New Delhi, Aug. 15 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech on Friday, highlighted a series of welfare initiatives aimed at empowering the most disadvantaged sections of society.

Among these, the PM SVANidhi Yojana was mentioned as a key programme supporting street vendors. Launched in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scheme provides financial assistance to street vendors across India to restart and expand their businesses, which were severely impacted by the lockdown.

The PM SVANidhi scheme, officially known as Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi, is a small credit facility launched by the Indian government on 1 June 2020. It offers collateral-free working capital loans of up to Rs.10,000 to el...