Reconsider your stand on Vishwakarma plan, don’t reject it for petty political gains, Center tells TN | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Center Saturday has stated that a state cannot arbitrarily reject a scheme for small political gains and has called on the Tamil Nadu government to reconsider its decision to implement the Prime Minister’s Vishwakarma scheme, which aims to “promote traditional artisans and artisans to elevate”, to reconsider. Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Jayant Chaudhary, emphasized that the scheme is aimed at promoting social and economic mobility of persons engaged in 18 traditional professions and crafts and that this scheme is “not caste-oriented ” is, as claimed by Tamil Nadu. .
CM MK Stalin had informed Union Minister for MSMEs Jitan Ram Manjhi that Tamil Nadu will not implement the scheme in its current form, citing concerns over caste discrimination and lack of inclusivity. Instead, it plans to develop its own initiative to support artisans.
Stalin also highlighted problems with the scheme’s eligibility criteria, proposing changes such as removing the requirement that applicants’ families have a history in traditional professions and raising the minimum age of eligibility to 35.
In response to these concerns, MSDE reiterated the inclusiveness of the scheme. A statement from the ministry clarified that the program transcends caste and gender barriers and provides support to artisans from diverse backgrounds. Nationally, 2.4 crore applications have been received, with Tamil Nadu contributing 8.5 lakh registrations, of which nearly 76% are women. It noted that the demographic representation of the scheme includes almost 20% SCs, 7% STs, 50% OBCs and 23% from the general category.
Chaudhary said Tamil Nadu’s rejection of the scheme will deprive artisans of benefits and urged the state to reconsider what he called a “partisan approach to governance”.