PM Vishwakarma scheme for artisans: On the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti and his 73rd birthday on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM Vishwakarma scheme for artisans and craftspeople involved in 18 traditional industries coming under the MSME sector. The scheme’s portal pmvishwakarma.gov.in was also launched by PM Modi at the India International Convention and Expo Center, known as Yashobhoomi, in New Delhi.
Vishwakarma Jayanti is celebrated in reverence to Lord Vishwakarma who is considered the divine architect or the god of architecture and is worshipped as the deity for all involved in craftsmanship such as artisans, mechanics, architects, factory workers, engineers etc. The artisans and craftspeople, customarily called vishwakarmas, in their artistic capacity, create items with their hands using traditional tools and techniques.
In August, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by PM Modi had approved the Rs 13,000 crore outlay for PM Vishwakarma for five years (FY24 to FY28).
Here are the benefits to be offered to artisans, craftspeople according to the scheme’s portal:
- Recognition as Vishwakarma through Certificate and ID Card
- Skill verification followed by five to seven days (40 hours) of basic training. Interested candidates can also enrol for 15 days (120 hours) of advanced training
- Training stipend of Rs 500 per day
- Toolkit incentive of up to Rs 15,000 grant
- Collateral-free loan of Rs 1 lakh (first tranche for 18 months repayment) and Rs 2 lakh (second tranche for 30 months repayment) at a concessional 5 per cent interest with interest subvention cap of 8 per cent to be paid by the MSME Ministry.
- The credit guarantee cover for loans by lenders including scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks, small finance banks, cooperative banks, non-banking finance companies and microfinance institutions will be covered under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).
- Re 1 as an incentive for every digital transaction for a maximum of up to 100 transactions monthly
- The National Committee for Marketing under the scheme will provide services such as quality certification, branding & promotion, e-commerce linkage, trade fairs advertising, publicity and other marketing activities.
PM Vishwakarma was announced in this year’s budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for traditional artisans and craftspeople to enable them to improve the quality, scale and reach of their products to integrate them with the MSME value chain.
Also read: PM Modi: Vishwakarma Yojana to help train small artisans, connect them with MSMEs
The 18 traditional trades included by the government under the scheme are fishing net maker, tailor (darzi), washerman (dhobi), garland maker (malakaar), barber (nai), doll and toy maker (traditional), basket/ mat/ broom maker/ coir weaver, mason (rajmistri), cobbler (charmkar/shoesmith/footwear artisan), sculptor (moortikar/stone carver), stone breaker, potter (kumhaar), goldsmith (sonar), locksmith, hammer and tool kit maker, blacksmith (lohar), armourer, boat maker, carpenter (suthar).
The MSME ministry, as the nodal ministry of the scheme, will identify and verify the beneficiaries, mobilize them for skill upgradation training, facilitate credit support to vishwakarmas, provide marketing support, and more to enable them to move up the value chain, according to the government. The beneficiaries will be registered free of charge through Common Services Centres (CSCs) using the biometric-based PM Vishwakarma portal.
Here is the eligibility criteria:
- The beneficiary should be engaged in the relevant trade on the date of registration under the scheme and should not have availed loans under similar credit-based schemes of the central or state government for self-employment or business development such as the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), PM SVANidhi, Mudra Yojana in the past five years.
- The registration and benefits under the Scheme will be restricted to one member of the family consisting of the husband, wife and unmarried children.
- A person in government service and their family members will not be eligible under the scheme.
Below are the documents required to apply for loans under the scheme through registration on the scheme’s portal:
- Aadhaar, mobile number, bank details, ration card mandatorily for the registration.
- In case the beneficiary doesn’t have a ration card, he/she would be required to produce Aadhaar cards of all family members
- If the beneficiary does not have a bank account, he/she will be first required to open a bank account for which handholding shall be done by the Common Service Centres.
- The beneficiaries may be required to provide additional documents as per the requirements prescribed by the MSME Ministry.