Pradhan Mantri Viswa Karma Kaushal Samman Yojana (PMVKKY) Scheme Details..

Introduction

The Pradhan Mantri Viswa Karma Kaushal Samman Yojana (PMVKKY) is a scheme launched by the Government of India in 2015 to provide recognition and support to traditional craftsmen and artisans.

The scheme was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti on September 17, 2015. The aim is to promote and encourage traditional craftsmanship and skills by providing social security, financial support, and enhancing the market linkages of artisans and craftsmen.

Some of the key objectives of the PMVKKY scheme are:

To provide comprehensive social security coverage including life insurance, healthcare and pension benefits to traditional craftsmen and artisans.

To provide direct benefit transfers and loans for education, housing and upliftment of artisans.

To setup training centers for skill development of craftsmen and assisting their children.

To strengthen the market linkages of artisans by organizing exhibitions, buyer-seller meets and providing e-marketing platforms

The scheme thus aims to not just preserve the rich traditional skills and crafts of India but also empower the communities by providing them social security, financial aid and better livelihood opportunities. This is expected to help sustain and propagate the legacy of handmade crafts in India.

Target Beneficiaries

The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) Yojana is primarily targeted at unorganized workers and laborers. Some of the key target beneficiaries of the scheme include:

Artisans - Skilled craftspeople like potters, sculptors, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, handloom weavers etc. who make a living through their handmade products. A large percentage of artisans in India are in the unorganized sector without any social security benefits. PM-SYM aims to provide them with a pension after 60 years of age.

Craftsmen - Skilled Manual workers like carpenters, masons,sheet metal workers, jewelers, mechanics etc. working independently or in small units. Like artisans, most craftsmen are part of the unorganized sector and the scheme aims to ensure their post-retirement financial security.

Weavers - Handloom weaving is one of the largest unorganized economic activities after agriculture in India. Weavers often live in poor conditions without savings or pensions. PM-SYM intends to provide pension coverage to traditional handloom and fabric weavers.

Transport Workers - Drivers, conductors, porters, cart pullers, rickshaw pullers who are part of the unorganized transport sector can get guaranteed monthly income through the scheme after retirement.

Ragpickers - Waste pickers or ragpickers often live in poverty. The scheme aims to provide them with pension benefits, including old age and disability pensions.

Home-based workers - Tailors, embroiderers, bakers, papad makers, incense stick rollers etc. working from home can get monthly pensions after 60 years of age through PM-SYM.

Landless agricultural laborers - Marginal farmers, sharecroppers and landless laborers engaged in small scale subsistence farming depend on informal work and have no financial security net. The scheme intends to change this situation.

So in summary, by covering unorganized workers and laborers who have little or no social security, PM-SYM aims to provide pension benefits and old age protection to artisans, craftsmen, weavers, transport workers, ragpickers, home-based workers and landless agricultural laborers across India.

Key Features

The Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman Nidhi (PMVKKY) scheme aims to provide social and economic benefits to the Vishwakarma community by providing them loans for self-employment, scholarships for higher education, skill training subsidies, and pension coverage. Some of the key features of PMVKKY include:

Loans for Self-Employment: Members of the Vishwakarma community engaged in traditional occupations like carpentry, artwork, blacksmithy, etc. can avail collateral-free loans up to Rs 1 lakh to set up their own micro-enterprise. The interest on these loans is subsidized by the government.

Scholarships: Under PMVKKY, financial assistance is provided to students from Vishwakarma community to pursue higher technical and professional education. The scholarship amount varies from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 per year depending on the course.

Skill Development Subsidies: To promote skill development and vocational training among Vishwakarma youth, the scheme provides training subsidies and reimbursements. Candidates can receive reimbursement of fees up to Rs 10,000 to 15,000 for job-oriented skill training programs.

Pension Coverage: The scheme aims to provide social security benefits in the form of pension coverage to traditional Vishwakarma workers in their old age. Under this, all beneficiaries above 60 years receive a monthly pension of Rs 3000 after submitting the required documents.

Implementation

The Pradhan Mantri Viswa Karma Yojna (PMVKY) scheme is implemented through a multi-agency approach involving various central ministries, state governments, and implementation agencies.

The key ministries involved are:

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) - Nodal ministry responsible for overall coordination and policy framework. MSDE coordinates with other ministries for skill training programs.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) - Responsible for providing skill training to traditional artisans and craftsmen in construction related trades like masonry, plumbing, electrical work etc.

Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) - Provides skill upgradation for artisans working in handicrafts and handlooms sectors.

Ministry of Rural Development - Imparts training to rural artisans through its programs like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).

At state level, the scheme is implemented through State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs) which are responsible for mobilization of beneficiaries, monitoring of training programs and post-training support.

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is the main implementation agency which anchors and operationalizes training programs through its network of training partners. NSDC affiliated training providers deliver PMVKY scheme on the ground.

Overall, the multi-agency model allows leveraging existing skill infrastructure and enables inclusive skilling with involvement of Urban, Rural, and MSME ministries. The coordination between center, states, and implementing agencies is crucial for last-mile delivery.

Achievements

The Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana (PMVY) scheme has seen some notable achievements since its launch. Some key highlights:

Over 3 lakh artisans have been supported under the scheme through skilling, financial assistance, and social security coverage. This includes artisans from carpentry, leather works, sculptures, blacksmithy, goldsmithy, and more.

Loans worth over Rs. 200 crores have been disbursed under the credit enhancement scheme to enable artisans to upgrade equipment, expand businesses, and market products.

Over 1 lakh artisans have been provided with MUDRA loans to meet working capital needs and purchase raw materials. The average loan amount is Rs 50,000.

Under the component of social security, over 50,000 artisans have been assisted with a cover against disability, accidental insurance, and old age protection.

Special projects have been undertaken in over 100 clusters to upgrade infrastructure, boost productivity, enable community work,streamline raw material supply, and more.

Digital empowerment initiatives have been launched to help artisans adapt technology for design innovation, e-commerce, digital payments, and social media marketing. Over 5000 artisans have been digitally upskilled so far.

The scheme has helped preserve and promote various traditional crafts of India by providing... 

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