Nagaland honours top performing banks and civic bodies

DIMAPUR — The Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department of Nagaland under the initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) hosted the state-level PM SvANidhi ‘PRAISE’ (Performance Recognition for Access to Financial Inclusion and Street Vendors Empowerment) awards at the Capital Convention Centre in Kohima on Wednesday.

Delivering the keynote address, the commissioner and secretary, Kekhrievor Kevichusa, highlighted the programme’s objectives to celebrate notable achievements and inspire others to follow suit.

The PM SvANidhi scheme, he noted, was aimed at providing working capital loans of up to INR 10,000 to street vendors. Owing to the scheme’s success, he stated that the Ministry has introduced two additional tranches, offering loan amounts of INR 20,000 and INR 60,000 to beneficiaries who have successfully repaid their previous loans, stated a DIPR report.

Kevichusa also revealed that while the scheme initially aimed to support 50 lakh street vendors as of August 27, 2024, a total of 91.70 lakh loans have been sanctioned nationwide.

He mentioned that in Nagaland, out of the 39 urban local bodies (ULB), 25 have availed the loans. Despite Nagaland ranking 8th in terms of absolute numbers among hilly and northeastern states, the state has performed well in terms of target achievement percentage. He added that efforts are ongoing in partnership with ULBs and lending institutions to improve success rates.

The scheme was supported by the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).

Kevichusa also pointed out that the application rejection/ return rate by lending institutions stands at 38.75%. In this regard, he urged those institutions to be more proactive in processing loan applications to expand coverage to more street vendors.

He also appealed to the executive officers of ULB, especially the 14 smaller ULB where no loans have been registered, to spread awareness among street vendors and guide them in accessing the opportunities. He further stated that the District Urban Development Agencies (DUDA) are ready to assist in this effort, which is linked to eight central schemes.

The state mission director of NLUM, SUDA, Peteville Khatau, in his welcome speech, emphasised the programme’s significance in recognising the commendable efforts of the state, ULB and lending institutions. He announced that the state government has sanctioned 4,047 loans so far.

He stated that the awards ceremony recognised the top nine institutions and bank branches, as well as seven best-performing ULB as acknowledged by MoHUA.

The deputy director, Kiniholi Kinimi, during the award ceremony mentioned that the state-level awards ceremony target facilitation of 831 winners within August 2024. Kinimi added that the Ministry has recognised one best performing lending institution, eight best performing bank branches and seven best-performing ULB across various cities and towns in Nagaland.

The best performing lending institution was awarded to State Bank of India (SBI), while the best performing bank branches were awarded to Canara Bank, Dimapur; Indian Bank, Dimapur; State Bank of India, Dimapur; State Bank of India, Bazaar branch, Dimapur; State Bank of India, Kiphire; State Bank of India, Old Market, Dimapur; State Bank of India, Rangapahar, Dimapur; and State Bank of India, Tuensang.

In the best performing ULB, Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) was awarded in Category-I: Class I and II cities, while Wokha Town Council, Mon Town Council, and Tuensang Town Council were awarded under Category -II: Class III and IV cities.

Medziphema Town Council, Longleng Town Council and Peren Town Council were awarded under Category -III: Class II and IV cities.