NEW DELHI, May 31 -- Loans worth over Rs.17,800 crore have been disbursed to street vendors across the country under the PM SVANidhi scheme so far, Union housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal said on Sunday.

Addressing PM SVANidhi beneficiaries from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, the minister said that since its launch in 2020, over 7.55 million street vendors have benefited from the scheme, including 3.88 million women vendors.

At an event in Tripura, Lal said more than 259,000 loans have been distributed in northeastern states, through which financial assistance amounting to over Rs.430 crore has been extended to street vendors.

"Lakhs of people have connected with the banking system for the first ti...