Over 23 lakh artisans trained under PM Vishwakarma scheme, says govt

new delhi: more than 23.09 lakh artisans and craftspeople have been trained under the pm vishwakarma scheme since its launch in september 2023, while over 30 lakh beneficiaries have been registered so far, the government informed the lok sabha on wednesday.the pm vishwakarma scheme was launched on september 17, 2023, to provide end-to-end holistic support to artisans of 18 traditional trades who work with their hands and tools. as on december 1, 2025, a total of 30 lakh beneficiaries have been enrolled under the scheme, the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (msme) said.to promote digital transactions, the government has signed mous with digital payment platforms such as india post payment bank, paytm, paynearby, bharatpe and phonepe to enable beneficiaries to receive digital payment incentives through qr codes. so far, over 6.8 lakh artisans have received digital incentives amounting to rs 22 crore.the ministry said online marketing support is also being provided through platforms such as ondc, fabindia and meesho to boost domestic and international sales of vishwakarma products. in addition, more than 30,000 beneficiaries have been onboarded on the government e-marketplace (gem), improving their access to institutional buyers.meanwhile, the msme ministry's champions portal continues to provide grievance redressal and handholding support to entrepreneurs. the portal, now available in 23 languages, has received 1,59,577 grievances so far, of which 99.24 per cent have been resolved.this information was given by minister of state for msme shobha karandlaje in a written reply to the lok sabha.