphire; 6. State Bank of India, Old Market, Dimapur; 7. State Bank of India Rangapahar, Dimapur and 8. State Bank of India, Tuensang.
In the Best Performing ULBs, Dimapur Municipal Council was awarded in Category -I: Class I & II Cities, while Wokha Town Council, Mon Town Council, and Tuensang Town Council were awarded under Category -II: Class III & IV Cities. Medziphema Town Council, Longleng Town Council and Peren Town Council were awarded under Category -III: Class II & IV Cities.
(Takumpula Longkumer, IA)
