Key Features:

• Covers over 25 trades including pottery, sculpture / stone carving, carpentry, metal works, rope/mat/broom making, jewellery making, weaving/embroidery, traditional musical instruments, glassworks, etc. 

• Loan support of approximately ₹50,000 up to ₹3 lakh for eligible artisans.

• Capital subsidy of 25% of the eligible cost (capped in many places at around ₹50,000) plus interest subvention (for instance up to ~5% depending on bank). 

• Minimum age eligibility: The state scheme sets a minimum age of 35 years for applicants. 

• The scheme is designed to be inclusive – not restricted to one’s ancestral trade or caste-based trades; you may pick from the list of eligible trades.

• Focus on training, modernisation of craft, branding/market linkages — not just subsidy.

Eligibility & business-owner essentials

If you are an artisan / craft business owner, these are the key eligibility and application points:

• You must be at least 35 years old.

• You should have experience in one of the listed trades (often minimum 5 years experience is mentioned in the trade in some reports).

• You must be able to apply for the eligible trade (from the list of 25+ trades) even if it’s not your ancestral work. The scheme emphasises freedom of trade choice.

• You’ll need to prepare a project plan or business plan for your craft/trade unit — indicating what you’ll invest (equipment, materials, infrastructure), how you propose to run/scale the business.

• Once approved, you’ll get the loan + subsidy benefits, with the subsidy portion reducing your cost or burden.

---

Financial terms & what you should watch for

• Maximum loan around ₹3 lakh (in many cases) for trade / craft units.

• Subsidy: ~25% of eligible cost (up to ceiling like ₹50,000) in many references.

• Interest subvention: the state scheme mentions interest subsidy (for example “5% interest subsidy” in some reports) for the craft/trade loans.

• Single-installment disbursement of credit is indicated (in contrast to two-installments in another scheme) in some descriptions.

• Since you are a business owner, check what portion of cost is eligible (e.g., equipment, tools, materials, infrastructure for craft) and what is excluded (e.g., family labour costs may or may not be eligible).

• Also check repayment terms, whether collateral is required, how soon you must begin operations and generate revenue. The publicly available reports don’t always give full detail on repayment terms, so you may need to refer to the official scheme notification for your district.

---

Why this is important for a craft business owner

• It provides affordable credit + subsidy which reduces capital cost burden — useful if you’re investing in machinery, new material handling equipment, or expanding your craft/trade business.

• It enables modernisation and market linkage — important if you want to scale production, upgrade from purely handmade to semi-mechanised or access external markets.

• It supports you in moving from artisan to enterprise — the scheme is designed for business growth, not just subsistence craft.

• It aims to level the playing field for craftspersons by not limiting you to family/ancestral trades or caste-based restrictions. This flexibility can allow you to pick a trade you are skilled in or interested in, rather than what your family historically did.

1.