Prime Minister’s Vishwakarma scheme | UT, district panels to oversee implementation in J&K

Jammu, Jan 20: The government has constituted UT Level Monitoring Committee (UTLMC) and District Implementation Committees, in supersession of all previous orders on the subject, for overseeing the monitoring and implementation of the Prime Minister’s Vishwakarma Scheme, in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

UT Level Monitoring Committee will be responsible for the operational implementation of the scheme at the Union Territory level. It will comprise Administrative Secretary, Industries and Commerce department as its chairman while Administrative Secretaries of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj; Housing and Urban Development and Information Technology departments or a representative each of them, not below the rank of Additional Secretary, will be its members.

Besides, Mission Director, Skill Development Mission, J&K; Director, Skill Development, J&K; Joint Director, MSME DFO, J&K as well as Ladakh; a representative each of Finance; Planning Development and Monitoring departments and Skill Development departments, not below the rank of Additional Secretary in each case and the Convenor, UTLBC, J&K will also be its members.

Director, Industries and Commerce Jammu as well as Kashmir will be its member convenors and C H Ravi Chillukoti, Regional Director in the Directorate of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will be the special invitee member.

As per the terms of reference, this panel will coordinate the roll out of the PM Vishwakarma in the Union Territory; ensure active participation of stakeholder departments and agencies of the UT government facilitating implementation of the Scheme.

It will also facilitate agencies of MSDE in providing skill training to the beneficiaries and will ensure coordination among banks and financial institutions for smooth provisioning of credit support to the beneficiaries; IT-ITeS related support in implementing the Scheme; create awareness about it (scheme) at Gram Panchayat and Urban Local Body level in the UT, monitor its implementation and share suggestions or feedback, if any, with the National Steering Committee.

The committee will meet once in every quarter, or as per requirement, to discuss all operational and ground-level implementation matters under the Scheme and will be serviced by the Industries and Commerce Department.

The District Implementation Committee will be responsible for actual roll out and implementation of the scheme at field level.

It will have Deputy Commissioner as chairman while General Manager, District Industries Centre will be its member convenor. Assistant Commissioner, Panchayat; Chief Executive Officers of the ULBs; Principal ITIs of the concerned district; a representative of MSME DFO, J&K; a nominee of MSDE at district level; Lead District Manager (concerned); Assistant Directors, Handicraft & Handloom Department (concerned) and three domain experts or practitioners to be nominated by the National Steering Committee will be its members.

As per the terms of reference, this panel will ensure seamless enrollment of the beneficiaries by the CSCs in the Gram Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies of the district and proper and smooth verification of the enrolled beneficiaries by Head of Gram Panchayats and Executive Heads of Urban Local Bodies.

It will also ensure adequate awareness and on-boarding of all eligible beneficiaries in Gram Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies, through a suitable mechanism.

Besides, it will conduct the necessary verification under scheme and ensure access of registered beneficiaries to PM Vishwakarma Certificate and ID Cards and to 5-days Basic Skill Training, Credit Support under the Scheme, incentives for Digital Transaction and marketing support.

The committee may co-opt two-three leading practitioners or domain experts on honorary basis, with prior approval of the National Steering Committee.