Stalin rejects PM Vishwakarma, joins centre-state clash over welfare scheme

Data shows that the Centre is ready to lend a helping hand, irrespective of political differences between state and Centre, if a state is eager to take advantage of its schemes

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin declared on Wednesday that his government will not implement the Centre’s flagship initiative for local artisans, the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma scheme in its current form. In a letter to MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, Stalin said the state would instead design a more inclusive and comprehensive scheme, based on social justice for artisans, which does not discriminate based on caste.

 

Stalin was not the first leader to decline to implement a central government’s scheme meant to benefit a large community, citing various reasons.

 

States discarding central schemes 

Analysts say, many Central government schemes were blocked by the opposition-ruled states mainly due to political factors, like naming of the scheme, etc. PM Vishwakarma scheme, Stalin believes, is a caste-oriented policy. Initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat and PM SHRI schools have also become a point of political friction.

 

 

Ayushman Bharat – the flagship health scheme

 

Launched in 2018, Ayushman Bharat aims to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for the poor by providing a health cover of Rs 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. Recently, the scheme was extended to all senior citizens aged 70 and above, regardless of their economic status.

 

But two states, West Bengal and Odisha, and a union territory, Delhi, have not implemented the scheme. Health Minister of Odisha Mukesh Mahaling recently said that the state will adopt the scheme by the end of the year.

 

West Bengal and Delhi have been more vocal about their rejection of Ayushman Bharat. They argue that their state health schemes, ‘Swastho Sathi’ of West Bengal and ‘Arogya Kosh’ of Delhi, are better than the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat, as they offer superior benefits and cover a large section of society.

 

Three states declined PM-SHRI

 

In July, the Central government halted payments to Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), due to their refusal to participate in the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme.

 

The scheme with a budget outlay of Rs 27,000 crore is launched for five years, where the Centre will bear 60 per cent of the financial burden, and remaining 40 per cent is to be borne by the states.

 

Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal initially refused to sign the MoU with the Centre, which is an essential condition to become a participant under the scheme.

 

Punjab, however, later decided to adopt the scheme. Days after the Punjab government fulfilled the necessary conditions, the Centre sanctioned a grant of Rs 209.46 crore, on November 27, for upgrading 233 government schools, as reported by Hindustan Times.

 

Public at the receiving end

 

The non-implementation of Centre’s welfare schemes in certain states have left people unable to benefit from national policies. For example, by September 2024, over 36 crore individuals were benefiting from Ayushman Bharat, with the number set to rise further after the inclusion of seniors aged 70 and above.

 

But the residents of Delhi and West Bengal remain excluded from the benefits of the scheme, owing to the political differences between the state and Centre.

 

Similarly, PM-SHRI scheme’s objective is to upgrade atleast 14,500 government schools into ‘exemplar institutions’, to achieve the objectives of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

 

Schoolchildren in Delhi and West Bengal were supposed to benefit from upgraded infrastructure and improvements of schools under PM-SHRI. However, the states’ exclusion from the scheme leaves them at a disadvantage.

 

A missed opportunity

 

Data shows that the Centre is willing to help states eager to benefit from its schemes, regardless of ideological differences. According to an analysis by The Indian Express, out of 62.2 million hospitalisations under the Ayushman Bharat scheme (till January 15, 2024), involving government spending of Rs 79,227 crore, 45 per cent of these hospitalisations took place in seven opposition-ruled states, like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Jharkhand, Punjab, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh.

 

The analysis shows that 33 per cent of treatment reimbursements were directed to these states, highlighting the scheme’s broad impact. The PM Vishwakarma scheme, rejected by Stalin, aims to improve artisans’ productivity by providing modern tools and financial support. While Stalin plans a new scheme for artisans, the latter will continue to remain disadvantaged compared to their peers in other states.