Street vendors in India Street Vendors Act, 2014

a street vendor selling namkeen snacks, near upmarket khan market, delhi

according ministry of housing , urban poverty alleviation, there 10 million street vendors in india, mumbai accounting 250,000, delhi has 450,000, kolkata, more 150,000, , ahmedabad, 100,000. of them immigrants or laid-off workers, work average 10–12 hours day, , remain impoverished. in india, street vending makes 14% of total (non-agricultural) urban informal employment.though prevalent license-permit raj in indian bureaucracy ended retailing in 1990s, continues in trade. inappropriate license ceiling in cities, mumbai has ceiling 14,000 licenses, means more vendors hawk goods illegally, makes them prone bribery , extortion culture under local police , municipal authories, besides harassment, heavy fines , sudden evictions. in kolkata, profession cognisable , non-bailable offense.

over years street vendors have organized trade unions , associations, , numerous ngo s have started working them. national association of street vendors of india (nasvi), based in delhi, federation of 715 street vendor organizations, trade unions , non-governmental organizations (ngo s)