New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Around 30 lakh artisans and craftsmen have been registered under the PM Vishwakarma Scheme in two years, and for the support in business development, more than 4.7 lakh loans worth Rs 41,188 crore have been approved, the government has informed.

Nearly 26 lakh artisans and craftsmen have completed skill verification where 86 per cent of them completed their basic training too. Raajmistri (Mason) is the most registered trade under the scheme.

The PM Vishwakarma Scheme has emerged as a transformative initiative of the government that has supported traditional artisans and empowered them.

To directly equip the skilled worker with the necessary equipment and encourage the promotion of modern technologies, more than 23 lakhs e-vouchers have been issued as a toolkit incentive, according to the government.

The PM Vishwakarma Scheme was launched on September 17, 2023 on the occasion of Vishwakarma Day, with a financial outlay of Rs 13,000 crores starting from FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-28.

The Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman Yojana was launched to uplift the lives of these artisans and craftsperson by enhancing their skills and increasing the reach of their products and services.

It aims to provide end-to-end holistic support to artisans and craftspeople for their respective trades. It emphasises encouraging the trades in rural and urban areas, with special attention to women empowerment and marginalised or underserved groups like the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, Specially Abled, Transgenders, residents of NER states, Island Territories, and Hilly Areas.

To expand the reach in every district, District Project Management Units (DPMUs) have been appointed in almost all the districts. The role of DPMUs is to generate awareness about the scheme benefits, and also inform the Vishwakarmas about training dates, batch timings, location of training centres, stakeholder coordination, and regularly monitoring the training centres to ensure adherence and compliance with the training guidelines.

The total number of DPMUs appointed under the scheme is 497 (as of July 2025), who are covering 618 districts of the country.

With the support of ministries and DPMUs, the scheme focuses on achieving the goal of recognising artisans as Vishwakarmas, providing them with skill training, modern tools, and easy access to collateral-free credit, along with incentives for digital transactions. It also focuses on brand promotion and market linkages, enabling artisans to enhance productivity, quality, and growth opportunities.

The scheme brings small artisans under one umbrella and empowers them with recognition. The initiative also focuses on financial support, skill upgradation, and connects them with global markets. With this initiatives, age-old traditions can thrive in a competitive world, while preserving their traditional art and knowledge.

–IANS

na/