Tamil Nadu will not implement the PM Vishwakarma Scheme as the project promotes the idea of caste-based occupations, Chief Minister MK Stalin told the Union government in a letter on November 27. The state government, after conducting its own study, has pointed out that the scheme only caters to those who are in small family-run craft and artisanal businesses. This would essentially encourage lowered-caste youth to remain in caste-based occupations instead of focusing on education, the Tamil Nadu government has said.
The Vishwakarma Scheme provides credit support and training for skill enhancement, along with a toolkit incentive of Rs15,000. It offers collateral-free credit support of up to Rs 1 lakh in the first tranche and Rs 2 lakh in the second tranche at a concessional interest rate of 5%. The scheme also includes incentives for digital transactions and marketing support. It applies to family-run trades across 18 occupations, including carpentry, boat-making, smithing, armoury-making, shoemaking, and more.
In a letter to the Union government, Chief Minister Stalin stated that, in response to criticism of the scheme, the Tamil Nadu government had constituted a committee to assess its potential impacts. Stalin also noted that his government had previously raised three concerns in January this year, which remain unaddressed.
The Tamil Nadu government first recommended removing the mandatory requirement for applicants to belong to families traditionally engaged in a listed trade. Instead, it suggested that anyone pursuing any of the occupations specified in the guidelines should be eligible for assistance under the scheme.
Secondly, the state government proposed raising the minimum age for eligibility from 18 years to 35 years to ensure that beneficiaries are mature enough to make an informed decision.
Lastly, the government recommended that the responsibility for verifying beneficiaries in rural areas should rest with the Village Administrative Officer (VAO) from the Revenue Department, rather than the head of the Gram Panchayat.
As the issues were unaddressed, “The Tamil Nadu government will not be taking forward the implementation of the PM Vishwakarma scheme in its present form. However, to empower artisans in Tamil Nadu under the overall principle of social justice, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to develop a more inclusive and comprehensive scheme for artisans, which does not discriminate based on caste. This scheme will provide holistic support to all artisans in the state, irrespective of caste or family occupations. Such a scheme will serve to provide them with financial assistance, training and all required support for their development, more comprehensively and inclusively," the CM wrote.
The Vishwakarma scheme is jointly implemented, with an outlay Rs 13,000 crores, by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME), the Ministry of Sill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Department of Financial Services (DFS) that comes under the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
The scheme was launched on September 17, last year, as the date is considered the birthday of the Hindu deity Vishwakarma, believed to be the god of craftsmanship. Incidentally, the date coincides with the birthdays of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dravidian icon Periyar.
Last year, after the scheme was announced, the progressive organisation Dravida Kazhagam (DK) founded by Periyar and the ideological parent of the ruling DMK, opposed the scheme alleging that it promotes ‘kula thozhil’ or caste-based occupation.
In 1953, the Congress government’s attempt to introduce the Madras Scheme of Elementary Education led to then Chief Minister C Rajagopalachari losing his post. The scheme, criticised as the Kula Kalvi Thittam, faced intense opposition for proposing a reduction in school hours from five to three and requiring boys to learn their father’s trade while girls were to be trained in housekeeping by their mothers. Critics argued that the scheme would reinforce caste-based occupations, hindering children from achieving social and economic mobility through education.