Evolution in brief : Ever since formation of NASVI,efforts have been directed towards raising the voice and visibility of  street vendors and building pressure on the Government of India to formulate a National Policy for the Street Vendors of the country. A National Policy was urgently needed as there has never been a consistent and coherent thinking on the issue of street vending.All the actions by the Government at all levels have been knee jerk reaction to some problems affecting street vendors. Impromptu, immediate, hasty, half-hearted  etc have characterized the reaction to vendors agitations in case of efforts to evict or relocate the street vendors.

1. conduct of survey
2. zoning system by a joint teams comprising members from Urban local bodies, Police, Representatives of Resident Welfare Association and Vendors unions
3. Till such time, the draft policy on street vendors/hawkers is  finalized, punitive action against them by the concerned authorities, especially the police may be suspended
4. The Minister or Secretary would write letter to states to recognize street hawking as a legitimate occupation
5. A study to be conducted by the Ministry on the aspects of microfinancing

Second Meeting of Task Force : The second meeting of the task force was held in Ahmedabad. There was a visible increase in the commitment of Minister, Secretary and other officials of the Ministry on the issue.

Regarding building  public opinion on street vendors, it was suggested that NGOs and experts / academicians and media should take the initiative by raising the issues at appropriate fora as also by writing suitable articles in the newspapers and magazines and help in conducting an awareness campaign about street vendors be imparted proper training to keep their surroundings neat and clean in order to ward off public criticism that they litter the public places.

To collect and compile the Best Practices elsewhere in the country for replication. In this connection, the initiative taken by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to place Rs. 100.00 lakhs in their current budget for making the hawker zones, giving hawker licenses, prepare proper plans for small markets, mini shops and to establish vending space for vegetable vendors were highly appreciated by the Task Force Members.. Ministry is also examining the issue of finding out a suitable mechanism that could involve setting up of Urban Co-operative Societies through the promotion of Composite Credit Mechanism, expressed their anguish that they have heard cases of eviction even after the letter to state government. There was now talk of a national policy on street vendors rather than on just guidelines for state and local governments.

• The existing licensing system with quantitative limits must be scrapped forthwith
• The metropolis must be divided into “green, amber and red” zones, signifying free access, fee-based access and prohibited access, respectively. The division into the three categories may very with the time of the day, the day of week and the week of the month.
• The division would be made by the MCD/NDMC in their jurisdiction, but invariably with the formal consultation with the resident associations and elected representatives.
• Any person who wishes to be a street hawker or cycle rickshaw puller may do so by simple act of registration involving two steps-Reliable identification by any means like voter ID Card or by payment of normal fee to cover the costs of issue of these cards.

Third meting of Task Force was held in Mumbai on 30-09-2002.This meeting adopted the Draft National Policy prepared by the Drafting Committee with minor modification.

The policy calls for a paradigm shift in the perception of the role of street vendors and appeals for ‘regulation’ instead of ‘prohibition’. It estimates that about 10 million of working force is constituted by street vendors. Various factors of street vending are covered like Supreme Court Judgments, Articles of Constitution, definition, objective of the policy, Planning norms, Regulatory Committee at Town and Ward level, Weekly Markets, Regulatory Process, Registration System, Relocation and Rehabilitation, Municipal and Police laws, Access to Credit, Insurance, Social Security, Training and Skill Up-gradation, Self Regulation.