Rs13,000 cr allocated under PM Vishwakarma Scheme for five years

New Delhi: Rs.13,000 crore have been provided for the PM Vishwakarma Scheme from FY 2023-2024 to FY 2027-28, informed the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The objective of the PM Vishwakarma Scheme is to enable /18 trades eligible under the PM Vishwakarma scheme who work with their hands, using tools, in the 18 trades covered through:

i. the recognition of artisans and craftspeople as Vishwakarma, making them eligible to avail all the benefits under the Scheme;

ii. skill upgradation to hone their skills and make relevant and suitable training opportunities available to them;

iii. support for better and modern tools to enhance their capability, productivity, and quality of products and services;

iv. providing the beneficiaries an easy access to collateral free credit and reduced cost of credit through interest subvention;

v. incentives for digital transactions to encourage digital empowerment of Vishwakarmas; and

vi. a platform for brand promotion and market linkages to help them access new opportunities for growth.

Eligibility criteria

As per guidelines of the PM Vishwakarma scheme, the eligibility criteria for availing the benefits of the PM Vishwakarma Scheme are as under;

i. An artisan or craftsperson working with hands and tools and engaged in one of the 18 family-based traditional trades, in the unorganised sector, on self-employment basis, shall be eligible for registration.

ii. The minimum age of the beneficiary should be 18 years on the date of registration.

iii. The beneficiary should be engaged in the trade concerned on the date of registration.

iv. The beneficiary should not have availed loans under similar credit-based schemes of Central Government or State Government for self-employment/business development e.g. PMEGP, MUDRA and PM SVANidhi in the past 5 years. However, beneficiaries of MUDRA and PM SVANidhi who have fully repaid their loan will be eligible under PM Vishwakarma.

v. The registration and benefits under the Scheme shall be restricted to one member of the family. For availing benefits under the Scheme, a ‘family’ is defined as consisting of the husband, wife and unmarried children.

vi. A person in government service and her/his family members shall not be eligible under the Scheme.

As on 18.12.2023, as per PM Vishwakarma Portal, 57,815 applications have been registered for availing the benefits of the PM Vishwakarma Scheme.

As informed by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 177 candidates have completed the Basic training and 133 candidates have been assessed and certified as on 17.12.2023. The payment of stipend to the Basic Training certified Vishwakarmas is currently under process in Public Finance Management System (PFMS).

18 trades eligible under the PM Vishwakarma scheme.