India’s traditional arts and crafts have been refined over centuries, shaped by skilled hands and passed from one generation to the next. USTTAD, launched in May 2015 from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, was created to ensure those skills do not fade. The scheme upgrades the skills of traditional artisans and craftsmen, documents identified crafts, sets quality standards and builds pathways to national and international markets. It now continues as the Traditional Training sub-component of Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan, or PM VIKAS.
Master trains the next generation
USTTAD works on a guru-shishya model. Master craftsmen train minority youth in identified traditional arts and crafts through Project Implementing Agencies empanelled by the Ministry. NIFT and NID serve as knowledge partners for design intervention, product development, craft documentation and standard-setting. Approximately 49 craft clusters have been identified nationally. Training is 100 per cent centrally funded.
Who can apply?
Applicants must belong to one of six notified minority communities: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis. The age bracket is 14 to 35 years, with a minimum qualification of Class 5. Up to 25 per cent of seats may go to BPL candidates from non-minority communities. Three per cent of seats are reserved for differently-abled persons from minority communities.
Trained, rewarded, showcased
Training is free, with a stipend of Rs 10,000 to Rs 13,000 provided to trainees. On completion, beneficiaries gain access to credit linkages through NMDFC and market platforms through Hunar Haat and Shilp Utsav. The USTTAD Samman Award, introduced in 2017, recognises ten outstanding craftsmen annually.
How to enrol?
Training batches are announced through empanelled Project Implementing Agencies. Candidates can approach their nearest PIA centre or District Minority Welfare Office, or visit pmvikas. minorityaffairs. gov. in for active batches.
Born in Varanasi, built for every artisan
Since inception, 21,611 artisans have been trained under USTTAD nationally. Through Hunar Haats, over 8 lakh artisans and craftspersons have been reached, more than half of them women. Uttar Pradesh, where the scheme was born, remains home to some of the country’s most significant minority craft traditions: Varanasi’s Zari Zardozi, Lucknow’s chikankari, Moradabad’s brasswork. A craft practised for generations deserves more than survival. USTTAD gives it a market, a standard and a future.
