Budget 2023: FM Nirmala Sitharaman announces package for "Vishwakarma" artisans; move to integrate them with MSME value chain

Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman on Wednesday announced a special package for traditional artisans and craftsmen under the PM Vishwa Karma Kaushal Samman to integrate them with the MSME value chain. The announcement was made by the finance minister during her budget speech. "PM Vishwa Karma Kaushal Samman - package of assistance for traditional artisans and craftspeople has been conceptualized, will enable them to improve quality, scale and reach of their products, integrating with MSME value chain," Sitharaman said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her fifth Budget on February 1 (Wednesday).This was her last full budget of FM in the Narendra Modi 2.0 government.

G20 Presidency gives us a unique opportunity to strengthen our role in the world economic order, we are steering an ambitious people-centric agenda to address global challenges and facilitate sustainable economic development, the FM said.

Indian economy has increased in size from being tenth to 5th largest in the world in the last 9 years, we have made significant progress in many SDGs, economy has become lot more formalized, efficient implementation of schemes has brought about inclusive development, she further said.

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India is estimated to grow at a rate of 7 per cent in FY23 which is highest among large economies. The economy has become more formalised as reflected in the EPFO data. 

"To empower the artisan community, and believe that this is a major boost for enabling the discovery of India’s rich cultural heritage. We estimate around 200 million people in India to be dependent on local art forms & handicrafts for a living, through formal and informal channels – and this announcement is also a vote of confidence in our endeavor of providing a credible platform to the artisans and to be a strong pillar of support to the artisan community, who have been at the helm of safeguarding centuries-old traditions," Mini Menon, co-founder, Peepul Tree said.