AMN / NEW DELHI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch PM Vishwakarma Scheme on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti on Sunday at India International Convention and Expo Centre in New Delhi.
The aim of the scheme is to not only support the artisans and craftspeople of rural and urban areas across the country financially but also to keep the age-old tradition, culture, and diverse heritage alive and flourishing through local products, art, and crafts. It has been the sustained focus of the Prime Minister to give support to the people engaged in traditional crafts. The prime focus of the scheme which covers 18 traditional crafts is to improve the quality as well as the reach of products and services and to ensure that they are integrated with the domestic and global value chains. It aims to strengthen and nurture the Guru-Shishya parampara or family-based practice of traditional skills by Vishwakarma working with their hands and tools.
The scheme will be fully funded by the Centre with an outlay of 13 thousand crore rupees and under it, the Vishwakarma will be registered free of charge through Common Services Centres using the biometric-based PM Vishwakarma portal. They will be provided recognition through PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card, skill upgradation involving basic and advanced training, and a toolkit incentive of 15 thousand rupees. They will also be given collateral-free credit support of one lakh rupees in the first tranche and two lakh rupees in the second tranche at a concessional interest rate of five percent, incentive for digital transactions and marketing support.