Uttar Pradesh stands to benefit from the ‘PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman’ (PM-VIKAS) because of the rich tradition of skill at the local level that will boost ‘Brand UP’.
“Uttar Pradesh, the largest state by population, will benefit from this scheme due to the rich tradition of skill at the local level. Along with this, the concept of ‘vocal for local’ will also be strengthened,” a government spokesman said here on Friday.
“Another reason is that the Yogi government launched the ‘Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana’ in 2017 with the same intention. This scheme does essentially the same work as the one announced in the Union Budget. It is natural that Uttar Pradesh will benefit from taking the initiative first,” he said, adding that the scheme will also gain momentum.
This scheme will embody ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, which is the basic mantra of the government and its mission is to work for the country and its development. In view of this, such a scheme at the central level was necessary for the uplift of a large section of people. Through this scheme, the government will improve the living standards of people in traditional professions and modernise their services through training techniques. In such a case, their products will be market-compliant.
The Yogi government’s ‘Vishwakarma Shram Samman’ has become a lifeline for the local craftsmen and artisans associated with the traditional profession at this time. More than two lakh workers have been trained and their skills have been enhanced as a result of the scheme. This flourishing skill was also visible in their work and the products prepared by them were competitive in the market in terms of price and quality. The artisans who received training were provided with advanced toolkits free of charge based on their needs.
The spokesperson said that under this scheme, a target has been set to impart training to 5 lakh people in the next five years to enhance their skills and provide them with toolkits.
They will also be linked to banks, as needed. A provision of Rs 112.50 crore was made for this in the previous budget as well. It is expected that the scope of this scheme will be further expanded with the help of the Centre.
In response to the interest of people involved in traditional professions, the state government launched this scheme in 2017 by focusing on carpenters, tailors, basket weavers, barbers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, potters, confectioners, cobblers, masons, and handicrafts artisans among others. For many generations, people from this section have been associated with traditional professions at the local level. The main intention was that they should get training and the necessary capital to increase their work.
