Cabinet approves Rs 13,000 cr for 'PM Vishwakarma' scheme, Rs 14,903 cr for extension of Digital India programme

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the 'PM Vishwakarma' scheme to support traditional artisans and craftspeople of rural and urban India. Under this scheme, loans up to Rs 1 lakh will be provided at 5 per cent interest rate with liberal terms, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The scheme has a financial outlay of Rs 13,000 crore.

The approval comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his speech on Independence Day, said his government will launch a scheme on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti, benefiting individuals skilled in traditional craftsmanship, particularly from the OBC community.

Weavers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, laundry workers, barbers, and such families will be empowered through the Vishwakarma Yojana, which will begin with an allocation of around 13-15 thousand crore rupees, he said. 

Under the PM Vishwakarma scheme, the artisans and craftspeople will be provided recognition through PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card, credit support upto Rs 1 lakh (first tranche) and Rs 2 lakh (second tranche) with a concessional interest rate of 5 per cent. The Scheme will further provide skill upgradation, toolkit incentive, the incentive for digital transactions, and marketing support.

The scheme will provide support to artisans and craftspeople in rural and urban areas across India. Eighteen traditional trades will be covered in the first instance under PM Vishwakarma.

The Cabinet also approved the extension of the Digital India programme, with an outlay of Rs 14,903 crore. Digital India has improved the skill level of IT professionals, Vaishnaw said.

Under the scheme, 6.25 lakh IT professionals will be re-skilled and up-skilled under the future skills prime programme. "2.65 lakh persons will be trained in information security under the Information Security & Education Awareness Phase (ISEA) Programme; 540 additional services will be available under the Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) app/ platform. At present over 1,700 services are already available on UMANG."