Amit Shah to chair review meeting of Vishwakarma scheme with BJP leaders

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a review meeting of the Vishwakarma scheme in the national capital with the BJP leaders on Monday.

BJP leaders arrived at the BJP Central Office Extension to attend a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Vishwakarma Samaj people.

"Amit Shah will review the preparation regarding this scheme. He will assign and make a team to implement this scheme in a proper way. The focus will be on registration, training, implementation etc. To date, 2 lakh Viswakarma people have registered. Another 30 lakh people are expected to register under this scheme in five years. Every year six lakh registrations will be done," a party source told ANI.

Earlier last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17 launched the PM Vishwakarma scheme aimed at benefitting traditional artisans and craftspeople.

PM Vishwakarma will be fully funded by the Union Government with an outlay of Rs 13,000 crore. The artists will be provided recognition through PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card, skill upgradation involving basic and advanced training, toolkit incentive of Rs 15,000, collateral-free credit support up to Rs 1 lakh (first tranche) and Rs 2 lakh (second tranche) at a concessional interest rate of 5 per cent, incentive for digital transactions and marketing support.

Eighteen traditional crafts will be covered under PM Vishwakarma. These include Carpenter; Boat Maker; Armourer; Blacksmith; Hammer and Tool Kit Maker; Locksmith; Goldsmith; Potter; Sculptor, Stone breaker; Cobbler (Shoesmith/ Footwear artisan); Mason (Rajmistri); Basket/Mat/Broom Maker/Coir Weaver; Doll and Toy Maker (Traditional); Barber; Garland maker; Washerman; Tailor; and Fishing Net Maker.

The Scheme envisages provisioning of several benefits to the artisans and crafts persons. Artisand and craftspeople will be recognised through PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card. Basic Training of 5-7 days and Advanced Training of 15 days or more, with a stipend of Rs. 500 per day will be provided.

Beneficiaries will get collateral free 'Enterprise Development Loans' of upto Rs. 3 lakh in two tranches of Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 2 lakh with tenures of 18 months and 30 months, respectively, at a concessional rate of interest fixed at 5%, with Government of India subvention to the extent of 8%.

Marketing support will be provided to the artisans and craftspeople in the form of quality certification, branding, onboarding on e-commerce platforms such as GeM, advertising, publicity and other marketing activities to improve linkage to value chain.

Enrolment of beneficiaries shall be done through Common Service Centres with Aadhaar-based biometric authentication on PM Vishwakarma portal.