The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill that was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 6 September 2013 is a landmark for protection of this important section of the urban poor. The bill is an outcome of the consistent efforts of organisations such as Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) who have, for over a decade, been pressurising the government to grant legal recognition to street vendors. The National Advisory Council too took up the issue and framed a draft legislation. The nodal ministry-Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation-(HUPA) was in favour, but it was wary of a central law as street vendors were under the jurisdiction of the local bodies and hence only the state governments could influence these bodies. It was argued that street vending should not be viewed as an urban development issue but rather as a livelihoods issue. Another important legislation, namely, MGNREGA, was passed as a central legislation because it deals with livelihood though it is operated through local bodies. The law for street vending could be regarded in a similar manner. This led to the final drafting of the bill. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on the last day of the monsoon session of Parliament in 2012.