UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — PM SVANidhi: From Survival to Self-Reliance
Q1. PM SVANidhi, launched in June 2020, functions under the nodal administrative authority of which one of the following Union Ministries?
- A. Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
- B. Ministry of Finance
- C. Ministry of Labour and Employment
- D. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Q2. With reference to PM SVANidhi as originally launched in 2020, consider the following statements:
1. It was introduced to provide collateral-free working capital loans to urban street vendors whose livelihoods were disrupted by the COVID-19 lockdown.
2. At launch, the first-tranche loan was capped at ₹10,000, with a one-year tenure repayable in monthly instalments.
3. Eligibility was restricted to street vendors who began vending on or after 24 March 2020.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- It was introduced to provide collateral-free working capital loans to urban street vendors whose livelihoods were disrupted by the COVID-19 lockdown.
- At launch, the first-tranche loan was capped at ₹10,000, with a one-year tenure repayable in monthly instalments.
- Eligibility was restricted to street vendors who began vending on or after 24 March 2020.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. Under PM SVANidhi, collateral-free working capital loans are extended to a vendor in how many progressive tranches, each unlocked upon repayment of the previous one?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Four
- D. Five
Q4. Which of the following bodies is jointly responsible, alongside MoHUA, for facilitating access to PM SVANidhi loans and credit cards through banks and their ground-level functionaries?
- A. Department of Financial Services
- B. Department of Economic Affairs
- C. Department of Expenditure
- D. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
Q5. Which one of the following correctly describes the implementing arrangement and duration of the restructured PM SVANidhi Scheme?
- A. Implemented jointly by MoHUA and the Department of Financial Services; lending period extended up to 31 March 2030
- B. Implemented solely by MoHUA; lending period extended up to 31 December 2028
- C. Implemented jointly by the Ministry of Finance and SIDBI; lending period extended up to 31 March 2030
- D. Implemented jointly by MoHUA and the Department of Financial Services; lending period extended only up to 31 December 2024
Q6. The restructuring and extension of PM SVANidhi's lending period was approved by which authority, and with what total outlay?
- A. The Union Cabinet, with a total outlay of ₹7,332 crore
- B. The Union Cabinet, with a total outlay of ₹600 crore
- C. MoHUA, through an executive order, with a total outlay of ₹7,332 crore
- D. NITI Aayog, with a total outlay of ₹5,000 crore
Q7. In the May 2026 PIB backgrounder on PM SVANidhi, the figure of '1.12 crore' most precisely refers to which one of the following?
- A. The cumulative number of loans disbursed across all tranches
- B. The number of distinct beneficiaries who have received loans
- C. The number of vendors onboarded onto digital payment platforms
- D. The number of UPI-linked RuPay credit cards issued
Q8. As of 20 January 2026, which tranche of PM SVANidhi had recorded the largest cumulative number of street vendor beneficiaries?
- A. First tranche
- B. Second tranche
- C. Third tranche
- D. The RuPay credit card facility
Q9. The digital-transaction cashback incentive under PM SVANidhi is structured as which one of the following?
- A. ₹1 per eligible digital transaction, subject to a maximum of ₹100 per month (i.e. up to ₹1,200 per year)
- B. A one-time lump-sum cashback of ₹1,200 credited on the first digital transaction
- C. A cashback equal to 7% of the value of every digital transaction
- D. ₹100 per digital transaction, subject to a maximum of ₹1,200 per year
Q10. With reference to the financial and digital incentives under PM SVANidhi, consider the following:
1. An interest subsidy of 7% per annum, credited to the borrower quarterly through Direct Benefit Transfer.
2. Cashback of up to ₹1,200 per year for undertaking eligible digital transactions.
3. A UPI-linked RuPay Credit Card with a limit of up to ₹30,000 for vendors who have timely repaid their second-tranche loan.
4. A one-time non-repayable capital subsidy of ₹10,000 granted to all third-tranche borrowers.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as features of the scheme?
- An interest subsidy of 7% per annum, credited to the borrower quarterly through Direct Benefit Transfer.
- Cashback of up to ₹1,200 per year for undertaking eligible digital transactions.
- A UPI-linked RuPay Credit Card with a limit of up to ₹30,000 for vendors who have timely repaid their second-tranche loan.
- A one-time non-repayable capital subsidy of ₹10,000 granted to all third-tranche borrowers.
- A. 1, 2 and 3 only
- B. 1 and 4 only
- C. 2, 3 and 4 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q11. Consider the following statements comparing PM SVANidhi with other micro-credit/livelihood interventions:
1. Unlike PM MUDRA loans, which are available to non-farm enterprises across sectors, PM SVANidhi is targeted specifically at urban street vendors.
2. PM SVANidhi and DAY-NULM are both anchored in the urban livelihoods mandate of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.
3. PM SVANidhi loans, unlike MUDRA loans, require the vendor to furnish collateral security to the lending institution.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Unlike PM MUDRA loans, which are available to non-farm enterprises across sectors, PM SVANidhi is targeted specifically at urban street vendors.
- PM SVANidhi and DAY-NULM are both anchored in the urban livelihoods mandate of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.
- PM SVANidhi loans, unlike MUDRA loans, require the vendor to furnish collateral security to the lending institution.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3