From street vendors to entrepreneurs

They may be selling bananas, paav bhaji, cosmetics, cigarettes or just about anything else either on a push-cart going round streets or simply by standing on the roadside and now these street vendors are all set to get a new designation -- micro-entrepreneurs.

The National Policy on Urban Street Vendors, 2009, approved by the UPA government, recognises street vendors (or micro-entrepreneurs) as an integral and legitimate part of the urban retail trade and distribution system.

"We have drafted the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2009, and forwarded it to the state governments for enacting local legislations to provide for protection of livelihood of urban street vendors and regulate street vending," said Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) Secretary Kiran Dhingra.

Terming them as micro-entrepreneurs, the HUPA Ministry maintains that it is the duty of the state governments to protect the rights of stree vendors to earn an honest living. The ministry has initiated steps asking state governments to enact legislation for regulating street vending in tune with the national policy.