MANGALURU: The Central Government's flagship PM Vishwakarma Yojana, aimed at empowering traditional artisans and craftspeople, has witnessed overwhelming participation nationwide, with Karnataka standing out as one of the top-performing states.
As per a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises confirmed that 2.71 crore applications were received under the scheme as of June 30, 2025, with 29.94 lakh registrations successfully completed—achieving a staggering 99.80% of the national target of 30 lakh registrations.
Among all states, Karnataka has emerged as a frontrunner, receiving the highest number of applications (32,22,576) and recording 5,71,637 successful registrations, which is 17.7% of its total applications. This places Karnataka among the top contributors in terms of absolute numbers, alongside states like Madhya Pradesh (8.8 %) and Maharashtra (10.4%). The national average of successful registrations is 11%.
The PM Vishwakarma scheme provides traditional artisans with formal recognition, skill training, tool kits, credit support, and market linkage. It aims to enhance livelihoods, promote self-reliance, and preserve traditional crafts. Beneficiaries also receive financial assistance, digital empowerment, and opportunities for growth through government-backed infrastructure and promotional initiatives.
Karnataka has also demonstrated remarkable efficiency in completing the three-tiered verification process. Out of the 32.22 lakh applicants, Stage 1 verification was completed for 20.84 lakh, Stage 2 for 10.08 lakh, and Stage 3 for 5.76 lakh, resulting in 5.71 lakh artisans being fully registered. Madhya Pradesh comes distant second with just 2.77 lakh successful registrations out of 31.66 lakh applications received.
The scheme's success in Karnataka is visible at the grassroots. Districts like Tumakuru (65,276 registrations), Kolar (38,199), Chamarajanagar (30,001), Chitradurga (39,926) and Bidar (32,974) have emerged as top performers. Even smaller districts like Udupi and Kodagu have shown substantial participation with over 7,900 and 2,600 registrations respectively.
Despite Karnataka’s overall strong performance, several districts recorded notably low registration success. Vijayapura had only 1,670 successful registrations out of over 57,000 applications, while Bagalkote saw just 3,876 out of nearly 95,000 applications. Bengaluru Urban had a modest success rate with 15,001 registrations from 1.8 lakh applications. Vijayanagara and Yadgir also reported lower conversion rates despite substantial applicant numbers.
Karnataka has also made substantial strides in empowering Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) through this scheme. A total of 1,30,256 SC beneficiaries were registered, with 1,06,025 completing basic training. Similarly, 59,900 ST beneficiaries were registered, out of which 48,359 have completed their training.
While large states like Uttar Pradesh (5.6%), Bihar (8.8%), and Madhya Pradesh (8.8%) saw low registration success rates under the scheme, several smaller states and Union Territories performed impressively. For instance, Ladakh achieved a remarkable 64.9% success rate, Sikkim 54.1%, and Goa 52.9%. States like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal reported no successful registrations under the scheme, as per the reply.