The enrolment of beneficiaries will be free of charge and done through applications via CSCs under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) at the Gram Panchayat and Urban Local Body level or by online application through the portal.
PM Vishwakarma scheme for artisans: The government’s scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will provide up to Rs 3 lakh collateral-free loan to artisans and craftspeople involved in 18 different trades. With a total corpus of Rs 13,000 crore to be deployed over five years from the financial year 2023-24 to the financial year 2027-28, the scheme will also enable artisans for skill upgradation, marketing support and digital transactions. Below is the detailed procedure of PM Vishwakarma’s application process according to the guidelines available on the scheme’s portal:
The Ministry of MSME in association with CSCs (Common Service Centres) will enrol the beneficiary families and an Aadhaar-authenticated and centralized PM Vishwakarma portal will act as the facilitator for the enrolment along with a PM Vishwakarma mobile app to enable smooth operations of the scheme.
The National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW) on the e-Shram portal, which is mapped with the National Classification of Occupations (NCO) and maintained by the Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoLE), will be primarily used for the identification of potential beneficiaries falling in the trade categories covered under PM Vishwakarma.
These artisans and craftspeople families will be identified and encouraged to register under the scheme. Also, any eligible person, not covered under the e-Shram database will also be eligible to enrol in the scheme by making an online application through CSCs or online self-application on the PM Vishwakarma Portal.
The enrolment of beneficiaries will be free of charge and done through applications via CSCs under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) at the Gram Panchayat and Urban Local Body level or by online application through the portal.
The portal will be integrated with different government portals including Skill India Digital. Moreover, CSCs will provide handholding support to the beneficiaries to assess their key requirements and opt for benefits available under the scheme.
The beneficiary will have to furnish his/her Aadhaar-linked bank account details at the time of application. The Aadhaar authentication will be done through biometric by CSCs. The Vishwakarma portal will also provide link for registration under Udyam Assist Portal which is the registration portal for Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) which do not have PAN and also those who have PAN and want to register on the Udyam Registration portal for MSMEs
The beneficiaries would also be given the option to register simultaneously on the public procurement portal Government eMarketplace (GeM). Through the GeM Portal, beneficiaries’ products will be made available for public procurement.
The submission and approval process of the application by the beneficiary will be followed by a three-step verification which, if successfully completed will lead to registration under PM Vishwakarma.
Step 1: Verification at Gram Panchayat or ULB level
The first step of screening for the artisans and craftspeople registered under PM Vishwakarma will be through the head of Gram Panchayat/ Chairman of Village Council or Executive Head/ Administrator of the Urban Local Body. The Head of the Panchayat will verify the details and ascertain that the beneficiary has been traditionally engaged in the trade on a self-employment basis. The verification will also include screening of family details mentioned by the beneficiary to ensure that only one eligible person is covered by a family.
Stage 2: Vetting and recommendation by the District Implementation Committee (DIC)
The registration details verified by the head of Gram Panchayat or the executive head will be forwarded online to the DIC for the second step of verification to ensure proper vetting and recommendation of the applications made by the beneficiaries.
Stage 3: Approval by the Screening Committee
The final approval for registration of beneficiaries will be accorded by the Screening Committee after due diligence and consideration of recommendations made by the DIC. The Screening Committee will be chaired by an officer of the field formation of the Office of DC-MSME and will have members including the state lead bank manager and representatives of MSDE as members in each state/union territory to oversee the registration process.
After successful three-step verification and approval, artisans and craftspeople will be registered under this scheme as Vishwakarmas and get a digital ID, PM Vishwakarma digital certificate and PM Vishwakarma ID card. The certificate will allow beneficiaries to avail the benefits under the scheme.
