AS PM VISHWAKARMA NEARS THREE YEARS, SANGRUR CAMP TRAINS 121 ARTISANS AND DELIVERS 27 ENTERPRISE REGISTRATIONS IN A SINGLE DAY
SANGRUR
( Justice News)
With the PM Vishwakarma Scheme set to complete three years on 17 September, the MSME Development and Facilitation Office, Ludhiana, under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, organised the PM Vishwakarma Branding and Marketing Awareness Programme at Hotel New Mayur, Sangrur today. The camp, the eighth in the series held by the office, was attended by 121 registered PM Vishwakarma beneficiaries from traditional trades across the district.
By the close of the day, 27 Udyam Registrations had been completed at the venue by staff of the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Sangrur, and 11 QR codes for accepting digital payments had been generated and issued by India Post Payments Bank. Many artisans who arrived in the morning with no formal identity for their business left in the evening as registered enterprises able to accept payments digitally.
Six technical sessions were held through the day. Beneficiaries were first briefed on the components of the Scheme, its eligibility conditions and its benefits. A practical session on Artificial Intelligence followed, in which artisans were shown how everyday AI tools can be used to improve product photographs, prepare product descriptions and communicate with customers. Sessions on labelling and branding introduced free and low-cost design tools that a craftsperson can use without hiring a designer.
A session on cyber security addressed safe digital practices and protection against online fraud, delivered in Hindi so that every participant could follow it. Further sessions covered exports, design and packaging as instruments of value addition, marketing and online selling, and financial literacy and entrepreneurship, closing with credit discipline, formal banking channels and business planning.
The response to online selling was immediate. Several beneficiaries expressed a clear intent to take their businesses online with minimum compliance requirements and were briefed on the Meeshoregistration process. A dedicated session is now being planned to convert these queries into active sellers on a leading e commerce platform.
The outcomes of the day rest on the coordination that preceded it. MSME DFO Ludhiana convened the camp and anchored the scheme related content. The PM Vishwakarma State Level Project Management Unit of Punjab mobilised beneficiaries across the district and delivered the technical training sessions. The office of the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Sangrur, brought enterprise formalisation directly to the venue, India Post Payments Bank placed digital payment facilities within reach of every participant, and the Lead District Manager, Sangrur, connected the formal banking system to the programme. Five institutions, each holding a different part of the artisan journey, worked from a single platform on a single day. That is why a beneficiary could hear about registration in the morning and hold it by the afternoon.
Officials said that the early years of the Scheme focused on bringing artisans recognition and registration, and that the objective now is to convert that recognition into better livelihoods and a stronger market presence. Camps of this nature, they said, are playing a concrete role in that shift.
About PM Vishwakarma
PM Vishwakarma is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, launched on 17 September 2023. It supports artisans and craftspeople who work with their hands and tools in 18 identified traditional trades through recognition by way of a certificate and identity card, skill upgradation with a training stipend, a toolkit incentive, enterprise development loans without collateral at a concessional rate of interest, incentives for digital transactions, and marketing support.
