The Vishwakarma Yojana was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17th September 2023 i.e. the day of Vishwakarma Puja to improve the economic condition of artisans in India. It is a unique initiative in which the various artisans of the country like blacksmiths, goldsmiths, potters, carpenters, sculptors, masons etc. are provided with modern market equivalent and technical skill training.
The Pradhan Mantri Vishwa Karma Yojana (PMVY) is administered by the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the scheme has an outlay of ₹13,000 crore. Allotment of Rs. Currently more than 2 crore applications have been submitted under this scheme and more than 10 lakh beneficiaries are covered under this scheme.
What is Vishwakarma Yojana?
A significant section of the Indian labor force is the artisan class, i.e. those who work mainly with their hands and tools. Generally they are considered as part of self-employed and unorganized sector.
Among these artisans are goldsmiths, blacksmiths, potters, carpenters, potters etc. who are the traditional artisans of the country and whose skills have been handed down mainly through the guru-disciple tradition for several generations, we call them ‘Vishwakarma’.
The ‘PM Vishwakarma Yojana’ is a novel initiative with a focus on providing holistic support to the artisans and improving the economic status of the artisans which will uplift the socio-economic status as well as being particularly helpful in carrying forward the heritage of the country.
Under this scheme, a total of 18 traditional technical skills have been placed under the government-sponsored advanced training along with financial assistance and provision of low-interest loans after training.
Vishwakarma Yojana Details
Brief details of Vishwakarma Yojana are listed below:
| Scheme Name | Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana (PMVY) |
| Plan start time | 17th September 2023 |
| Type of plan | Central Govt. Scheme |
| Responsible department | Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Ministry of Finance (MoF) |
| Beneficiary | Craftsmen of India |
| Project budget | ₹13,000 crore |
| Purpose | Providing financial assistance to traditional artisans of the country or artisans working with their own hands and tools |
| Collateral Free Loan Amount | ₹3 lakhs |
| Application | Online |
| Official website | pmvishwakarma.gov.in |
Vishwakarma Yojana benefits
Under the PM Vishwakarma Yojana, artisans will get the following benefits:
Skill Enhancement:
One of the objectives of the Vishwakarma Yojana is to enhance the skills and capabilities of India’s traditional artisans, who have been working with hands and tools for generations, will be introduced to facilities such as marketing assistance, enterprise creation, credit, digital transactions, besides skill enhancement and training in the use of modern toolkits.
This skill development consists of three components: skill verification, basic skills and advanced skills.
Skill Check:
The task of verifying the skills of the registered artisans of Vishwakarma Yojana is the most basic. The purpose of this basic training is to enhance the skills of Vishwakarma, help them get loans and upgrade their equipment.
Basic Skills:
Their existing skills will first be looked at to enhance basic skills and then simply given short demonstration training. After training, their skills will be assessed and shared with MSMEs and incentives will be provided for their equipment.
Basic skill training will be total of 40 hours ie 5 to 7 days of training which will include formalization of acquired skills and upgradation of skills. Artisans will be trained on modern commercial level equipments associated with various industries. One of the objectives of this skill training is to facilitate the artisans to improve the quality of their products.
Advanced Skill Training:
After basic skilling the artisans will be enrolled for advanced skill training for 120 hours or 15 days or more to improve their skills further. The main aim of this advanced training will be to deepen the knowledge of artisans so that Vishwakarma can feel confident enough in self-employment.
Stipend:
After basic and advanced skill training under Vishwakarma Yojana each beneficiary will get a stipend or stipend of Rs.500/- for every training day which will be credited to the beneficiary’s bank account through DBT mode.
Toolkit Incentives:
In this case, after skill verification at the beginning of initial training, the artisan will be given a toolkit incentive of Rs.15,000/- or equipment purchase money, which will be disbursed to them through e-RUPI/e-Voucher. A digital guide and short video tutorials will be provided to use all these advanced toolkits.
Credit Support:
The main objective of the Vishwakarma Yojana is to enhance the capacity of the traditional artisans by providing assistance and for that purpose collateral free ‘Enterprise Development Loan’ is provided to the artisans after training them in basic skills.
- The total amount of loan assistance is Rs 3 lakh, where the beneficiaries will get loan facility up to Rs 1 lakh in the first phase and up to Rs 2 lakh in the second phase.
- The loan must be repaid monthly.
- Beneficiaries have been fixed an interest rate of 5% for the loan and the Government of India will provide an interest subsidy of up to 8% which will be paid in advance to the banks.
- Beneficiaries will get interest subvention on both the first and second tranches of the loan.
The repayment period is mentioned in the following table:
| Step | Loan Amount | Repayment period |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | 1 lakh rupees | 18 months |
| Step 2 | 2 lakh rupees | 30 months |
Incentives in digital transactions:
The scheme provides incentives for UPI digital transactions, where for every digital transaction, Rs.1 (up to a maximum of 100 transactions per month) will be credited to the beneficiary’s Aadhaar linked bank account through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System (APBS).
Marketing Support:
Borrowers of Vishwakarma Yojana will get marketing support from the ‘National Committee for Marketing’ (NCM) in the areas of their choice. All these marketing support includes brand building for products and services, packaging, design, creating online presence, trade fair advertisement, communication with exporters, product quality, product listing on e-commerce portals etc.
Vishwakarma Yojana List
Under Vishwakarma Yojana, the following 18 businesses have been initially included in which self-employed workers in the unorganized sector will be eligible for benefits:
| Number | Business | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Woodwork | ||
| 1 | Carpenter | Craftsmen who make or repair wooden products with their own hands and tools |
| 2 | Boat builder | Artisans who build and repair wooden boats with hands and tools |
| Iron/Metal or Stone work | ||
| 3 | Armorer | Artisans who make and repair various types of weapons such as swords, shields, knives, helmets, etc. using hand and traditional tools |
| 4 | Blacksmith | Self-employed artisans in the unorganized sector who work with their hands and tools in metals such as iron, copper, brass or bronze |
| 5 | Hammer and tool kit maker | Artisans who make iron hammers and other tool kits with their hands and tools |
| 6 | Locksmith | Artisans who roam the small streets or streets making and repairing locks by hand and using traditional tools like cutters, hammers etc. |
| 7 | Sculptor (sculptor, stone carver), stone breaker | Artisans who are artists or idolaters i.e. those who carve, break or cut stone with their hands and tools to make idols etc. |
| Gold and silver work | ||
| 8 | Goldsmith | Those who are called goldsmiths or silversmiths i.e. those who work with hands and tools to create designs in precious metals |
| Earthwork | ||
| 9 | Potter | Artisans who make pottery using traditional methods with hand and tools |
| Leather work | ||
| 10 | Cobbler (Leather) / Shoemaker / Shoemaker | Self-employed artisans who hang out in small roadside stalls or on the streets make and repair leather shoes by hand and using traditional tools such as hammer, needle, thread etc. |
| Architectural/Construction work | ||
| 11 | Mason | Those who do structural work with hand and tools, plastering, brick, sand, cement, water proofing etc. |
| Other | ||
| 12 | Making baskets/mats/brooms | Artisans who weave with flexible materials to make various types of baskets, mats etc |
| 13 | Making traditional dolls and toys | Self-employed artisans who make dolls and toys using traditional methods such as wool, thread, cotton, wood, etc. |
| 14 | The Barber | Barbers in the self-employed sector primarily perform haircuts, shaving, etc. using scissors, blades, combs, shaving creams, etc. |
| 15 | Garland making work | Those who make various decorative garlands with the help of flowers, leaves or other materials by hand |
| 16 | Laundry | Artisans who carry out traditional methods such as manual washing, ironing using local soaps |
| 17 | The Tailor | Artisans who do sewing work using hand sewing machine, scissors, buttons, cloth, needle, thread etc. |
| 18 | Making fishing nets | Self-employed artisans who make fishing nets by hand using various materials such as rope, thread or twine. They can use traditional techniques or modern machinery to weave nets of specific designs and different sizes to catch fish and other aquatic animals. |
Who will get Vishwakarma Yojana?
Applicants for PM Vishwakarma Yojana need to have the following qualifications:
- The applicant should be an artisan engaged on self-employment basis in an unorganized sector in any of the 18 specified family-based traditional businesses mentioned in the scheme.
- Minimum age of applicant should be 18 years.
- Applicant should not have taken any loan under any similar central or state government credit-based scheme, such as PM SVANidhi, PMEGP, MUDRA, etc., for the development of his own employment or business in the last 5 years. However those who have fully repaid their loans under MUDRA and SVANidhi can apply for loans under PM Vishwakarma.
- Applicants employed in any central or state government service and their family members (wife and their unmarried children) are not eligible for this scheme.
- Only one member of a family can avail the benefits of Vishwakarma Yojana.
Vishwakarma Yojana What will it take?
Following documents are required for registration in Vishwakarma Yojana:
- Aadhaar Card
- Mobile Number
- Ration Card (If applicants do not have a ration card, they have to provide Aadhaar numbers of all their family members)
- Bank Account (If not having a bank account the applicant must first open an account and the handholding process will be completed by CSC)
Vishwakarma Yojana Online Registration
E-Shram Card is not required for registration in Vishwakarma Yojana, but for online registration the applicant has to go to Common Service Center (CSC) as the Vishwakarma Yojana portal ‘pmvishwakarma.gov.in’ is currently only for this Yojana through CSC Login, Admin Login etc. Registration is possible.
Vishwakarma Yojana related Queries (FAQs):
What is PM Vishwakarma Yojana?
PM Vishwakarma Yojana is a central scheme launched by the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, where artisans are provided with market equivalent skill training, collateral free loans, modern equipment etc.
Who will get Vishwakarma Yojana?
Artisans engaged in 18 trades currently prescribed for the Vishwakarma Yojana are eligible namely carpenters, boat makers, armourers, blacksmiths, hammer and tool kit makers, locksmiths, sculptors, goldsmiths, potters, cobblers, masons, basket or mat makers, traditional doll and toy makers, Barbering, garland making, washing, tailoring and fishing net making.
What is the initial loan amount of Vishwakarma Yojana?
Under Vishwakarma Yojana, as ‘Enterprise Development Loan’, a loan of Rs 1 lakh is initially available for a period of 18 months.
After receiving the initial loan under Vishwakarma Yojana, when will the second loan be available?
The second phase loan amount under this scheme is Rs 2 lakh, but only those who maintain a standard loan account and undergo digital transaction management and advanced skills training in business.
What is the interest rate on loans under Vishwakarma Yojana?
The Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana offers collateral-free ‘Enterprise Development Loan’ up to Rs 3 lakh with an interest rate of 5% and a tenure of 4 years.
