Union Minister of State for Electronics, IT and Skill Development Rajeev Chandrashekar launched the Prime Minister Vishwakarma Yojana (PMVY) at Chalukya Railway Institute in Hubballi on Sunday. It coincided with the Vishwakarma jayanti celebrations.
“This is a Centrally-sponsored scheme to support artisans with funding, training and incentives for taking up and preserving handicrafts and traditional trades. The initial allocation is ₹13,000 crore. This will help not only to give a boost to rural economy but also to preserve Indian cultural heritage,” the Minister said.
As many as 18 traditional handicrafts are covered under the scheme. It will provide financial stability to those who make a living in these professions. It will provide skill training, loan assistance, incentives for digital transactions, incentives for purchase of equipment and support for marketing business,” Mr. Chandrashekar said.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has successfully faced several challenges after taking over in 2014. Challenges in the field of national security and economy have been dealt with appropriately, leading to overall development of the country, he said.
“All around you, there is talk of world class infrastructure growth, focus on skill development and quality education in the country. This is in contrast to the pre-2014 period when millions of youth had neither skill nor jobs. But after the BJP came to power, it introduced several schemes such as Skill India aimed at addressing these issues. These have benefited countless families,” he said.
“In fact, as many as 38 crore youth were uneducated and had no employable skills before 2014. But after launching Skill India, as many as six crores people have been trained in just nine years,” he said. The new National Education Policy (NEP 2020) has led to revolutionary changes in mainstream education, he said.
Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti said that the scheme is intended to cover several types of handicrafts and traditional vocations and not limited to jewellers. Till now, these artisans remained unrecognised. But the scheme has given them global recognition, he said.
MLAs Arvind Bellad and Mahesh Tenginkai, railway officials Harsha Khare, Santosh Hegde, Santosh Kumar Verma, Nivedita Balareddiyavar, B.S. Javalagi and others were present.
