Beyond Outreach: Assessing Institutional Bottlenecks in the Multi-Tier Delivery Mechanism of PM SVANidhi

Launched in June 2020 and extended to March 2030 through the 2025 restructuring, the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) is one of the largest target microcredit initiatives in India, with as many as 76.95 lakh street vendors availing collateral-free loans of over 1.15 crore amounting to ₹18,475 crore as of August 2026 (MoHUA 2026a). For its successful implementation, a successful coordination is needed among the Union government, several state governments, ULBs, block-level institutions, and lenders. Considering the importance of coordination, the study provides the rationale behind the distribution of responsibilities among the above-mentioned actors with respect to access to credit for street vendors. Based on document study design, the paper will analyze the available literature on the Scheme and Loan Operational Guidelines of 2025, figures available from the Mission Monitoring Dashboard as of October 2026, reports of Parliamentary Committee, RTI disclosures, the Street Vendors Act, 2014 along with other published studies, using Matland’s (1995) ambiguity- conflict model. The findings suggest that the goals and formal mandates are understood, although the methods are murky, with specific regard to identification, documentation and second tranche transition. Lending is bureaucratic in the case of public banks, whereas lending approaches are political and experimental in private banks and new-age lending. Evidence of this includes a CoV-to-LoR ratio of 10.3%, NPA of 15.88% disclosed via RTI, and the fact that the number of borrowers from first tranche declined from 71.57 lakh to just 8.49 lakh for third tranche. Evidence from Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Dehradun also confirms this kind of trend with a large mismatch between the disbursals and number of loans made in the first, second and third tranches. Thus, the paper suggests more clarifying ownership, timelines in the regulations, updates for tracking the loan applications, as well as reporting relevant information.