Government Schemes and Policies for Handicrafts and Artisans

India’s handicrafts sector provides employment to over seven million traditional craftspeople, women, and rural artisans across decentralized household units. Coordinated primarily by the Ministry of Textiles, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, government policies aim to convert traditional hand skills into structured enterprise units. Public interventions cover skill training, technology modernization, direct financial assistance, raw material access, e-commerce integration, and international trade linkages.

Nodal Administrative Setup and Institutional Grid

The institutional architecture for artisan welfare operates through dedicated directorates, statutory boards, and public export promotion bodies.

Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts)

• Administrative Role: Functions as an attached office under the Ministry of Textiles, serving as the apex nodal agency for field implementation of central handicraft schemes.
• Field Network: Manages 62 Handicrafts Service Centres spread across six administrative regions to handle artisan identification, identity card issuing, and cluster surveys.
• Database Management: Issues Pahchan Identity Cards linked with Aadhaar to establish a national digital database of recognized artisans.

Statutory and Export Promotion Bodies

• Handicrafts and Handlooms Exports Corporation of India (HHEC): Assists rural artisans in bulk production matching international quality specifications.
• Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH): Set up under the Companies Act, regulating overseas marketing, organizing the IHGF Delhi Fair, and supporting trademark protections like Geographical Indications (GI).
• Central Cottage Industries Corporation (CCIC): Procures products directly from primary producers and awardee craftspeople for retail sale across metro outlets.

Flagship Government Schemes for Artisans

Central sector initiatives provide direct financial grants, interest subventions, and toolkit distribution across rural and urban centers.

PM Vishwakarma Scheme

• Launch Date and Budget: Launched on September 17, 2023, with a central budget outlay of ₹13,000 crore for five years up to 2027-28.
• Target Trades: Covers 18 traditional family-based trades including carpenters, blacksmiths, armorers, goldsmiths, potters, sculptors, cobblers, masons, basket makers, toy makers, and tailors.
• Credit Framework: Delivers collateral-free credit support up to ₹3 lakh in two tranches (₹1 lakh first tranche and ₹2 lakh second tranche) at a concessional interest rate of 5%, with interest subvention provided by the Union Government.
• Skill and Tool Incentives: Offers basic (5-7 days) and advanced (15 days or more) training with a stipend of ₹500 per day, alongside an e-RUPI voucher grant up to ₹15,000 for acquiring modern toolkits.

National Handicrafts Development Programme (NHDP)

• Core Components: Combines multiple sub-schemes including Marketing Support and Services (MSS), Research and Development (R&D), and Design and Technology Upgradation.
• Guru-Shishya Hastshilp Prashikshan Programme (GSHPP): Transfers traditional technical knowledge from master craftsmen to new apprentices over a 1 to 6-month duration.
• Design Workshops: Conducts technical workshops led by professional designers to modify traditional crafts for contemporary global markets.

Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS)

• Infrastructure Strategy: Targets large handicraft concentration zones to set up common facility centers, raw material banks, testing laboratories, and effluent treatment facilities.
• Mega Clusters: Focuses on establishing mega clusters at key historical centers like Moradabad, Narsapur, Bhadohi, Mirzapur, Srinagar, and Jodhpur.

Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana (AHVY)

• Community-Based Approach: Focuses on organizing artisans into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and producer companies in SC, ST, and minority-dominated blocks.
• Need-Based Interventions: Supplies financial assistance for baseline surveys, mobilization, cluster diagnostic studies, and credit linkage facilitation.

Digital, E-Commerce and Marketing Initiatives

The Ministry of Textiles uses digital platforms and physical exhibition spaces to eliminate intermediary commissions.

India Handmade Portal and GeM Integration

• India Handmade Portal: Operates as a direct e-commerce website where weavers and artisans list products without paying listing fees or commissions.
• Government e-Marketplace (GeM): Integrates artisans directly into public procurement portals, enabling central ministries and public sector undertakings to buy handicraft items directly.

Craft Villages and Urban Haats

• Craft Village Initiative: Integrates handicraft production with rural tourism in locations like Raghurajpur (Odisha), Pochampally (Telangana), and Lakhmani (Assam).
• Urban Haats: Sets up permanent open-air retail markets modeled on Dilli Haat across major cities, offering rotating 15-day stall allocations to registered artisans.

Overview of Key Artisan Support Schemes

Core Handicrafts and Artisans Schemes Facts

• Demographic Profile: Women constitute approximately 56% of the overall workforce in the Indian handicraft sector.
• Pahchan Card: A unique national identity card issued by the Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) granting access to credit, insurance, and exhibition entry.
• PM Vishwakarma Implementation: Jointly executed by the Ministry of MSME (Nodal), the Ministry of Skill Development, and the Department of Financial Services.
• Loan Tranches under PM Vishwakarma: Phase 1 credit offers up to ₹1,00,000 repayable in 18 months; Phase 2 offers up to ₹2,00,000 repayable in 30 months.
• Verification Layers: PM Vishwakarma registration requires three-stage verification comprising Gram Panchayat/ULB level, District Implementation Committee, and State Level Screening.
• Udyam Assist Platform: Registered artisans are onboarded onto this portal to access priority sector lending benefits extended to micro-enterprises.
• Shilp Guru Awards: Highest national honor conferred by the President of India on master craftspersons aged above 50 years for preserving heritage crafts.
• Geographical Indications (GI): India protects over 200 distinct handicraft items under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.