Andhra CM launches 3rd phase of Jagananna-thodu scheme to benefit street vendors, artisans

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday launched the third phase of the “Jagananna-thodu” scheme, under which an interest-free loan of Rs 10,000 each is provided to 5.10 lakh small and petty vendors, incurring a cost of over Rs 526 crore.

The scheme is aimed to benefit small and petty vendors, artisans from the unorganised sector by providing working capital and financial assistance to support their businesses. The CM said that “so far, in three spells, 14,16,091 people benefited through the scheme, and the government had spent Rs 1416 crore, besides interest repayment of Rs 32.5 crore.”

Terming the small scale vendors as essential service providers, the Chief Minister said that the government is relieving them from heavy interests, by facilitating loans from banks “and upon timely repayment of loans, all the interest amount shall be reimbursed directly to the beneficiaries’ accounts.”

“And further, they will be eligible to take the next loan. The scheme is being implemented twice a year,” Reddy said on Monday as he urged the beneficiaries to repay their loans on time to avoid overdues, which could hamper the chances of availing fresh loans.

Eligible people left out of the scheme can either contact the volunteers or visit village/ward secretariat to claim the benefit.

“82 per cent of vendors across the country had lost their income due to Covid-19. But in AP, our government stood by the side of downtrodden communities and credited Rs 1.29 lakh crore through DBT into the beneficiaries accounts without any scope of corruption,” Reddy said.

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