‘PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman Yojana’ embodies the spirit of Shramev Jayate: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Lucknow: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman (PM-VIKAS) in the Union Budget 2023–24. The scheme is developed to allow the nation’s craftsmen to enhance the caliber, scope, and reach of their goods.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised this scheme in his budget response. He believes that this program will have a significant impact on the lives of hardworking and creative individuals. The central government will not only provide training and technology to improve the skills of the people involved, but will also assist in the marketing of the finished product and provide the capital needed to expand the work.

Uttar Pradesh, the largest state by population, will also benefit from this scheme due to the rich tradition of skill at the local level. This will boost the popularity of ‘Brand UP’. Along with this, the concept of ‘vocal for local’ will also be strengthened. Another reason is that the Yogi government launched the “Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana” in 2017 with the same intention. This scheme does essentially the same work as the one announced in the Union Budget. It is natural that Uttar Pradesh will benefit from taking the initiative first. The scheme will also gain momentum.

This scheme will embody ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ which is the basic mantra of the party and its mission is to work for the country and its development. In view of this, such a scheme at the centre level was necessary for the upliftment of a large section of the people. Through this scheme, the government will improve the living standards of people in traditional professions and modernize their services through training techniques. In such a case, their products will be market-compliant.

The Yogi government’s “Vishwakarma Shram Samman” has become a lifeline for the local craftsmen and artisans associated with the traditional profession at this time. More than 2 lakh workers have been trained, and their skills have been enhanced as a result of the scheme. This flourishing skill was also visible in their work, so that the products prepared by them were competitive in the market in terms of price and quality. To this end, the artisans who received training were provided with advanced tool kits free of charge based on their needs.

5 lakh people will get training in five years

Under this scheme, a target has been set to give training to 5 lakh people in the next 5 years to enhance their skills and provide them with toolkits. They will also be linked to banks as needed. A provision of Rs 112.50 crore was made for this in the previous budget as well. It is expected that the scope of this scheme will be further expanded with the help of the center.

Progress so far and target for the next 5 years

In response to the interest of people involved in traditional professions, the state government launched this scheme in 2017 by focusing on carpenters, tailors, basket weavers, barbers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, potters, confectioners, cobblers, masons, and handicrafts artisans, among others. For many generations, people from this section have been associated with traditional professions at the local level. Its main intention was that they should get training and the necessary capital to increase their work.