National Handicraft Development Programme and the Pehchan artisan card NHDP (Handicraft)
The central programme for handicraft artisans, reached through the Pehchan artisan card, which brings training, toolkits, marketing events, help with MUDRA loans, insurance and awards.
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- Cost to apply
- Free
- Status
- Status unclear
- Run by
- Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles
What you get
- Pehchan card, linked to Aadhaar and issued after field verification, which is the entry to handicraft schemes
- Design workshops, Guru Shishya training, skill upgradation courses and improved toolkits
- Marketing events and exhibitions in India and abroad, with 132 planned for 2025-26
- Margin money on MUDRA loans for Pehchan card holders, claimed by the lending bank
- Interest subvention of 6% on MUDRA loans from scheduled commercial banks, up to ₹1 lakh over 3 years
- PMJJBY life cover of ₹2 lakh for artisans aged 18 to 50, with the government paying ₹198 of the ₹436 premium
- Shilp Guru and National Awards, and a monthly pension of ₹8,000 for awardee artisans in poor circumstances
Who can apply
- Open to businesses in handicrafts.
- Nano and micro enterprises.
- Only for artisans.
- Needs a valid Pehchan card in the relevant craft
- Training is open to Pehchan card holders in that craft
- Cluster support through the Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme goes to clusters and producer companies, not individuals
How to apply
- Register for a Pehchan card through the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) field office
- Use the card to join training, marketing events and loan support
In person, Field offices of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts)
Worth knowing
NHDP was approved for 2021-22 to 2025-26, with an outlay PIB gives as ₹837 crore, and CHCDS ran to March 2026. No continuation for 2026-27 was found. Budget 2026-27 announced a National Handloom and Handicraft Programme to merge existing handloom and handicraft schemes, which PIB still described as future in August 2026.
Where we found this
- PIB backgrounder, Handicrafts at the Heart of India's Rural Economy, 9 December 2025 (external site) Official announcement
- PIB, PEHCHAN for handicraft artisans (external site) Official announcement
- NHDP guidelines, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) (external site) Official
- PIB backgrounder, National Handloom Day 2026, on the planned National Handloom and Handicraft Programme (external site) Official announcement
An independent guide by The Company of Four, not a government website. Schemes change often, so check every detail on the official website before you apply. Links marked ↗ open external websites that we do not run, and we are not responsible for their content. Seen something out of date? Tell us and we will look into it.