South Indian women outnumber men in availing of loan for street vendors

Around 41 per cent of the beneficiaries of the government’s loan scheme for street vendors, PM-SVANidhi (PM Street Vendors’ AtmaNirbhar Nidhi), are women. Though, the southern states fare much better than those in the north.

Launched as part of the Covid-19 response measures, the scheme completed three years on June 1.

According to data from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, of the total number of beneficiaries (3.63 million) of the scheme, 2.13 million are men and 1.50 million are women. The scheme includes 219 beneficiaries of the “others” gender category as well.

In 10 states and union territories, almost all in the southern and northeast region, women are the majority of the beneficiaries.

Among the 10 states are Andhra Pradesh (70 per cent women), Telangana (66 per cent women), Tamil Nadu (64 per cent women), and Karnataka (50 per cent women). Women beneficiaries in these four states add up to 580,956, or almost 39 per cent of the total 1,502,597 women beneficiaries in the country. The northeastern states also have a high percentage of women beneficiaries, but the total number of beneficiaries is small, according to a report in The Indian Express.

Manipur (94 per cent), Nagaland (88 per cent), Meghalaya (77 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (75 per cent), and Sikkim (58 per cent) stand out for their high women share. In Assam, the share of women at 47 per cent is also higher than the national average of 41 per cent. Tripura has a low 12 per cent women share.

In north India, two states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ie, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, have the largest number of beneficiaries (men and women) at 960,000 and 541,000 street vendors, respectively.

The share of women beneficiaries is 32 per cent each in the two states and they add up to 482,000. In Bihar, 14,098 beneficiaries are women beneficiaries, 27 per cent of the total. In Congress-ruled Rajasthan, 15,861 or 23 per cent of the total are women, according to the Indian Express report.

An official from the ministry said that the social fabric of the regions has a part to play in women outnumbering men in the number of beneficiaries. For example, in the matrilineal societies of Meghalaya, where the youngest daughter inherits property and women operate most enterprises.

Arbind Singh, national coordinator, National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), said that the way the scheme was being targeted had a big role to play. “In some states, the local authorities targeted women’s self-help groups as beneficiaries. For example, in Andhra Pradesh, they had MEPMA [Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas] which was already working with self-help groups,” said Singh.