No one can do it like Narendra Modi. He has a gift for turning events into extravaganzas and using them as a platform to impress the voter no end. That he is very clinical in his planning and timing of such events is well known. The recent G20 summit was an example of how well he can craft a national or international event to establish himself as a leader of undisputed stature. So, when he chose to reach out to millions of traditional artisans by launching a new scheme on September 17—which happens to be his birthday and is also celebrated as Vishwakarma puja—there was little doubt that he was making a successful poll pitch, too.
The PM Vishwakarma Yojana, a subsidised loan scheme, has been launched a few months before the parliamentary elections next year. The scheme has been smartly packaged, beginning with the name. PM Vishwakarma Yojana is a name that not only appeals to the BJP’s core Hindutva vote bank, but also seeks to instil a sense of pride among traditional artisans by addressing them as Vishwakarma, a god known for his skilled craftsmanship. The scheme offers loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at five per cent over four years. The first tranche of Rs 1 lakh is payable in eighteen months; when one pays it off, one would be eligible for another Rs 2 lakh to be paid over 30 months. The scheme offers collateral-free loans and a five-day training in modern tools. The training is for introducing craftsmen to the government e-marketplace, the GeM portal for nationwide procurements. The scheme will need budgetary support of Rs 13,000 crore.
It is another attempt by the Modi government to challenge the Opposition’s narrative that it only works for big capitalists and makes life harder for poorer people. Some such schemes are already there—the Mudra Yojana gives small businesses and entrepreneurs loans of up to Rs 10 lakh, and the PM SVANidhi scheme lends street vendors up to Rs 10,000. But one cannot fault the government for trying to capture the mind space of voters with a repackaged scheme as long as it benefits the needy. After all, small- and medium-sized businesses, along with daily wagers, were hit the hardest by closures during the pandemic. The trick, though, will be in identifying the right beneficiaries and not squandering the hard-earned revenues on populism.