Insurance Scheme for Artisans Component of the Development of Handicrafts Scheme (Puducherry)

What is the Insurance Scheme for Artisans in Puducherry?

The Insurance Scheme for Artisans is a welfare component of the Development of Handicrafts scheme, run by the District Industries Centre under the Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Government of Puducherry. The Directorate's scheme document describes it as "an important welfare measure for the welfare of craft persons", achieved by covering artisans "under the JANASHREE BIMA YOJANA, LIC/ any other suitable insurance scheme".

The scheme's legal basis is recorded in the same document: G.O. Ms. No. 139/2004/F3, dated 26 October 2004, issued by the Finance Department, Puducherry.

The mechanism is straightforward. The District Industries Centre does not run an insurance product of its own. It enrols Puducherry's handicraft artisans into a group life insurance policy and pays the premium under the scheme, so the artisan gets cover without a recurring outgoing. The live Development of Handicrafts page on dic.py.gov.in confirms the arrangement, stating that artisans "are covered under Jana Shree Bima Yojana of LIC or any other suitable policy" and that "payment of premium towards the policy will be borne under the scheme".

Who is eligible for the artisan insurance?

You can be covered if:

• You are a handicraft artisan and a resident of the Union Territory of Puducherry. The scheme document sets this as the first eligibility clause and attaches no minimum years of practice.
• You are aged 18 to 60 years, the age limit stated in the scheme document.
• You satisfy the other conditions fixed by the Life Insurance Corporation of India, since the actual cover is an LIC group policy and LIC's own underwriting rules apply.

You are not eligible if:

• You are under 18 or over 60 years of age.
• You are not a handicraft artisan, or not a resident of the Union Territory.
• You fail a condition set by the insurer under the policy. The scheme document defers expressly to LIC on all conditions other than residence and age, so the District Industries Centre cannot waive an insurer requirement.

Handicrafts societies cannot take cover under this component as institutions. The policy insures individual artisans. A society can, however, help its member artisans enrol, and societies are separately supported under the same scheme through grants of Rs 2 lakh a year for five years, or Rs 10 lakh a year in the case of PUDUMAI Handicrafts Artisans Society, Puducherry.

What does the scheme pay?

Two things should be read carefully here.

First, the Rs 200 per member figure is described in the scheme document as the initial premium, which means it was the rate at which the arrangement started and not necessarily what applies today. Group insurance premia are revised, and the scheme document itself frames the benefit as "the premium amount as stipulated in the insurance policy" rather than as a fixed rupee number.

Second, the sum assured is not stated anywhere in the Puducherry scheme document. Because the cover has been Janashree Bima Yojana "or any other suitable insurance scheme", the sum assured depends on which policy is currently in force. Janashree Bima Yojana was merged into Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana at the national level, and the Puducherry scheme's own wording permits the District Industries Centre to substitute a successor policy. An artisan should therefore confirm the current policy name, sum assured and claim procedure with the District Industries Centre rather than assume figures from an older circular.

How to apply for the artisan insurance in Puducherry

1. Confirm which policy is currently in force by calling the District Industries Centre on +91-413-2248391 or +91-413-2248987. This step comes first because the sum assured, the claim route and the premium all flow from the policy in force.
2. Establish your artisan status. Take your craft unit details, artisan identity record, or your entry in the District Industries Centre's own artisan register, together with residence proof for the Union Territory.
3. Submit the enrolment papers at the District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009, with your age proof, Aadhaar, bank passbook copy and photographs. Karaikal artisans enrol at the Rural Industrial Estate, Kottucherry 609609; Yanam and Mahe artisans at the Civil Station offices in their regions.
4. Complete the insurer's nomination form, naming who is to receive the sum assured. A group life policy is only useful to a family if the nomination is on record and current.
5. Collect the certificate of insurance or membership number issued under the group policy, and keep it with your craft records.
6. Keep the enrolment live, since cover ends at age 60 and lapses if the group policy is not renewed for the member.

How do I make a claim?

Claims under a group life policy are made to the insurer through the master policy holder, which in this case is the District Industries Centre. The family should:

1. Inform the District Industries Centre as soon as possible, with the death certificate and the artisan's insurance membership record.
2. Complete the insurer's claim form, which the District Industries Centre will route to the Life Insurance Corporation of India.
3. Produce the nominee's identity and bank details, since the sum assured is settled to the registered nominee.

There is no online claim portal for this component. The District Industries Centre counter at Thattanchavady is the point of contact.

Why do artisans miss out on this cover?

• Never enrolled. The most common gap is simply that an artisan working independently has never registered with the District Industries Centre and so was never included in the group policy.
• Age above 60, at which point the cover under this component ends. Artisans who have crossed 60 should look at the Monthly Grant to Old Craftspersons, which pays Rs 5,000 a month from the completion of 60 years, and Rs 2,500 a month to the surviving spouse, where family income is within Rs 75,000 a year and the craft has been practised for at least five years in the Union Territory.
• No nomination on record, which delays claim settlement even where cover existed.
• Not meeting an LIC condition under the policy, which the District Industries Centre cannot override.
• Residence outside the Union Territory.

What else does the Development of Handicrafts scheme give an artisan?

• Training in Handicrafts: six months of Gurukulam-style training for literate candidates aged 18 to 35, stipend Rs 4,500 a month, applications in August and training from December.
• Design Development Training for Master Crafts Persons: no age limit, for artisans running a craft unit for more than three years, with Rs 3,000 a month remuneration and Rs 1,000 a month accommodation while attending a design course.
• Exhibition support; AC 3-tier train fare, economy class air fare for State, National and Padma awardees, and a daily allowance of Rs 1,000 per day in A1 cities, Rs 600 in other cities and Rs 400 locally, plus stall rent and goods transport.
• Monthly Grant to Old Craftspersons: the Rs 5,000 a month pension described above.

Where do I raise a grievance?

• District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009 to +91-413-2248987, 2248391, 2249392
• Directorate of Industries and Commerce, same address: +91-413-2248476, 2248168, 2248320
• Email; dic.pon@nic.in
• Secretary to Government (Industries and Commerce), Chief Secretariat, Puducherry 605001 to +91-413-2336115

Enrolment under the group policy is free to the artisan, since the premium is met under the scheme. No agent should be paid to arrange cover or to process a claim.

How to check your application status

This component has no online tracking portal, so status has to be checked directly with the office that handles the enrolment.

1. Call the District Industries Centre on +91-413-2248391 or +91-413-2248987 and quote your name, craft unit or artisan register number, and the date you submitted your enrolment papers. The staff who process Development of Handicrafts applications can tell you whether your enrolment has been forwarded to the insurer, is still pending documents, or has already been confirmed.
2. Visit the counter in person at the District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009, if the phone line does not resolve the query. Karaikal artisans can follow up at the Rural Industrial Estate, Kottucherry, and Yanam or Mahe artisans at their respective Civil Station offices, since enrolment papers are handled locally before being consolidated.
3. Ask specifically for your certificate of insurance or membership number. Once the District Industries Centre confirms enrolment, this is the document that proves cover is active; if it has not been issued yet, that is itself a sign the enrolment is still in process.
4. For a claim already filed, follow up with the District Industries Centre rather than the Life Insurance Corporation directly, since the Centre is the master policy holder and the point through which claim forms are routed to LIC. Keep a copy of the claim form and the date it was handed in, and quote these when asking for an update.
5. If there is no response after a reasonable follow-up, escalate to the Directorate of Industries and Commerce at the same Thattanchavady address, or write to dic.pon@nic.in, before raising the matter with the Secretary to Government (Industries and Commerce) at the Chief Secretariat.

Because enrolment and claims both move through a government counter rather than a digital system, keeping your own written record of submission dates and the name of the official you dealt with makes a follow-up call far more effective.