Dr Vivek Joshi, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, chaired a review meeting on various social security schemes and financial inclusion schemes including PM SVANidhi with the heads of public sector banks and Chairman of NABARD on Thursday. The progress under Jan Suraksha schemes including Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Atal Pension Yojana (APY), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), and Stand Up India was reviewed.
Joshi urged the PSBs to achieve the targets allocated to them under the various schemes for financial inclusion for the current financial year at the earliest.
The issues related to digital transactions were discussed in the meeting with special focus on promotion of digital payments. The Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) was also discussed. Joshi exhorted the banks to expeditiously clear the sanction/ disbursement pendency of applications for PM SVANidhi scheme. He urged banks to devise the strategy and step up the efforts to increase the digital onboarding of street vendors and scale up their digital payments. PM SVANidhi scheme envisages empowerment of street vendors through hassle free access to affordable credit and their digital onboarding for their economic development.
As of July 19, 2023, 53.41 lakh applications have been sanctioned while 50.52 lakh applications have been disbursed amounting to Rs 6,472 crore. During the special campaign organised by banks and urban local bodies recently, 1,02,358 applications were sanctioned and 1,01,354 applications were disbursed and 1,06,432 vendors were digitally onboarded. The performance is monitored by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and DFS for effective implementation and felicitating street vendors on the basis of performance in digital transactions.
