Street Vending has come a long way from the time the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) was formed 26 years before on 26th September 1998. Beginning as a network of few organizations, NASVI went on to organize the Street Vendors at the National level giving voice and visibility to a large section of urban poor who were present all across Indian cities but absent in Government Policies and Programs. NASVI went on to organize street vendors across India developing leaders and organizations at the city and state levels.
Responding to the advocacy efforts, Govt of India organized a National Workshop of Street Vending in the year 2000 which led to the setting up of a Task Force and a Drafting Committee and ultimately a National Policy on Urban Street Vendors
in 2004. The Policy had mixed responses but the numerous communication
between the Govt of India and State Govts in the making and implementation of
the Policy sensitised the State Govts and to some extent Municipal Bodies.
Implementation led to many experimentations and soon NASVI began
demanding for a law which could incorporate the lessons from implementation
and experimentations. Some states began enacting law by themselves but finally,
after many ups and downs The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and
Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 was enacted by Parliament. The National Urban Livelihood Mission too was launched where implementation of the law became an integral part.
On 27th September National Association of Street Vendors of India organized an Annual general meeting at the Constitution Club of India where street vendor leaders from across the country attended the meeting and shared their learnings and struggles from last year. The event started with the presentation of annual and financial reports led by street vendor leaders sharing their respective state challenges and issues.
Shri Arbind Singh started with the issues of FCRA cancellation and its effects on NASVI. He also laid importance on how the AGM has to constructively talk about the real issues so that it gives better clarity on the demands of vendor fellows. Shri CP Singh also requested the vendor representatives to pay attention and contribute to the AGM so that the challenges issues, developments, and way forward can be discussed. Later street vendors from across India shared their grievances with the audience.
NASVI with the support of Nestle has been organizing food safety & hygiene training in Uttarakhand. Covering the districts of Tehri, Dehradun, Chamoli, and more, street food vendors showed immense enthusiasm and participated in the sessions. The core mission was to equip street vendors with essential knowledge of food safety and hygiene practices while at the same time enhancing their livelihoodprospects. Local authorities showed great support for the training and guiding the team for every aspect.
Rehabilitation of flood affected street vendors in Assam
Digitizing weighing machines- Help us distribute digital weighing machines among street vendors and reinstate customer confidence!
Every monsoon, the North East faces the onslaught of flash floods by incessant rainfall and July 2024 is no different. In Assam alone, the flood has affected 24 lakh people across 30 districts. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, major rivers in the state are still flowing above the danger level. Kamrup, Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, etc. are the worst affected areas.
Traditional analog weighing scales are subjected to many errors, and when the neighbourhood vegetable vendor is seen using the same, customers generally do not put trust in them. Hence to ensure accurate measurements and reinstate customer confidence in the street vendors, NASVI is raising funds to distribute digital weighing machines.
SANGEETA SINGH, HEAD, STREET FOOD PROGRAME- NASVI ATTENDED THE FIRST UN TOURISM REGIONAL FORUM ON GASTRONOMY TOURISM FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC AT CEBU, PHILIPPINES
Multistakeholder Meeting
Date : 23rd November, 2023; Time 12 to 3 pm
Venue : Rangsharada Auditorium, Bandra, Mumbai
A meeting of multitakeholders was held by the NASVI organization in Mumbai on November 23rd, 2023. Union Minister Hon’ble Shri. Hardeep Singh Puri Sir was present as the chief guest in the meeting. There was discussion in the meeting regarding the successful implementation of PM SVANidhi scheme. The administrative officers who worked tirelessly to achieve PM SVANidhi target were also recognized by the NASVI.
NASVI PARTICIPATED IN WORLD FOOD INDIA, 2023 3rd to 5th November at PRAGATI MAIDAN
The National Association of Street Vendors of India participated in the Second Edition of World Food India. In the view of 75th celebration of independence, NASVI has organized 15 stalls at the event and brought 75 cuisines which were all prepared by Street Food Vendors. Nasvi has partnered with Food Street which was curated by Master Chef Ranveer Brar. Street food vendors from across the country participated in the event. Empowering street vendors across the country and giving them the golden opportunity to showcase their culinary skills at such international events gave them the entitlement of respect and opportunity.
NASVI began as an initiative in Patna in 1998 and grew into a nationwide movement that resulted in the adoption of a Central Law in 2014 as well as the nationwide Policy in 2004. About 40 lakh street vendors in India received Certificates of Vending (COV) under the Act, making them the first in the world, and 4600 Town Vending Committees (TVCs) have been established nationwide. Since its start, PM SVANidhi has expanded its credit program to include over 40 lakh suppliers.
NASVI in collaboration with Nestle conducted the Food Safety Training in Jagraon, Punjab. where the street food vendors were trained to keep the food clean and hygienic. The training was informative and full of learning for the street food vendors of Jagroan.
A lot has changed in the past nine years, but one thing remains constant: the importance of street vendors in our communities. We loved hearing from TVC Leaders and stakeholders about the progress made since the enactment of the Street Vending Act. Let's keep the momentum going!