DIMAPUR: A total of 25,239 beneficiaries have registered under the PM Vishwakarma Scheme in Nagaland, out of which 4,590 have completed all three stages of verification. This was stated by Mohd. Ali Rahman, Director, MSME DFO Dimapur, while delivering the keynote address at the Awareness Workshop on Branding and Marketing under the scheme at Hotel Saramati, Dimapur, on September 2, 2026.
The event was organised by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India, through the MSME DFO Dimapur, in collaboration with the Department of Industries & Commerce and the District Industries Centre (DIC), Dimapur.
Rahman highlighted the progress of the scheme and support being extended to artisans for promoting products through digital marketplaces such as Meesho and Amazon. He informed that so far, 1,900 artisans have been trained, 884 toolkits delivered, and 419 loans worth Rs.4.07 crore sanctioned, of which 404 loans worth Rs. 3.91 crore have been disbursed. Additionally, 33 artisans have been onboarded on Meesho and some on Amazon.
According to a DIPR report, the scheme aims to strengthen entrepreneurial capabilities of beneficiaries by providing practical knowledge on branding, packaging, labelling, export development, financial literacy, business development, artificial intelligence (AI), e commerce and digital payment solutions. It offers a toolkit incentive of up to Rs. 15,000 in the form of e vouchers at the start of basic skill training. Beneficiaries can also avail collateral free loans up to Rs.3 lakh in two tranches-Rs. 1 lakh and Rs.2 lakh-at a concessional fixed interest rate of 5%.
To encourage digital payments, an incentive of Rs. 1 per digital transaction (up to 100 transactions per month) is credited to the beneficiary’s account. The scheme also extends marketing support through quality certification, branding and onboarding of artisans on e commerce platforms such as Government e Marketplace (GeM).
The scheme covers 18 traditional trades, including carpenter, potter, boat maker, armourer, blacksmith, goldsmith, sculptor, mason, tailor, washerman, garland maker, barber, basket weaver, doll and toy maker, fishing net maker, cobbler, locksmith, hammer and toolkit maker.
Delivering the welcome address, N. Abeno Lotha, functional manager, DIC Dimapur, urged artisans to make effective use of the opportunities available under the scheme to expand enterprises and access wider markets.
The first technical session on Product Packaging, Labelling and Design was conducted by Imliakum, Founder of Nagaland Paper and Packaging Hub, who explained types of packaging and the importance of effective labelling in improving product appeal.
The Export Development session was delivered by Kiyelu T. Yeptho, functional manager, DIC Dimapur, while a hands on session on Financial Literacy was conducted by Paweii Kayina, Founder of Moneybar. This was followed by an interaction with Talinaro Longchar, Lead District Manager, SBI Dimapur, who addressed queries on banking facilities and loan applications. Loan sanction letters were handed over to eight artisans during the programme.
The Business Development session was delivered by Thepfukedo Mere, financial analyst, RAMP Scheme, DIC Dimapur, who emphasised integrated growth planning and networking.
Rahul Suman and Mithun Kumar Biswas of India Post Payments Bank, Dimapur, demonstrated QR code generation to promote digital payment adoption. An interactive session on Artificial Intelligence and e commerce onboarding was conducted by the State Programme Management Unit (SPMU), PM Vishwakarma.
The workshop concluded with a Q&A session, where artisans sought clarifications from officials of MSME DFO and SPMU. For more information, beneficiaries can visit the official website: www.pmvishwakarma.gov.in.
