Government would provide Vishwakarma Yojana with up to 8% in interest subsidy: FM

According to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the government would provide a subsidy of up to 8% for loans made to craftsmen as part of the Vishwakarma Yojana, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled on Sunday.

In the Budget 2023–24, the government has already set aside Rs 13,000 crore, she added at the Yojana’s inauguration ceremony.

The finance minister explained the Vishwakarma Yojana and said that craftsmen will be given collateral-free loans at a very reasonable interest rate of 5%.

According to her, the program encompasses 18 professions, including boat builders, masons, stone sculptors, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and carpenters. The government would also provide loans up to Rs 3 lakh.

She said that the recipient would first get a Rs 1 lakh loan and would be eligible for an extra Rs 2 lakh after an 18-month payback period.

The scheme’s components will also include access to advanced skill training, knowledge of cutting-edge digital procedures, familiarity with effective green technologies, brand marketing, integration with regional and international markets, digital payments, and social security in addition to financial assistance.

She said that identification of each recipient will be done using a three-layer method and that each beneficiary would get skill training for five days with a daily payment of Rs 500.

Additionally, a gift of Rs 15,000 will be given as a toolkit incentive, and a reward of Rs 1 per transaction for up to 100 transactions each month would be given for digital transactions.

The Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, women, and members of the disadvantaged classes would all immensely gain from this.