Development of Minorities Under Multi-Sectoral Development Programme

Multi-sectoral Development programme (MsDP) for the welfare of the Minorities, being implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, is a special area development programme whose benefits go to non-minority also. It has been implemented from 2008-09 in 90 Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs) identified on the basis of substantial minority population and relative backwardness in terms of selected socio-economic and basic amenities parameters based on data of 2001 Census. The primary objective of the programme is to improve the backwardness parameters which resulted in the identification of the districts as backward and to bring them at par with the national averages. Giving this information in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Minority Affairs, said that the measures taken, inter alia, include improving the living conditions and employment opportunities for these districts like construction of Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) houses; anganwadi centres (AWC); various type of health centres, industrial training institutes (ITIs), polytechnic institutes; toilets for schools; residential schools; laboratory rooms; additional class rooms for various levels of schools, inter colleges, construction of hostels for girls and boys, providing drinking water facilities, solar lanterns etc. MsDP guidelines provide that there would be no change in the guidelines of any existing central schemes and there will be no divergence from existing norms for selection of beneficiaries in the districts so that benefits from the additional funds flow to all below poverty line (BPL) family and not selectively. The BPL list is used for selection of beneficiaries for IAY houses sanctioned under MsDP. For other projects, priority is given for creating assets in the villages/localities having substantial minority population and the assets created are available for everyone in the society.

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