PM Vishwakarma Yojana

PM Vishwakarma was launched on 17 September 2023 with a corpus of Rs 13,000 crore over five years. The scheme recognises that India's roughly 30 lakh traditional artisan families have been excluded from formal credit, modern tools and skill upgrade for decades. Older schemes such as PMEGP and MUDRA helped some artisans, but the application process assumed literacy and bank access that many traditional craftspeople do not have.

What makes PM Vishwakarma different is the three-stage local verification (gram panchayat or urban local body, district committee, state committee) which is designed to capture the actual practising artisan, not just paper applications. The Common Service Centre (CSC) network at the village level handles enrolment, which removes the urban bias of most credit schemes.

The notified trades are: carpenter (Suthar), boat maker, armourer, blacksmith (Lohar), hammer and toolkit maker, locksmith, goldsmith (Sonar), potter (Kumhaar), sculptor (Murtikar), cobbler (Charmkar), mason (Rajmistri), basket and broom maker, doll and toy maker (traditional), barber (Naai), garland maker (Malakaar), washerman (Dhobi), tailor (Darzi), and fishing net maker.

The key word is traditional. A salon stylist in a modern parlour is not eligible; a barber operating from a roadside or home setup is. A factory-employed tailor is not eligible; a tailor working from home or a small independent shop is. The intent is to support family-based traditional skills passed down across generations, not employees of organised establishments.

Stage one is at the Common Service Centre. The VLE (Village Level Entrepreneur) helps you complete the online form, capture biometric Aadhaar authentication, upload a photograph of your work or workshop, and submit. This takes about 30 minutes and is free; CSCs are paid by the scheme.

Stage two is the gram panchayat (or urban local body) verification. The Sarpanch or designated officer confirms that you are a practising artisan of the declared trade. This is the stage where most rejections happen. The panchayat may take 7 to 30 days. Visit in person, carry samples of your work and reference letters from local customers if you have them.

Stage three is district and state-level committee approval. Once the panchayat clears you, this stage is usually administrative and completes within 15 days. You receive a digital PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card by SMS.

If the panchayat rejects without reason, you can escalate to the District Industries Centre. The scheme has a written appeal mechanism with a 30-day response timeline.

After the certificate is issued, you are eligible for a 5-day basic skill upgrade at a designated training centre. The training is modular and adapted to your specific trade. Carpenters get modern joinery techniques and electrical tool safety; blacksmiths learn industrial-grade welding additions to their traditional forge work. You receive Rs 500 per training day as stipend, paid by direct benefit transfer.

On successful completion of basic training, the Rs 15,000 toolkit grant is issued as an e-voucher. The voucher can be redeemed at any GeM (Government e-Marketplace) registered vendor of trade-specific tools. The grant cannot be encashed; it must be used to procure tools.

An optional 15-day advanced training is available later, also with Rs 500 daily stipend, designed to introduce modern variants of the trade (CAD-driven design for carpenters, kiln modernisation for potters, etc.).

After basic training, you become eligible for the first tranche of Rs 1 lakh as a collateral-free term loan, repayable over 18 months at a concessional interest rate of 5 percent. The government pays an interest subvention of 8 percent on top of this, meaning the bank receives an effective rate of around 13 percent while you pay 5 percent.

The second tranche of Rs 2 lakh becomes available after you have either repaid the first tranche or maintained a standard repayment record for at least 6 months while also adopting digital transactions through a UPI ID or POS device. The second tranche is repayable over 30 months.

Loans are issued through scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks, small finance banks, NBFC-MFIs and cooperative banks. The Stand-Up Mitra-style portal does not exist for PM Vishwakarma yet, so application is through the nearest branch of any participating bank. Carry your PM Vishwakarma certificate and training completion certificate; these are the primary qualification documents.

Beyond credit and tools, PM Vishwakarma includes marketing support through GeM onboarding, branding, packaging design assistance and participation in trade fairs and exhibitions. ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) integration was rolled out in late 2024, letting artisans sell directly to consumers through participating apps.

The digital transaction incentive of Re 1 per transaction up to 100 transactions a month is small in rupee terms (max Rs 100) but useful in habit terms. The incentive nudges artisans to register a UPI ID and accept digital payments, which then builds a transaction history that qualifies them for larger MUDRA or general MSME loans later.

The scheme assumes artisans can navigate a CSC interaction and complete bank documentation. In practice, many cannot, especially in remote areas. If you face this challenge, your district's MSME-DI office is the right escalation. They have outreach officers whose KPI includes PM Vishwakarma enrolment.

The Rs 3 lakh credit cap is small for some trades (boat makers, goldsmiths working with expensive raw material). For these, PM Vishwakarma is a stepping stone; after one successful loan cycle, you graduate to MUDRA or general MSME credit at higher ticket sizes.

The 18-trade list excludes some legitimate craft traditions (papad and pickle making, embroidery, agarbatti making). These artisans should look at PMFME (Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises) or state-level handicraft schemes instead.

Aadhaar with mobile number linked and OTP working. Bank account in your name, active with at least one recent transaction. Photograph of your workshop or recent work, ideally three to five images. Trade clearly identified from the 18 notified categories. Ration card or other address proof. If you have testimonial letters from local customers, carry them; they help at the panchayat stage.

GovRays editors verified this section against the latest scheme circulars and field reporting from beneficiary households, and we re-audit every paragraph each quarter to keep the working detail accurate. If a rule below changes after publication, the updated date at the top of this guide will reflect it within seven working days, and any material change is summarised in the Editor's note appended to the relevant section so returning readers can identify what is new without re-reading the entire article.

GovRays editors verified this section against the latest scheme circulars and field reporting from beneficiary households, and we re-audit every paragraph each quarter to keep the working detail accurate. If a rule below changes after publication, the updated date at the top of this guide will reflect it within seven working days, and any material change is summarised in the Editor's note appended to the relevant section so returning readers can identify what is new without re-reading the entire article.

GovRays editors verified this section against the latest scheme circulars and field reporting from beneficiary households, and we re-audit every paragraph each quarter to keep the working detail accurate. If a rule below changes after publication, the updated date at the top of this guide will reflect it within seven working days, and any material change is summarised in the Editor's note appended to the relevant section so returning readers can identify what is new without re-reading the entire article.

• 01Indian citizen aged 18 or above
• 02Engaged in one of 18 notified family-based traditional trades
• 03Self-employed, on own account, not under any salaried employment
• 04Family unit has not availed similar credit under PMEGP, PM-SVANidhi or MUDRA in past 5 years

• §Aadhaar with mobile number linked
• §Ration card
• §Bank account passbook
• §Caste or trade certificate if applicable
• §Photograph of work or workshop

• Gram panchayat or ULB verification not completed within 30 days
• Trade declared does not match the 18 notified trades
• Family member has availed PMEGP or PM-SVANidhi in past 5 years
• Mobile number not linked to Aadhaar at the time of registration

• PM Vishwakarma scheme guidelines, 2024 revision, Ministry of MSMElink ↗
• Implementation handbook for CSCs, CSC e-Governance Services Indialink ↗
• Annual report 2024-25, Ministry of MSMElink ↗