Lok Sabha Question No. 869 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-07
Subject: Skills of Traditional Artisans and Craftsmen
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: S.R. Parthiban

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 869 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2022

## SKILLS OF TRADITIONAL ARTISANS AND CRAFTSMEN

## 869. SHRI PARTHIBAN S.R.:

Will  the  Minister  of  SKILL  DEVELOPMENT  AND  ENTREPRENEURSHIP  be pleased to state:

(a) the  steps  taken  by  the  Ministry  to  support  and  upgrade  the  skills  of  traditional artisans and craftsmen;

(b) whether the Government has not done much to update or upgrade the skills of traditional artisans and craftsmen who have acquired their skills on their own way; and

(c) whether  the  Government  will  come  up  with  national  schemes  to  double  their income  during  next  five  years  and  without  such  meaningful  initiatives  India  cannot become a five trillion economy?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a) Under Skill India Mission, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is implementing  a  flagship  scheme  Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana  (PMKVY)  to impart short duration skill development training to youth of the country including artisans and  craftsmen.  Under  PMKVY,  training  has  been  imparted  in  various  job  roles  of  37 different sectors including job roles of traditional arts and crafts under Handicrafts and Carpet  Sector  Skill  Council  (HCSSC).  Under  PMKVY  2.0,  traditional  arts  and  crafts were promoted by giving flexibility to the States/UTs for allocating upto 25% of their total allocated  target for  the  skill  training  in  State  specific  job  roles  and  the  sector  of  local traditional arts and crafts.

Presently, PMKVY 3.0 is a demand driven scheme with bottom-up approach and District Skill Committees (DSCs) have been entrusted with the task of identifying local demand, based on which training has been arranged in the district which strengthens the local skill capability including traditional arts and crafts.

Under PMKVY, as on 31.12.2021 since 2016, 2,62,880 candidates have been trained/oriented (20,196 trained under STT and 2,42,684 oriented under RPL) in various traditional job roles in the country. These job roles are Bamboo Basket Maker, Bamboo Mat Weaver, Beading Artisans, Carpet Weaving, Carving Artisans, Tarakashi Jeweller, Decorative  Painter,  Sketching  &  Painting  Artisans,  Hand  Rolled  Agarbatti  Maker, Crochet Lace Trailers, Hand Embroiderer etc.

In  the  recent  time  post-COVID,  the  Ministry  has  developed  several  special skilling  projects  under  PMKVY  targeting  marginalized  and  vulnerable  groups  such  as street  vendors  and  artisans'  clusters  to  deliver  skills  in  the  clusters  of  demand  in partnership  with  private  sector  in  a  manner  where  100%  artisans  are  ensured employment. Under this, special project to revive the traditional Namda craft of Jammu & Kashmir and Upskilling of Weavers & Artisans on traditional crafts of Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir are being implemented.

Additionally,  under  long  term  skilling  Directorate  General  of  Training  under Ministry  of  Skill  Development  &  Entrepreneurship  (MSDE)  is  conducting  various schemes  to  impart  vocational  training  to  prospective  youth  of  the  country  including artisans  under  Craftsmen  Training  Scheme  (CTS)  through  a  network  of  Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) / collaboration of ITIs and Industries /Establishments. Scheme wise breakup of courses is as under:

|   S. No. | Name of Scheme                            |   Number of courses |
|----------|-------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|        1 | Craftsmen Training Scheme                 |                 142 |
|        2 | Apprenticeship Training Scheme            |                 266 |
|        3 | Crafts Instructors Training Scheme (CITS) |                  53 |
|        4 | Flexi MoU Scheme                          |                  16 |
|        5 | Short Term Training                       |                  14 |
|        6 | Advanced Diploma (Vocational)             |                  04 |

(b) In view of (a) above, question does not arise.

(c) In order to enhance the income of artisans and craftsmen of traditional clusters of the  country  and  towards  making  India  a  5  trillion  economy,  Ministry  is  already implementing various skilling schemes to improve the productivity of skilled artisans and weavers,  which  leads  to  enhance  the  earning  capacities  of  artisans  and  weavers  to ensure sustainable livelihood.

*****