PM Vishwakarma Scheme: Eligibility, 18 Trades, Training and How to Register

PM Vishwakarma is a central government scheme for people who already work with their hands in a traditional family trade, such as tailors, carpenters, potters, barbers and masons. It gives recognition, short skill training with a stipend, help to buy modern tools, collateral-free loans at a low interest rate, a small reward for digital payments, and marketing support. This guide explains who qualifies, the 18 trades it covers, what each benefit means in practice, and how registration through a Common Service Centre (CSC) actually works.

All scheme details below were checked on the official portal, pmvishwakarma.gov.in, in October 2026. Rules and amounts can change, so always confirm on the portal or at a CSC before you act.

What the scheme is, in one paragraph

PM Vishwakarma is a Central Sector Scheme run by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Its official FAQ describes it as "holistic and end-to-end support" for artisans and craftspeople. In simple words, it tries to help a traditional worker do four things better: prove their skill, use better tools, get affordable credit, and sell to more customers. The Ministry of Skill Development (MSDE) handles the skilling part and banks handle the loans, but your entry point is a single registration.

The scheme has six components, listed on the portal:

1. Recognition — a PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card.
2. Skill upgradation — skill verification, basic training and optional advanced training.
3. Toolkit incentive — money towards modern tools for your trade.
4. Credit support — collateral-free enterprise development loans with interest subvention.
5. Incentive for digital transactions — a small credit for each eligible digital payment.
6. Marketing support — quality certification, branding, e-commerce linkage and trade fairs.

Who is eligible

The official eligibility criteria have five parts. Read each one carefully, because most rejected applications fail on one of these points rather than on paperwork.

• You work in one of the 18 trades with your hands and tools, in the unorganised sector, on a self-employment basis. The trade should be a family-based traditional trade.
• You are at least 18 years old on the date of registration.
• You are actually doing the trade on the date of registration. Planning to start is not enough.
• You have not taken a loan under a similar central or state credit scheme for self-employment or business, such as PMEGP, PM SVANidhi or Mudra, in the past five years. The FAQ adds a clarification: anyone who has taken a PMEGP loan cannot apply; a person with an outstanding PM SVANidhi or Mudra loan cannot apply; but those who have repaid PM SVANidhi or Mudra loans can apply.
• Only one member per family can register. A "family" means husband, wife and unmarried children.
• Government employees and their family members are not eligible.

The 18 eligible trades

The portal groups the trades by material. The names in brackets are the traditional Hindi names used on the portal.

The portal notes that the metal-based group also includes makers of bronze, brass and copper items, diyas, utensils and figurines. If your work is close to one of these trades but not an exact match — for example, embroidery or beautician work — it is not automatically covered. Ask at the CSC which trade code, if any, applies to you before you start the form.

Benefits and amounts (as published, checked October 2026)

The table below repeats the benefit amounts exactly as they appear on the portal's "Scheme Benefits" section and FAQ. They are the scheme's published limits, not promises — you receive each benefit only after the relevant verification or training step.

Two more loan details from the FAQ: no collateral security is required, and no prepayment penalty is charged after six months from disbursement. Eligible lenders include scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks, small finance banks, cooperative banks, NBFCs and microfinance institutions.

How registration works, step by step

Artisans register through a Common Service Centre (CSC). The official procedure for CSCs, published on the portal, follows this order:

1. Eligibility declarations. The CSC operator asks whether anyone in your family is a government employee and whether you have taken a similar scheme loan (PMEGP, or an outstanding SVANidhi or Mudra loan). Both must be "No" to continue.
2. Aadhaar verification. You give your Aadhaar number and Aadhaar-linked mobile number, verify an OTP, and complete biometric authentication. This is why you must go in person.
3. Personal details. Name, father's or spouse's name, date of birth and gender are fetched from Aadhaar. You add marital status, social category, disability status and minority status if applicable.
4. Family details. If your ration card is linked to Aadhaar, family details are filled automatically. If not, the ration card number or manual family details are entered.
5. Address. Aadhaar address is auto-filled. You confirm your current address and whether you come under a gram panchayat (rural) or an urban local body.
6. Trade details. You select your trade and declare that it is your family profession learnt through the guru–shishya (teacher–learner) tradition. You give your business address.
7. Bank details. Savings account, IFSC and branch.
8. Credit support. You choose "Yes" or "May be later", and if yes, the amount (up to ₹1,00,000 at this stage), the preferred bank branch, the purpose of the loan, any existing loans and monthly family income.
9. Digital incentive. Your UPI ID, if you have one.
10. Training, toolkit and marketing sections. You read the benefits and choose marketing support options.
11. Declaration and submit. A registration number is generated. Note it down.

What happens after you submit

The portal publishes separate procedures for three levels of verification: first by the Gram Panchayat head or Urban Local Body, then by the District Implementation Committee, and finally approval by the Screening Committee. Only after approval do the certificate, ID card, skill verification and training steps follow. Keep your registration number and check status through the beneficiary login on the portal or at the same CSC.

Documents to carry to the CSC

The FAQ lists Aadhaar, mobile number, bank details and ration card as mandatory. Use this checklist so you do not need a second trip:

• Aadhaar card, with your current mobile number linked to it
• Ration card. If you do not have one, Aadhaar cards of all family members (spouse and unmarried children)
• Bank passbook or cancelled cheque showing account number and IFSC. If you have no bank account, the CSC is expected to help you open one first
• PAN card, if you have one (optional)
• UPI ID linked to your mobile, if you use one (optional)
• Details of any existing loans, and your rough monthly family income
• Your business address, if it is different from your home

Check whether new registrations are open

When this guide was checked in October 2026, the portal's "Key indicators" section showed a target of 30,00,000 registrations till 2028, and stated that this target had already been achieved in September 2025. The same section reported lakhs of applicants who had completed basic training and received toolkits and loans.

What this means for a new applicant is not stated clearly on the home page. Registration may be paused, limited, or reopened in phases. Before taking a day off work to visit a CSC, ask the CSC operator or the MSME Development and Facilitation Office (MSME-DFO) whether new artisan registrations are being accepted in your district right now.

A worked example: a tailor (darzi)

Consider a fictional example. A woman in a small town has stitched blouses and salwar suits at home for eight years, a skill she learnt from her mother. She is 34, her husband works as a daily-wage mason, and nobody in the family has a government job or an unpaid Mudra loan.

1. She checks that "Tailor (Darzi)" is on the list — it is.
2. She confirms that her husband, who is a mason (also an eligible trade), has not registered. Only one of them can register, so the couple decides who benefits more.
3. She updates her Aadhaar mobile number, then visits a CSC with her ration card and passbook.
4. After verification and approval, she attends skill verification and basic training, receiving the daily stipend and the toolkit incentive.
5. She starts accepting UPI payments from customers, which counts towards the digital incentive and later helps her qualify for the second loan.

Notice what the scheme does not do: it does not teach tailoring from zero. The basic training is 40 hours for people who already practise the trade. Someone who has never stitched should first learn the skill through a full course — see our tailoring certificate course guide for what that involves.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Where to get help

The official FAQ lists three places for help: your nearest Common Service Centre, the MSME Development and Facilitation Office (MSME-DFO), and the District Industries Centre (DIC). Queries can also be emailed to the address given in the portal's FAQ. When you ask for help, give your registration number, not your Aadhaar number, in written messages.

Frequently asked questions