Mangaldai Municipal Board (MCB), under Darrang district of central Assam, has been recognised as one of the best performing urban local bodies (ULBs) at the national level under the town category in the recently announced PRAISE (Performance Recognition for Access to Financial Inclusion and Street Vendor’s Empowerment) awards for its outstanding loan performance under the Prime Minister’s Street Vendor Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme.
Mentionable is that MCB is one of two ULBs from Assam to receive this national recognition, with the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) being the other, which is awarded under the major city category. Across India, a total of 22 ULBs were recognised in the town category, 22 in the major city category and 7 in the mega & million-plus city category. MCB also emerged as the best-performing ULB in Assam in the town category for loan performance under the PM SVANidhi scheme.
The PRAISE awards, which recognise ULBs for their excellence in financial inclusion and street vendor’s empowerment, were announced on the PM SVANidhi portal. Assam achieved the first rank in the category of hilly & north-eastern States and secured second place in innovation and best practices. Launched in 2020, PM SVANidhi scheme aims to provide collateral-free working capital loans up to Rs 80,000 to urban street vendors incentivising regular repayment with a 7 per cent interest subsidy, rewarding digital transactions with cash back up to Rs 1,200 per year. As of 17 July 2024, more than 86 lakh loans, amounting to over Rs 11,680 crores, have been disbursed to almost 65 lakh street vendors across the country.
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