PM Announces ‘Vishwakarma Yojana’ To Benefit Craftsmen In India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the launch of ‘Vishwakarma Yojana’, in the coming days to benefit individuals skilled in traditional craftsmanship.

Addressing a gathering at Red Fort on the occasion of Independence Day he said, “In the days to come, we 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.”

Earlier in his speech, Modi talked about the poverty alleviation efforts of the government. He said, as a result of these efforts in the first five-year term, 13.5 crore of poor countrymen and women have broken free from the chains of poverty and entered the new middle class.

He talked about various schemes that have aided these 13.5 crore people to rise above the hardships of poverty. Prominent among these included providing INR 50,000 crore to street vendors through the PM SVANidhi scheme, and directly depositing INR 2.5 lakh crore into the accounts of farmers through the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of MSME Narayan Rane hailed the announcement of the Vishwakarma Yojana by the PM and said that the scheme will support the Vishwakarmas who work with their hands using tools and will be launched on Vishwakarma Jayanti with an initial allocation of INR 13000 – 15000 crore.