CHENNAI: CM MK Stalin on Saturday said the state government has launched its own scheme called ‘Kalaignar Kaivinai Thittam (KKT)’ since it does not want to implement the union government’s PM Vishwakarma (PMV) scheme, which, according to him, encouraged students to take up hereditary caste-based jobs of their families instead of pursuing higher education.
Officially launching the new scheme at a function in Kundrathur in Kancheepuram district, Stalin said he was shocked to find out that the minimum eligible age for the PMV scheme, launched in 2023, is 18 years. Questioning whether 18 is an age to take up higher education or enter hereditary jobs, Stalin said the duty of the government should be to bring even those who drop out of education back into studies and not push them out.
“What kind of an impact will it (PMV) have on Indian society, which is full of caste-based differences,” Stalin asked.
Stressing that Tamil Nadu, which vehemently opposed a similar scheme for schoolchildren way back in 1950s, Stalin said the state urged the union government to allow it to modify three aspects of PMV so that it can be implemented without any adverse effect. The union government, however, turned down the request, he said.
The three changes are changing the minimum eligibility age to 35, removing the eligibility criterion that an applicant’s family should have been involved in a hereditary job, and the power to verify the eligibility be with the village administrative officers instead of panchayat presidents.
Hence, the state government formally communicated that TN will not be implementing PMV and instead launched its scheme, Stalin said, adding that the KKT is in many ways better than the union government scheme.
The state scheme covers 25 crafts, instead of the 18 covered by PMV, and allowed anyone aged 35 or above to apply under any craft instead of the hereditary crafts of their families.
Stalin also launched the distribution of orders approving loans for 8,951 beneficiaries under KKT to the tune of Rs 170 crore. He said over 24,000 people have so far applied for the scheme.