A Akhter
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today termed Skilled craftsmen as symbols of the true spirit of self-reliant India adding that his government considers such people as “Vishwakarma of new India”.
He said that in the last few years, the government is working towards enhancing the skills of crores of young people through the Skill India Mission and the Kaushal Vikas Kendras.
Addressing the post-budget webinar on ‘PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman (PM VIKAS)’ today Prime Minister said through these schemes youngsters are getting lots of job opportunities in the country.
The Prime Minister said there is a need for a more targeted approach in the area of skill development to get better results and PM-Vishwakarma Yojana is the result of that thinking. He said the objective of the PM-Vishwakarma scheme is not only to preserve the rich tradition of traditional artisans and craftsmen but also to develop them. Mr. Modi added that now there is a need to revamp the skill infrastructure system according to their needs.
The Prime Minister said, the PM-Vishwakarma yojana is going to be of great help to crores of people and it will be ensured that every Vishwakarma partner gets loans easily. Mr. Modi noted that after Independence, the intervention that artisans needed from the government could not get that support. He added that due to this, today many people are leaving their ancestral and traditional occupations.
The Prime Minister stated that PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman has been for the artisans and craftsmen of India and its aim is to allow them to enhance the calibre, scope, and reach of their goods. He said, there are various artisans in the villages and cities who make a living using tools with the skills of their hands and the PM-Vishwakarma scheme is towards one such large and scattered community.
Mr. Modi said, Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj encapsulates the development of each and every section of the village and not merely agriculture and farming, but other fields and aspects of a village economy.
PM emphasized that the government is trying to reach the people in the remote parts of the country and many of them are getting the benefits of the government schemes for the first time. Most of the artisans are from dalit, adivasi, backward communities or are women and to reach and provide benefit to them a practical strategy will be needed. “For this, we will have to work in a time-bound mission mode”, the Prime Minister noted.