Why it is in the news
PM Vishwakarma completed three years on 17 September 2026, having crossed its registration target of 30 lakh beneficiaries. Figures released by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises as on 15 September 2026 show 24.37 lakh artisans given basic skill training, 18.16 lakh toolkits distributed, and 6.19 lakh collateral-free loans sanctioned worth about ₹5,316 crore. A further 8.11 lakh beneficiaries have received over ₹42 crore in digital-transaction incentives, more than 30,000 have been onboarded on e-commerce platforms and over 12,000 trained in the use of AI tools for branding and marketing. An evaluation cited by the Ministry reports that 93% of surveyed beneficiaries saw moderate to significant income gains after training.
The exam angle
Issue: Does a scheme built on recognition, training, tools and subsidised credit change the economic position of traditional artisans, or does it sustain occupations that the market has already displaced?