
The Prime Minister of India has launched the ‘Prime Minister (PM) Vishwakarma Scheme’ on 17th September, 2023 the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti. It is a Central Sector Scheme, to provide end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople who work with their hands and tools fully funded by the Government of India. 140 castes are benefited with this scheme in entire India. The significance of this scheme is Vishwakarmas (Traditional Artisans) play a critical role in society regardless of technological advancements.
There is a need to recognize and support these artisans and integrate them into the global supply chain. The scheme is designed to uplift traditional artisans and craftspeople engaged in various occupations like blacksmithing, goldsmithing, pottery, carpentry, and sculpting, with a focus on preserving cultural heritage and integrating them into the formal economy and global value chains. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) is the Nodal Ministry for the Scheme. The Scheme will be jointly implemented by the MoMSME, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
With this scheme Artisans and craftspeople enrolled in the scheme will receive a PM Vishwakarma certificate and an identity card. They will also be eligible for collateral-free credit support of up to Rs 1 lakh (first tranche) and Rs 2 lakh (second tranche) at a concessional interest rate of 5%.The Scheme has been allocated a budget ranging from Rs 13,000 crore for five financial years from 2023-2024 to 2027-2028. The scheme offers a stipend of Rs 500 for skill training per day and Rs 15,000 grant for the purchase of modern tools.The Scope of this scheme Covers 18 traditional trades across both rural and urban areas. These trades encompass carpenters, boat-makers, blacksmiths, potters, sculptors, cobblers, tailors, and more. Registration for the Vishwakarma Yojana can be completed at common services centers in villages. While the central government will provide funding for the scheme, state governments’ support will also be sought.
The objectives of this schemes are To ensure that artisans are seamlessly integrated into both domestic and global value chains, thus enhancing their market access and opportunities, Preservation and promotion of India’s rich cultural heritage of traditional crafts and Assisting artisans in transitioning to the formal economy and integrating them into global value chains. So far the initiative has provided training to 350,000 individuals so far. Among them, 240,000 (68.76 per cent) are women, and 110,000 (31.3 per cent) are men. Under the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana, women surpassed men in participating in skills training, with over 95 per cent of them choosing tailoring as their preferred trade. According to a report in The Economic Times (ET).Of the women participants, 230,000 gained expertise in tailoring, while the majority of males, totaling 33,104, chose masonry training, According to government statistics, 1.04 million individuals have registered for training under the programme, falling short of the intended target of 3 million.
The states with the most beneficiaries under the programme are Karnataka (83,067), Gujarat (56,221), Jammu and Kashmir (55,856), Andhra Pradesh (44,922), Assam (24,851), Maharashtra (17,557), Uttar Pradesh (13,026), Madhya Pradesh (10,692), Rajasthan (7,846), and Chhattisgarh (7,830), the report said. However, the initiative has yet to gain momentum in eight states, including Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, where only one registration has been recorded in each state, and training has not commenced. A senior government official as saying that efforts are underway to encourage these states and Union Territories (UTs) to implement the scheme promptly, aiming to maximise its benefits for the population. “Some of these states and UTs have not even on-boarded village panchayats for identification of beneficiaries. Unless that happens, training cannot start,” the official said.
Some challenges are there for the implementation of this scheme like lack of beneficiaries’ data in some states and beneficiaries are not aware of scheme, lack of knowledge to get training, while the scheme provides credit support, it might not fully address challenges related to lack of market demand and societal valuation of traditional crafts and Extending loans without addressing market issues could potentially burden beneficiaries with more debt. These challenges to be addressed by bringing awareness among the beneficiaries. Then only the aim of this scheme can be fruitful.
Writer
Bangaru Babu Kondamudi