MP HELPED STREET VENDORS WITH DIGITAL REVOLUTION BY PROTECTING THEM FROM MONEY LENDERS: CM

Team Absolute|Bhopal Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Madhya Pradesh has done excellent work for the welfare of street vendors in a very short time. Other states can take inspiration from this work done under the PM Swanidhi Yojana. Modi congratulated Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the good work done during lockdown and achievements of Madhya Pradesh. Modi said that hats off for the success of PM Swanidhi Yojana in Madhya Pradesh which is a reflection of the strength of labour. The work of giving identity cards and other benefits to more than one lakh street vendors of Madhya Pradesh is commendable. This relief provided to the poor has proved to be a boon at the time of the pandemic. Chouhan has given a target of benefiting five lakh beneficiaries under the scheme to the Urban Development and Housing Department. Extending greetings to PM Modi, Chouhan said that our Prime Minister who is a global leader who spends every minute of his life in efforts has done the work of finding a way out of Corona crisis. Chouhan said that the mantra of employment and selfreliance under MNREGA gave relief to the common man. Those who lost their livelihood during the lockdown period received direct assistance. Those who took loans at a high rate of interest from the market used to get tired of paying the pathani interest. They could not save anything. Chouhan said that in the PM Swanidhi Yojana started from June 2020, the Government of India provides working capital with the provision of 7 percent interest. With this, the scheme has proved to be a boon for small street vendors. It may be noted that UPI-ID and QR code has been provided to connect each beneficiary to digital transaction. Be it the owner of paan shop, chaat peanut seller, puncture maker, cobbler, barber or broom seller will now be connected to digital transactions. Underlining the importance of digital transactions Chouhan called upon the beneficiaries of the scheme to begin their business with these lines – “Samay visham hai, dagar kathin hai, janbhi us paar hai, chhod chalo yeh reet purani, raah nayi taiyyar hai….” After the virtual programme, Chouhan asked the officials to complete the target of providing benefits to five lakh street vendor beneficiaries under PM Swanidhi Yojana. The work of identifying street vendors has been done on a large scale in Madhya Pradesh. The process of benefiting the applicants who have not yet received loan, should be paced up. By accepting the challenge of the bigger goal, maximum hawkers should be benefited from the scheme.