Question : Schemes for Upliftment of Minorities

(a) the details of the schemes introduced for upliftment of minorities and to improve their quality of living standard along with the budget allocated during the last three years;

(b) whether scholarships have been provided to minorities during the said period and if so, the details thereof;

(c) the details of funds allocation and expenditure under various schemes and the number of beneficiaries, State-wise including Maharashtra;

(d) whether there is any proposal to increase this amount during the current financial year and if so, the extent to which it is likely to be increased;

(e) if not, whether increase is proposed according to the population and if so, the details thereof;

(f) whether the Government has conducted a comparative study of improvement for the last three years that has been brought about in the standard of living of the minority communities with the help of the major schemes that the Government claims to have implemented; and

(g) if not, the steps the Government is taking to ensure that the definite improvement comes in the standard of living of the minority communities?

MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

(SHRI MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI)

(a) The Government is implementing various schemes for the welfare and upliftment of every section of the society including minorities especially economically weaker & downtrodden sections all over the country with schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana(PMMY), Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN), Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Beti Bachao Beti Padaao yojana, etc. The Government is also implementing various schemes for socio-economic and educational empowerment of the six (6) centrally notified minority communities namely, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains. These schemes/programmes in brief are as under:-
(1) Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme, Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme, Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship Scheme - For educational empowerment of students.
(2) Maulana Azad National Fellowship Scheme - Provide fellowships in the form of financial assistance.
(3) Naya Savera - Free Coaching and Allied Scheme - The Scheme aims to provide free coaching to students/candidates belonging to minority communities for qualifying in entrance examinations of technical/ professional courses and Competitive examinations.

(4) Padho Pardesh - Scheme of interest subsidy to students of minority communities on educational loans for overseas higher studies.
(5) Nai Udaan - Support for students clearing Prelims conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), State Public Service Commission (PSC) Staff Selection Commission (SSC) etc.
(6) Nai Roshni - Leadership development of women belonging to minority communities..
(7) Seekho Aur Kamao - Skill development scheme for youth of 14 - 35 years age group and aiming at improving the employability of existing workers, school dropouts etc.
(8) Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) earlier known as MsDP - Implemented for the benefit of the people from all sections of the society in identified Minority Concentration Areas for creation of assets in education, skill and health sectors.
(9) Jiyo Parsi - Scheme for containing population decline of Parsis in India.
(10) USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development)
(11) Nai Manzil - A scheme for formal school education & skilling of school dropouts.
(12) Hamari Dharohar- A scheme to preserve rich heritage of minority communities of India under the overall concept of Indian culture.
(13) Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) implements education and skill related schemes as follows:- (a) Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship for Meritorious Girls belonging to the Minorities (b) Gharib Nawaz Employment Scheme for providing short term job oriented skill development courses to youth belonging to minority communities. (c) Bridge Course for madarsa students & school dropouts by Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi under Nai Manzil scheme. (d) Swachh Vidyalaya.
(14) Equity to National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) for providing concessional loans to minorities for self-employment and income generating ventures. In addition to the above, the Ministry also implements schemes for strengthening State Waqf Boards and coordinates arrangements for annual Haj pilgrimage.
(b) Details of scholarships provided to minority students during last three years from 2016-17 to 2018-19 are given as under:

Name of the Scheme No. of beneficiaries Total amount released ( Rs. in crore)
Pre-matric Scholarship 1,49,34,140 3285.67
Post matric Scholarship 18,16,348 1114.16
Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship 3,18,969 852.98
Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship for meritorious girls 3,47,576 215.61

(c) The details of the funds allocated, released, funds utilized, target set and achieved wherever applicable, under the schemes mentioned above at serial No. (1) to (12) are available on the website of this Ministry (www.minorityaffairs.gov.in) and those at serial No.(13) and (14) are available on the website of MAEF (www.maef.nic.in) and NMDFC (www.nmdfc.org).
(d) & (e): Budget allocation of the Ministry during the last three years for 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 was Rs. 3827.25 Crore, Rs. 4195.48 crore, Rs. 4700 respectively. Therefore, budgetary provisions for the Ministry has been increased consistently during the last three years.

Budget Estimates (BE) for 2019-20 is Rs. 4700 crore and the same has been retained at RE stage. At present, there is no proposal to increase the budget of the ministry for 2019-20.

(f) & (g): With a view to make the schemes more effective, schemes are reviewed from time to time and restructured keeping in view the requirement of the minority communities. Further performance under the schemes is also monitored on a continuous basis to ensure that the desired outcome in terms of all round development of the notified minorities.