VMC receives PRAISE award

Vijayawada: VMC Commissioner Dhyan Chandra on Tuesday received the prestigious PRAISE Award from Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development Ponguru Narayana. The award was presented as part of the PRAISE Awards 2023-24, organised by MEPMA (Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas).

The VMC got the award as recognition for its outstanding work in providing financial inclusion and empowerment to street vendors, which is a significant achievement in the Mega and Million-Plus Cities category in Andhra Pradesh.

Following Central government guidelines under the National Urban Livelihood Mission, the corporation has actively supported street vendors through the Prime Minister’s Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme. Expressing happiness on receiving the award and for recognition from the Government, Commissioner Dhyan Chandra said 17,114 street vendors were identified under the Support to Urban Street Vendors (SUSV) initiative, as per the Street Vendors Act, 2014.

Among them, 16,771 vendors have already received identification cards and the rest of 343 will get the cards very soon. Of the 9,428 eligible vendors, 9,200 of them got financial support through the PM SVANidhi scheme, and 6,748 others have received assistance in the form of loans. This is because 97 percent of all eligible vendors received help.the city.