Smart Street Pilot Project To Provide 120 Shops For SHG Women

This marks the first phase of the project, which will eventually include 240 shops in the area.

The Andhra Pradesh government is launching a ‘Smart Street Project’ to modernise street vending in the state. This initiative, piloted in Nellore, involves building modern, container-based shops for street vendors, aiming to improve their livelihoods, enhance the urban landscape, and boost tourism.

The project is part of the National Urban Livelihood Mission and will be expanded to seven more cities, including Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and others.

The project is also part of a broader effort to encourage entrepreneurship among women, with a goal of enabling at least one woman from each household in the state to run her own business.

The container-based shops were prepared quickly to ensure the women could start operations without delay. The government has been spending nearly `4 lakh for each container model shop.

Each beneficiary will receive `2 lakh as a subsidy through the corporation and an additional `2 lakh as a bank loan. Alongside this, a personal contribution of `1 lakh per shop owner has been pledged to provide extra support.

The shops are intended to help improve women’s economic conditions and provide them with opportunities for sustainable livelihoods.

Women were encouraged to make good use of this support and set an example for others. Several expressed their thanks for the additional financial help and looked forward to starting their businesses soon.

The women beneficiaries, during a meeting held on Sunday, expressed their gratitude to the government for extending laudable support to ensure steady income to their families.