LUCKNOW, Sept. 18 -- Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday took a swipe at previous governments, alleging they had no time for artisans as they were busy organising the Saifai Mahotsav, bringing dancers from Mumbai and celebrating birthdays with a buggy from Birmingham. Speaking at an event at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan on Vishwakarma Jayanti and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, Adityanath said his government had focused on promoting "swadeshi" and self-reliance by linking traditional skills with training, credit and markets. The chief minister also launched the Vishwakarma Swarozgar and Swadeshi Mela-2026. "When governments were busy organising mahotsavs in Saifai, bringing dancers from Mumbai and celebrating birthdays with a buggy from Birmingham, where would they get time to think about artisans?" Adityanath said. "They had no time to think about swadeshi and self-reliance." Chief minister Yogi said the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme was implemented on Uttar Pradesh Diwas in 2018, while the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana was launched in 2019. More than six lakh artisans and craftsmen had been provided toolkits and training in the past seven-eight years under the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana and linked with self-employment, the CM said. Adityanath said the government now provides 10 days of free training, a stipend of Rs 5,000 and a toolkit worth Rs 15,000 on completion of training. The decision to provide a stipend was taken keeping in mind that artisans worked daily to support their families. The scheme initially covered 16 trades, including 11 traditional occupations. Five more traditional trades have now been added. "The objective is that an artisan should not remain a labourer but become an entrepreneur," Adityanath said. Under the Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana, young people are eligible for interest-free and guarantee-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh, while the limit for artisans is Rs 10 lakh, with 10-15% margin money, the CM said. The government will bear the interest burden, while artisans will not have to provide a guarantee. Banks will provide the loans, with the government taking responsibility for the interest, he said. From September 25 to 29, toolkit distribution programmes will be organised in every district, with banks participating to provide loans on the spot. "Some artisans are getting Rs 8 lakh, some Rs 2 lakh and some Rs 1 lakh," Adityanath said. The state now has 96 lakh MSME units providing employment to around 3.25 crore people, Adityanath said. "UP was never 'bimaru'; the mentality of the politicians running it before 2017 was 'bimaru'," he said. Uttar Pradesh had now become a growth engine of the country's economy, he added. Adityanath said the Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show would be held at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, from September 25 to 29, with more than 2,500 exhibitors and over 650 foreign buyers expected to participate. The event was expected to generate a turnover of Rs 12,000-15,000 crore, a significant portion of which would directly benefit artisans, he said. MSME minister Bhupendra Chaudhary said Vishwakarma 2.0 would provide modern technology, training and financial assistance to artisans. Adityanath distributed toolkits to beneficiaries from Ayodhya, Barabanki, Unnao, Hardoi, Kanpur, Rae Bareli, Etawah and Lucknow. He also distributed self-employment loan cheques of Rs 8 lakh to Lucknow's Prakash Deen Sahu, Rs 1 lakh to Rahul Kumar, Rs 2 lakh to Mohd Mustaq, Rs 1.5 lakh to Unnao's Rambabu and Rs 1 lakh to Anand Kumar. MoUs with corporate training institutes were signed and the VSSY 2.0 margin money portal was launched....