PM Vishwakarma

What is PM Vishwakarma?

PM Vishwakarma is a Central Sector scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises that supports traditional artisans and craftspeople who work with their hands and tools in the unorganised sector. According to the PM Vishwakarma portal, the scheme provides end-to-end support, formal recognition, skill training, a toolkit grant, concessional credit, digital payment incentives and marketing help, to people working in 18 recognised trades.

PM Vishwakarma differs from a pure credit scheme because recognition comes first. A registered beneficiary receives a PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card, which establishes their identity as a Vishwakarma and is the gateway to every other benefit in the package.

Key objectives

• Give artisans and craftspeople formal recognition through a certificate and ID card.
• Improve the quality and reach of their products through skill upgrading and better tools.
• Provide collateral-free, concessional credit so artisans do not depend on informal moneylenders.
• Integrate artisans into domestic and global value chains through branding, quality certification and e-commerce linkage.

Main features

• Coverage of 18 traditional trades across wood, metal, stone, clay, leather, construction, textile and other craft families.
• One member per family may register and draw benefits.
• Registration is biometric and Aadhaar-authenticated, done free at Common Service Centres.
• Applications pass three-stage verification before approval.

Who is eligible for PM Vishwakarma?

You can apply if:

• You are 18 years or older on the date of registration.
• You are engaged in one of the 18 recognised trades on a self-employment basis in the unorganised sector.
• You are working in that trade at the time of registration.
• No other member of your family has already registered under PM Vishwakarma.

You cannot apply if:

• You are in Central or State government service, and this exclusion extends to your family members.
• You have availed a similar credit-based government loan under PMEGP, PM SVANidhi or the Mudra scheme in the past five years, and that loan is still outstanding. Beneficiaries who have fully repaid such a loan may be considered.
• Another member of your family is already a registered PM Vishwakarma beneficiary, for this purpose the family is husband, wife and unmarried children.
• Your trade is not among the 18 notified trades.

Which 18 trades are covered under PM Vishwakarma?

According to the PM Vishwakarma portal, the notified trades are: carpenter (suthar), boat maker, armourer, blacksmith (lohar), hammer and tool kit maker, locksmith, goldsmith (sonar), potter (kumhaar), sculptor or stone carver and stone breaker, cobbler and shoemaker, mason (rajmistri), basket, mat and broom maker including coir weavers, traditional doll and toy maker, barber (naai), garland maker (malakaar), washerman (dhobi), tailor (darzi) and fishing net maker.

What benefits does PM Vishwakarma provide?

Recognition. A PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card confirming the artisan's identity and trade.

Skill training. Basic training of 5 to 7 days (about 40 hours) with a stipend of Rs 500 per day. Interested artisans may also take advanced training of around 15 days on the same stipend basis.

Toolkit incentive. A grant of Rs 15,000, issued as an e-voucher after basic training is completed. This is a grant, not a loan, and is not repayable.

Credit support. Collateral-free enterprise development loans in two tranches, Rs 1 lakh repayable over 18 months, followed by Rs 2 lakh repayable over 30 months, a total of up to Rs 3 lakh. The beneficiary is charged a concessional 5 per cent interest rate, with the government providing interest subvention capped at 8 per cent. The second tranche is available to beneficiaries who have maintained a standard loan account and adopted digital transactions or undergone advanced training.

Digital transaction incentive. Re 1 per digital transaction, for up to 100 transactions per month.

Marketing support. Quality certification, branding, publicity, e-commerce onboarding, trade fair participation and other linkages to widen the artisan's market.

What documents are required for PM Vishwakarma?

How to apply for PM Vishwakarma

1. Visit your nearest Common Service Centre (CSC) with your Aadhaar card, Aadhaar-linked mobile number and bank account details. Registration at a CSC is free.
2. Ask the Village Level Entrepreneur to open pmvishwakarma.gov.in and start a new artisan registration.
3. Complete biometric Aadhaar authentication and mobile OTP verification.
4. Select your trade from the list of 18 notified trades and fill in your personal, family, bank and business details.
5. Submit the application and collect the acknowledgement with your application number.
6. Wait for three-stage verification — first by the Gram Panchayat head or Urban Local Body executive head, then by the District Implementation Committee, then by the State Monitoring Committee.
7. After approval, download your PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card from the portal.
8. Complete basic skill training to unlock the Rs 500 per day stipend and the Rs 15,000 toolkit e-voucher, then approach the lending bank for the first credit tranche.

How does PM Vishwakarma verification work?

PM Vishwakarma is unusual among central schemes in running a three-tier verification chain before a single rupee moves, which is why approval takes longer than a simple online registration.

Stage 1 to Gram Panchayat or Urban Local Body. The Gram Panchayat head or the executive head of the Urban Local Body verifies that the applicant genuinely practises the declared trade and lives in the area. This is the stage where most applications are filtered, because local bodies can check a claim that a central database cannot.

Stage 2 to District Implementation Committee. The District Implementation Committee, made up of officials from the relevant government departments, examines the recommended applications in more detail and forwards its own recommendation.

Stage 3 to State Monitoring Committee. The State Monitoring Committee gives final approval, after which the certificate and ID card are generated and the beneficiary becomes eligible for training, the toolkit voucher and credit.

Only after this chain completes does the artisan move to skill training, and only after basic training is completed does the Rs 15,000 toolkit e-voucher get issued. The first credit tranche of Rs 1 lakh is taken up with a lending bank after that.

How to check your PM Vishwakarma application status

1. Open pmvishwakarma.gov.in.
2. Use the applicant or beneficiary login option.
3. Enter your registered mobile number and verify with the OTP.
4. Check which verification stage: Gram Panchayat/ULB, district or state, your application is currently at.

Common reasons PM Vishwakarma applications are rejected

• Trade not on the notified list of 18 trades.
• Another family member already registered under the scheme.
• Government employment in the applicant's family.
• An outstanding similar government loan under PMEGP, PM SVANidhi or Mudra taken in the last five years.
• Failure at Gram Panchayat or ULB verification, usually where the local body cannot confirm the applicant actually practises the declared trade.
• Aadhaar biometric authentication failure, common where fingerprints are worn from manual work, in these cases the CSC should attempt iris or face authentication.

Help and grievance redressal

• Ministry of MSME Champions helpline: 18002677777
• Official portal: pmvishwakarma.gov.in
• District Industries Centre or the District Implementation Committee for verification and status disputes.

PM Vishwakarma registration costs nothing. If a CSC operator, agent or middleman asks for money to enrol you, to "speed up" verification or to release your toolkit voucher, it is fraud; report it to the MSME helpline. No official will ask for your Aadhaar OTP or bank password.