Over 200K eligible people set to get e-vouchers under Vishwakarma scheme

The data sourced from the Vishwakarma portal shows that nearly 15 million people applied under the scheme

More than 200,000 eligible artisans and craftsmen, who have completed the first set of basic training under the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Scheme, will receive e-vouchers worth Rs 15,000 to buy modern toolkits, people familiar with the development said.

“Out of over 700,000 people registered under the scheme, over 200,000 have completed the basic training and have been assessed. They are being provided with e-vouchers so that they can avail modern tools related to their trade,” the person said.

Launched in September 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the scheme allows people, who have undergone basic training and skill assessment, to avail toolkit incentive of up to Rs 15,000 through e-vouchers. They can purchase modern tools suitable for their occupation from the designated centres.

Besides the toolkit incentive, these people are also eligible for availing the first tranche of credit support of up to Rs 1 lakh under the scheme for their enterprise development. 

The basic training spans over 5-10 days where people undergo skills upgradation through certified trainers in a classroom. There are also training equipment and tools for practical training.

At the end of the basic training, an independent assessment is made, and a national skill qualification framework (NSQF) certification is provided to successful candidates. 

“Eligible people who have completed the basic training courses have been familiarised with the latest tools and techniques. Our efforts have been to promote entrepreneurship among them. This will help them fully utilise the low-interest rate loans under the scheme to scale their enterprises,” the person said.     

Data sourced from the Vishwakarma portal shows that nearly 15 million people applied for the scheme. Of them, nearly 700,000 are eligible and have received a PM Vishwakarma certificate and a unique PM Vishwakarma ID card. This was after undergoing a three-stage verification process, which involved screening at the gram panchayat, district and state levels. 

Of the 18 trades covered under the scheme, tailoring has the highest eligible beneficiaries (370,000), followed by masons (101,600), carpenters (55,600) and barbers (27,800).

Among states and union territories, Karnataka has grabbed the top spot (173,000 eligible people), followed by Gujarat (100,000), Andhra Pradesh (61,500) and Jammu & Kashmir (56,200).  

Last month, the minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) Bhanu Pratap Verma told the Rajya Sabha that 600,000 eligible candidates will receive benefits under the scheme in FY24 at a cost of Rs 1,860 crore. In FY25, 1.8 million eligible candidates are set to get benefits at a cost of Rs 4,824 crore.

Meanwhile, a total of 3 million will benefit from the scheme over a period of five years till FY28 at a cost of Rs 13,000 crore.