Govt aims to train 600K workers under PM Vishwakarma, says official

The Centre has set a target of providing training to six hundred thousand traditional artisans and craftspeople under the PM Vishwakarma scheme this fiscal, Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) Secretary Atul Kumar Tiwari said here on Monday.

The MSDE is optimistic about meeting the target as over 1.1 million applications have already been received for the scheme and the three-stage process for screening applicants and beneficiaries is underway, according to officials.

PM Vishwakarma, a central scheme, was launched on September 17 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople.

"The government has set a target of training six lakh artisans and craftspeople with an objective to help them improve their earnings and bring them to mainstream growth by way of providing them with expert training in works they are already skilled in, and helping them with toolkits worth Rs 15,000, branding and marketing to scale up their work," Tiwari told reporters.

The MSDE secretary was speaking at the launch of the first PM Vishwakarma - Training of Master Trainers and Assessors Programme, a five-day event being held at the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NEISBUD) in Noida.

Tiwari said people related to traditional crafts like carpentry, masonry, jewellery-making, doll- and toy-making and fishing net-making among a few others can apply for training and benefits under the scheme.

The training would be provided by master trainers in a batch of 30 people, the secretary said.

The PM Vishwakarma scheme ensures recognition through PM Vishwakarma certificates and ID cards, skill upgrading through skill verification, basic skilling, advanced skill training, entrepreneurial knowledge, toolkit incentives up to Rs 15,000, credit support up to Rs 300,000, and incentives for digital transactions, according to an official statement.

The programme will also provide marketing and branding support by the National Committee of Marketing (NCM), it added.

National Skill Development Corporation Vice-president Mahendra Singh Payaal said the target for training six lakh artisans and craftspeople is for the ongoing fiscal and the government is optimistic about meeting it as over 11 lakh applications have already been received for it.

"There is a three-level screening and verification process for the applicants. The first is at the gram panchayat level, then at the district and then the state level after which the applications of interested and serious candidates would reach the Centre for training," Payaal said.

Interested applicants can apply for the training through the Jan Seva Kendras at the village level or apply through the app or website of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), he added.