New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday interacted with three street vendors of Madhya Pradesh including a vegetable seller who have been beneficiaries of the Centre's SVANidhi Yojana, which the PM said, has benefited over 1 lakh street vendors in 2 months.

"In this scheme, such arrangement has been made through technology that the lines can be avoided but the street vendors need to submit the papers. You can apply at the Common Service Center, Municipality Office or by visiting the bank," said PM Modi while addressing all beneficiaries of MP virtually.

He stressed that the objective of the scheme is that street vendors can start afresh and get easy capital. They do not have to bring capital by paying more interest, said the Prime Minister.

"Our poor friends and street vendors heavily felt the crisis. Therefore, since the first day of the Corona crisis, it has been the endeavour of the government to overcome the crisis of the poor," PM Modi said.

The Centre had launched PM SVANidhi scheme on June 1, 2020 to help street vendors, impacted by Covid-19, resume livelihood activities.

4.5 lakh street vendors were registered in Madhya Pradesh, with more than 4 lakh vendors having been given identification and vendor certification. The applications of 2.45 lakh eligible beneficiaries have been presented through the portal to banks, out of which acceptance has been granted to around 1.4 lakh street vendors of amount worth Rs 140 crore. Madhya Pradesh stands first in the number of total applications accepted, with 47 per cent of these coming from the state alone.