logo
Street to stability: Rajasthan's Sapna Prajapati becomes shining example of PM SVANidhi scheme

Street to stability: Rajasthan's Sapna Prajapati becomes shining example of PM SVANidhi scheme

Hans India01-06-2025
The completion of five years of PM Street Vendor's Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) has seen remarkable success as many beneficiaries of the scheme shared story of their transformation and also how this helped bring stability to their lives despite myriad challenges thrown at them, during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Rajasthan's Sapna Prajapati, a PM SVANidhi beneficiary, is one of the shining examples. Having started a small mask-making unit during pandemic, today she has grown it into a flourishing business, giving employment to many women of her village. Her transformation is a reflection of her firm resolve and also adds to the Atmanirbhar mission.
Modi Story, a popular social media handle on X, shared her story to mark the fifth anniversary of PM SVANidhi launch in 2020. It has shared her video, where she could be elucidating about the monetary assistance under the scheme and how this proved instrumental in saving lakhs of small businessmen from getting ruined.
Recalling her journey, Sapna says that she always dreamt of starting some business but the pandemic smashed all her plans.
'It was during pandemic that I got to know about PM SVANidhi scheme and applied for it. I bought a sewing machine from the sanctioned loan. I was inspired by PM Modi's call for Vocal for Local. We made some mask samples, which got approved. We got Rs 16 lakh order for making PPE kits and hospital bedsheets. The work was allotted to women groups of about 40 people.
She also recounted her conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that his encouraging words motivated them to contribute to society and also make extra endeavour for any social cause.
In a video interaction with PM SVANidhi beneficiaries, two years ago, PM Modi also praised her for the initiative.
She happily recounts those moments and PM Modi's words – 'Sapna ji, you are looking like a leader'.
Notably, the micro-credit scheme was launched by Centre, aimed at empowering the street vendors.
The scheme launched during the Covid-19 pandemic on June 1, 2020, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs provides collateral free loans up to Rs 50,000 for eligible street vendors in incremental tranches.
It provides loans in three tranches -- 1st tranche of Rs 10,000, 2nd tranche of Rs 20,000 subject to repayment of the 1st of tranche, and 3rd tranche of Rs 50,000 upon repayment of the second loan.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Uncertainty Over Trade Deal With US, Malnutrition In Gaza & More
Uncertainty Over Trade Deal With US, Malnutrition In Gaza & More

Time of India

time21 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Uncertainty Over Trade Deal With US, Malnutrition In Gaza & More

GST Revolution Ahead: Experts Decode PM Modi's Plan To Simplify India's Tax Structure Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day promise of next-generation GST reforms has triggered strong expert responses. Economist Ved Jain highlights that after eight years, India is ready to move from multiple slabs to a simpler two or three-rate system. Former CBEC Chairman Najib Shah says merging current slabs could free up consumer spending and fuel demand. Pankaj Mohindroo of ICEA believes GST rationalisation is essential for 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047' and will help both industry and consumers. Experts agree the shift is not just about tax, but about a structural reform that could shape India's economic future. 12.1K views | 1 day ago

S&P rating upgrade: how India earned it and what lies ahead
S&P rating upgrade: how India earned it and what lies ahead

Indian Express

time21 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

S&P rating upgrade: how India earned it and what lies ahead

Last week was turning out to be a great one for the Indian economy even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a raft of reforms in his Independence Day speech. A day earlier, S&P Global Ratings had upgraded its rating on India to BBB from BBB-. The sovereign rating upgrade by S&P is significant for two key reasons. One, it came after a gap of nearly two decades; and two, it has meaningful implications for the Indian economy. India's upgrade pursuit The Indian government has over the last several years aggressively pursued the three global agencies — S&P, Moody's, and Fitch Ratings — for higher ratings that, in its opinion, better reflect the economy's fundamentals. In fact, New Delhi has repeatedly expressed its displeasure over the agencies' methodologies, saying they were biased against emerging economies. The Economic Survey for 2020-21 even had a chapter titled 'Does India's Sovereign Credit Rating reflect its fundamentals No!'. 'The rating of India did not capture India's fundamentals for almost a decade,' Soumya Kanti Ghosh, State Bank of India's Group Chief Economic Adviser, said in a note on August 14. So, what has convinced S&P that now is a good time for India to be given an upgrade? Steady economic improvement The primary reason is clarity on the government's finances. While the Centre has had a law called the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act since 2003 — it demands reducing the annual fiscal deficit to 3 per cent of GDP — it has rarely been met. In fact, only once since the Act's enactment has the Centre's fiscal deficit fallen below 3 per cent, in 2007-08, and that was primarily due to some financial jugglery. It was in January 2007 that S&P had last upgraded its rating on India. However, post the coronavirus pandemic, the fiscal deficit has been reduced aggressively from 9.2 per cent in 2020-21 to a targeted 4.4 per cent in 2025-26. Going forward, the Centre will start targeting a reduction in its debt-to-GDP from 57.1 per cent in 2024-25 to 49-51 per cent by 2030-31. Then there is growth. Despite GDP growth falling to a four-year low of 6.5 per cent in 2024-25, India remains one of the fastest growing large economies in the world — or in S&P's words, 'among the best performing economies in the world'. And this is real, or inflation-adjusted, growth; nominal growth — which is the actual increase in the GDP in today's prices — is even higher. When it comes to calculating the debt-to-GDP ratio, it is the nominal GDP that matters. As such, as long as nominal GDP growth is higher than the pace with which the debt is increasing, the debt-to-GDP ratio will keep falling. Another key factor has been the fairly low and stable domestic inflation, with S&P praising the Reserve Bank of India's inflation management record. As per latest data, India's headline inflation rate had fallen to 1.55 per cent in July — the lowest since mid-2017. Low and stable inflation is crucial to foreign investors as sharp increases in prices can erode their investments, weaken growth and the domestic currency, and create social unrest — all factors that can lead to a rating downgrade. A credit rating is nothing more than a measure of an entity's creditworthiness, or how likely it is that they may pay back borrowed money. If you pay back your loans and credit card bills on time and in full, your credit score improves. It is the same for countries. Most countries need to borrow money every year to fund some of their expenditures. The difference between the total income and the expenditure for a year is the fiscal deficit; the Indian government's is Rs 15.69 lakh crore for 2025-26. This has to be met by borrowing money from the markets, with the government paying interest on it. Now, if the government is seen as being more likely to repay the loan — which is what a higher credit rating indicates — then the rate of interest is lower. According to Madhavi Arora, Chief Economist at Emkay Global Financial Services, the rating upgrade 'can open the door for new pools of global funds' capital', resulting in 'lower cost of funding across macro agents' curves, including corporates — especially those borrowing abroad'. The rating scale To be sure, India's rating level with S&P has itself not changed — the country remains in the BBB category. It's just that it has gone from the lowest edge of it, or BBB-, to a more secure position. The next step would be BBB+. So where does the move to BBB put India on the rating scale? Ratings are divided into two rough classes: investment and speculative grades. Entities, including countries, in the former class are worth investing in, while repayment of loans taken by those in the latter is difficult to predict. But even within the investment grade, there are steps, and BBB is the lowest. According to S&P, a BBB rating indicates 'adequate capacity to meet financial commitments, but more subject to adverse economic conditions'. The next step is A, then AA, and finally, AAA, which signifies 'extremely strong capacity to meet financial commitments'. Who stands where Alongside India, S&P has the likes of Greece, Mexico, and Indonesia at BBB. Just above it, at BBB+, are Botswana (negative outlook), Bulgaria, Italy, Thailand, Uruguay (all stable outlook), and Philippines (positive outlook) A positive outlook puts a rating closer to an upgrade, while a negative outlook makes a downgrade more likely. Above this, with an A- rating, are countries such as Cyprus, Poland, and Malaysia. And right at the top of the tree, with AAA rating, are the richest countries in the world — Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Germany, among others. The richest countries are not guaranteed the best rating. Take the US, for instance, which was downgraded to AA+ by S&P in August 2011 — the first time the world's largest economy had ever been assigned any rating lower than AAA — days after the US Congress raised the country's debt ceiling. More recently, Moody's Ratings in mid-May 2025 lowered its rating on the US to Aa1 from Aaa reflecting 'the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns'. What's next? The implications of a better credit rating are clear — the Indian government should be able to borrow at a lower rate of interest. This has already occurred, with government bond yields in the secondary market on August 14 falling as much as 10 basis points, with the rupee's exchange rate also getting a boost. What about the next upgrade? Helpfully, S&P said on August 14 that it may further raise India's rating if the fiscal deficit of the Centre and states falls below 6 per cent of GDP on a structural basis. This, however, is a 'tough ask', according to Arora of Emkay Global. S&P itself expects the combined fiscal deficit to decline only to 6.6 per cent in 2028-29 from 7.8 per cent in 2024-25.

Punjab sees steepest decline in PM-Kisan beneficiaries with 49 per cent drop in five years
Punjab sees steepest decline in PM-Kisan beneficiaries with 49 per cent drop in five years

New Indian Express

time25 minutes ago

  • New Indian Express

Punjab sees steepest decline in PM-Kisan beneficiaries with 49 per cent drop in five years

CHANDIGARH: Punjab has recorded the steepest fall in the country in the number of beneficiaries under the PM-Kisan scheme, with figures dropping by nearly 49 per cent over the past five years. Beneficiaries fell from 23.01 lakh between December 2019 and March 2020, the highest-ever recorded in the state when farmers received Rs 466.47 crore, to just 11.34 lakh between April and July 2025, who received Rs 387.76 crore. Recently, in reply to an unstarred question raised by Congress MP from Ludhiana, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Ram Nath Thakur stated that in the financial year 2025-26, Rs 63,500 crore had been allocated for the PM-Kisan scheme. 'The 20th instalment of the PM-Kisan scheme was released on August 2, 2025 and more than 9.71 crore beneficiaries received benefits amounting to more than Rs 20,500 crore. Out of this, more than 11.34 lakh beneficiaries from Punjab received the benefit amounting to Rs 387.76 crore,' the reply stated. It added that a farmer-centric digital infrastructure has ensured the benefits of the scheme reach all farmers across the country without the involvement of intermediaries. 'Maintaining absolute transparency in registering and verifying beneficiaries, the Government of India has disbursed over Rs 3.90 lakh crore through 20 instalments since the inception of the scheme,' it noted.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store