CM Sai Champions PM Vishwakarma Yojana for Artisans

Key Takeaways

CM Vishnu Deo Sai posted on 8 August 2026 backing the PM Vishwakarma Yojana for artisans and small traders.

The scheme was announced in Union Budget 2023-24 and launched in September 2023 , covering 18 traditional trades .

It offers collateral-free credit, subsidised toolkits, and skill training to traditional craftspeople.

Sai invoked PM Modi's mantra — sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas aur sabka prayas — as the ideological anchor.

The post reinforces the BJP's 'double engine government' narrative, positioning Chhattisgarh as an active implementer of central welfare schemes.

For millions of carpenters, blacksmiths, potters, and weavers working in India's vast informal economy, a government scheme is quietly rewriting what opportunity looks like. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Saturday, 8 August 2026, invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governing philosophy to spotlight the PM Vishwakarma Yojana — a central scheme designed to put credit, skill training, and modern tools directly in the hands of traditional craftspeople.

Posting in Hindi, CM Sai quoted Modi's signature mantra — 'Sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas aur sabka prayas' ('Together with all, development for all, trust of all, and effort of all') — framing the scheme as the living expression of that pledge. 'Recognising talent and giving their hard work the right opportunity is the highest priority of the double engine government,' he wrote.

What PM Vishwakarma Yojana actually delivers

Announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 and formally launched in September 2023, the PM Vishwakarma Scheme targets practitioners of 18 traditional trades — from goldsmiths and cobblers to boat-makers and toy-makers. Beneficiaries receive collateral-free credit support, subsidised toolkits, and structured skill-upgrade training. The scheme's design addresses a stubborn gap: artisans with generational expertise but no formal credit history, locked out of mainstream financing.

The 'double engine' argument in Chhattisgarh

CM Sai's post is also a political statement, albeit a quiet one. The phrase 'double engine government' — shorthand for a BJP government at both the centre and the state — carries a specific claim: that BJP-ruled states convert central welfare schemes into on-ground delivery faster and more completely. Vishnu Deo Sai, who took charge as Chief Minister in December 2023, has consistently anchored his administration's messaging to central flagship programmes, positioning Chhattisgarh as a model implementer. For artisans and small business owners across the state, the proof will be in the rollout numbers — beneficiary registrations, loans disbursed, toolkits distributed. Those state-level figures remain the real measure of whether the 'double engine' runs on time. The informal sector, which employs the vast majority of India's workforce, rarely gets a prime-time spotlight. When a Chief Minister frames a welfare scheme as a matter of 'highest priority,' the question that follows is simple and urgent: how many people have actually been reached?

Point of View

Sai positions Chhattisgarh not just as a beneficiary of central policy but as an enthusiastic co-author of it. This matters politically because Chhattisgarh was a Congress-held state until late 2023, and the BJP government has a strong incentive to demonstrate tangible delivery to the state's large informal-sector workforce. The real test of this narrative will be verifiable rollout data — beneficiary numbers and credit disbursals — that either substantiate or complicate the 'highest priority' claim.

NationPress

8 Aug 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

What is PM Vishwakarma Yojana?

PM Vishwakarma Yojana is a central government scheme launched in September 2023 that provides collateral-free credit, skill training, and subsidised toolkits to practitioners of 18 traditional trades such as carpenters, blacksmiths, potters, goldsmiths, and weavers.

Who is eligible for PM Vishwakarma Scheme?

Artisans and craftspeople working in 18 designated traditional trades in the informal sector are eligible. The scheme specifically targets workers with generational craft skills who lack formal credit histories.

What did Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai say about PM Vishwakarma Yojana?

CM Vishnu Deo Sai said the scheme continuously supports artisans and small businesspeople in advancing their skills and expanding their work, calling it the 'highest priority' of the double engine government in Chhattisgarh.

What does 'double engine government' mean in BJP politics?

'Double engine government' refers to the BJP being in power simultaneously at the central government and in a state government, with the argument that this alignment speeds up the delivery of central welfare schemes at the state level.

When was PM Vishwakarma Yojana launched?

The scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 and formally launched in September 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi .