PM Vishwakarma Scheme
Why in News?
Recently, the Prime Minister of India has launched the ‘Prime Minister (PM) Vishwakarma Scheme’ on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti.
About
PM Vishwakarma, is a Central Sector Scheme with an outlay of ₹13,000 crore to provide end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople who work with their hands and tools.
It has been launched to improve the quality as well as the reach of products and services of artisans and craftspeople in rural and urban areas across India.
The Scheme covers artisans and craftspeople engaged in 18 trades, such as carpenter (Suthar); boat maker; armourer; blacksmith; potter; sculptor, tailor; fishing net maker etc.
The Scheme envisages provisioning of the following benefits to the artisans and crafts persons:
(i) Recognition: Recognition of artisans and craftspeople through PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card.
(ii) Skill Upgradation: Basic Training of 5-7 days and Advanced Training of 15 days or more, with a stipend of Rs. 500 per day;
(iii) Toolkit Incentive: A toolkit incentive of upto Rs. 15,000 in the form of e-vouchers at the beginning of Basic Skill Training.
(iv) Credit Support: Collateral free ‘Enterprise Development Loans’ of upto Rs. 3 lakh in two tranches of Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 2 lakh with tenures of 18 months and 30 months, respectively, at a concessional rate of interest fixed at 5%, with Government of India subvention to the extent of 8%. Beneficiaries who have completed Basic Training will be eligible to avail the first tranche of credit support of upto Rs. 1 lakh. The second loan tranche will be available to beneficiaries who have availed the 1st tranche and maintained a standard loan account and have adopted digital transactions in their business or have undergone Advanced Training.
(v) Incentive for Digital Transaction: An amount of Re. 1 per digital transaction, upto maximum 100 transactions monthly will be credited to the beneficiary’s account for each digital pay-out or receipt.
(vi) Marketing Support: Marketing support will be provided to the artisans and craftspeople in the form of quality certification, branding, onboarding on e-commerce platforms such as GeM, advertising, publicity and other marketing activities to improve linkage to value chain.
Objectives:
- 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.
- Assisting artisans in transitioning to the formal economy and integrating them into global value chains.
Significance:
- 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.
What are the Government Initiatives for the Upliftment of Artisans?
- Mega Cluster Scheme
- One District One Product
- Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme
- Atmanirbhar Hastshilpkar Scheme
- Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts
- National Handicraft Development Programme
- Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana
