Lok Sabha Question No. 2951 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Welfare Schemes for Minorities
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri K Radhakrishnan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2951

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2025

## WELFARE SCHEMES FOR MINORITIES

## 2951. SHRI K RADHAKRISHNAN:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the major welfare schemes currently being implemented by the Government for educational, economic and social upliftment of minority communities;
- (b) the total funds allocated and utilised under these schemes during the last three financial years, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether there has been any delay in the release of funds or implementation of these schemes particularly in Southern States like Kerala and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the criteria adopted to identify minority beneficiaries and ensure transparency and inclusion; and
- (e)  whether  the  Government  is  planning  any  new  schemes  or  policy  revisions  in  view  of  the growing concerns about minority rights and access to opportunities and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

- (a) to (d):  The Government implements various schemes for the welfare and upliftment of every  strata, including  minorities,  especially  the  economically  weaker  and  lesser  privileged sections of the society. Ministry of Minority Affairs specifically implements following schemes across  the  country  for  socio-economic  and  educational  empowerment  of  the  six  (6)  centrally notified minority  communities  viz.  Muslim,  Buddhist,  Christian,  Jain,  Parsi  and  Sikh.  These schemes are as under:

## SCHOLARSHIP SCHEMES

This  Ministry  implements  the  following  three  Scholarship  schemes  for  the  educational empowerment of the six centrally notified minority communities:

- i) Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme;
2. ii) Post Matric Scholarship Scheme; and
3. iii) Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship Scheme.

All the above Scholarship Schemes of the Ministry are implemented through a revamped version of the National Scholarship Portal (NSP 2.0). The scholarship amount is transferred to the  bank  accounts  of  students  through  Direct  Benefit  Transfer  (DBT)  mode.  However,  the Scholarship Schemes have not been approved for implementation beyond 2021-22.

## PRADHAN MANTRI JAN VIKAS KARYAKRAM (PMJVK)

"Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram" (PMJVK), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, is one of  the  flagship  program  of  the  Ministry  of  Minority  Affairs  for  creation  of  community infrastructure in the Minority Concentration Areas of the country in the sectors viz. Health, Skill Development, Women Centric Projects, Education, Drinking Water and Supply, Sanitation and Sports.

The  scheme  is  a  demand  driven  Scheme,  hence  the  States/  UTs-wise  allocation  is  not made under PMJVK. The States/ UTs wise details of fund released during last three Financial Years are as below:

|   S. No. | Name of States/UTs      |   Amount released (Rs. in Lakh) |
|----------|-------------------------|---------------------------------|
|        1 | Assam                   |                         12900   |
|        2 | Arunachal Pradesh       |                          7300   |
|        3 | Andaman &Nicobar Island |                           875   |
|        4 | Himachal Pradesh        |                           500   |
|        5 | Karnataka               |                         12533.8 |
|        6 | Ladakh                  |                          1598   |
|        7 | Manipur                 |                          6875   |
|        8 | Mizoram                 |                          7319   |
|        9 | Maharashtra             |                          2000   |
|       10 | Nagaland                |                          5600   |
|       11 | Punjab                  |                         10457.7 |
|       12 | Rajasthan               |                          2350   |
|       13 | Sikkim                  |                         14998   |
|       14 | Tripura                 |                          1750   |
|       15 | Tamil Nadu              |                          7013   |
|       16 | Uttar Pradesh           |                          3500   |
|       17 | Uttarakhand             |                         11796   |

PMJVK is a community infrastructure development scheme and thus the infrastructure developed is for the benefits of the whole population of the respective  minority  concentration areas. The important requirement for releasing funds under the PMJVK scheme is that the State must  follow  the  rules  of  the  Public  Financial  Management  System  (PFMS),  as  set  by  the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. This system helps to ensure that government money is used properly and transparently.

PMJVK Scheme  is  now  applicable  in  all  districts  across  the  country.  The  States  and Union Territories (UTs) can submit infrastructure project proposals for areas where the minority population is more than 25% within a 15 km radius.

## PRADHAN MANTRI VIRASAT KA SAMVARDHAN (PM VIKAS)

Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry which converges five erstwhile schemes viz. 'Seekho Aur Kamao', 'Nai Manzil', 'Nai Roshni', 'USTTAD' and 'Hamari Dharohar' schemes.

The scheme focuses on upliftment of six notified minority communities through the following:

- i. Skilling and Training (Non-traditional and traditional);
- ii. Women Leadership and Entrepreneurship;
- iii. Education (through National Institute of Open Schooling);
- iv. Infrastructure Development (through Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram).

This  scheme  also  facilitates  credit  linkages  by  connecting  beneficiaries  with  loan programs offered by the National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC).

Under this scheme, a project has recently been allocated to Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Kottayam, Kerala.

These  schemes  were  implemented  as  Central  Sector  Schemes  and  no  financial  targets were allocated to States. A brief of fund allocated under these schemes is as below:

| Statement showing Allocation (In Rs. Cr.) for Skilling Schemes   | Statement showing Allocation (In Rs. Cr.) for Skilling Schemes   | Statement showing Allocation (In Rs. Cr.) for Skilling Schemes   | Statement showing Allocation (In Rs. Cr.) for Skilling Schemes   | Statement showing Allocation (In Rs. Cr.) for Skilling Schemes   | Statement showing Allocation (In Rs. Cr.) for Skilling Schemes   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                  | Seekho Aur Kamao                                                 | Nai Manzil                                                       | USTTAD                                                           | Nai Roshni                                                       | PM VIKAS                                                         |
| Year                                                             | BE                                                               | BE                                                               | BE                                                               | BE                                                               | BE                                                               |
| 2022-23                                                          | 235.41                                                           | 46                                                               | 47                                                               | 2.5                                                              | 0                                                                |
| 2023-24                                                          | 0                                                                | 0.1                                                              | 0.1                                                              | 0.1                                                              | 290.15                                                           |
| 2024-25                                                          | 0                                                                | 0                                                                | 0                                                                | 0                                                                | 255.43                                                           |
| Grand Total                                                      | 235.41                                                           | 46.1                                                             | 47.1                                                             | 2.6                                                              | 545.58                                                           |

Further, the beneficiaries under the PM Vikas scheme are identified as per the eligibility criteria of PM Vikas scheme guidelines.

## NATIONAL MINORITIES DEVELOPMENT & FINANCE CORPORATION (NMDFC)

NMDFC implements its schemes for socio-economic empowerment including educational empowerment of 'backward sections' among the notified minority communities by providing  concessional  loan  for  income  generation  ventures  &  education  loan  for  technical  & professional  courses,  across  the  country.  The  schemes  of  NMDFC  are  implemented  through State Channelizing Agencies (SCAs) nominated by respective State Govt./ UT Administration, Punjab Gramin Bank and Canara Bank.

The  year-wise  details  of  fund  allocated/released  by  GOI  for  Equity  contribution  in NMDFC & concessional loan disbursed  by  NMDFC  through  its  SCAs,  Punjab  Gramin  Bank &Canara Bank during the last three years are as follows:

| F.Y.    | Fund Allocated/Released by GOI for Equity Contribution in NMDFC (In Rs. Cr.)   |   Concessional credit, disbursed by NMDFC (In Rs. Cr.) |
|---------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| 2022-23 | 159.00                                                                         |                                                 881.7  |
| 2023-24 | 61.00                                                                          |                                                 765.45 |
| 2024-25 | NIL                                                                            |                                                 860.44 |

State/UT- wise details of concessional loan disbursed by NMDFC during the last three years is enclosed as Annexure I .

NMDFC releases funds to the respective SCAs based on field level demand, status of past fund utilization, repayment status and fund availability with NMDFC. So far NMDFC has released  funds  to  its  SCAs  considering  the  above  criteria  based  on  request  received  from respective SCAs including those from southern States like Kerala.

The eligibility criteria under NMDFC schemes are as follows:

1. Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi & Jain notified as National Minorities by  the Central Government under the National Minorities Commission Act, 1992 are eligible to avail benefit under NMDFC schemes.
2. The annual family income eligibility criterion under Credit Line-1 is upto Rs. 3.00 lacs p.a. for both rural & urban areas. Under Credit Line -2, persons with higher annual family income of upto Rs.8.00  lacs  p.a.  can  avail  higher  quantum  of  financial  assistance  at  a higher rate of interest.
3. (e): No new schemes are being envisaged.

*****

Annexure- I State/UT wise details of Concessional Loan disbursed by NMDFC during last 3 years i.e. F.Y. 2022-23 to F.Y. 2024-25

| Sl. No.   | State/UT          |   Amt. of Concessional Loan disbursed (In Rs. Cr.) |
|-----------|-------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| 1         | ANDAMAN &NICOBAR  |                                               0.02 |
| 2         | ANDHRA PRADESH    |                                               8.52 |
| 3         | ARUNACHAL PRADESH |                                               1.9  |
| 4         | ASSAM             |                                               0.67 |
| 5         | BIHAR             |                                               0.28 |
| 6         | CHANDIGARH        |                                               0.2  |
| 7         | CHHATISGARH       |                                               0.03 |
| 8         | DELHI             |                                               0.25 |
| 9         | GOA               |                                               1.34 |
| 10        | GUJARAT           |                                               1.4  |
| 11        | HARYANA           |                                              17.17 |
| 12        | HIMACHAL PRADESH  |                                              36.3  |
| 13        | JHARKHAND         |                                               3.4  |
| 14        | KARNATAKA         |                                               5.18 |
| 15        | JAMMU &KASHMIR    |                                             120.34 |
| 16        | LADAKH            |                                               1    |
| 17        | LAKSHADWEEP       |                                               0.03 |
| 18        | KERALA            |                                             975.75 |
| 19        | MADHYA PRADESH    |                                               0.02 |
| 20        | MAHARASHTRA       |                                              76.15 |
| 21        | MANIPUR           |                                               0.03 |
| 22        | MEGHALAYA         |                                               0.03 |
| 23        | MIZORAM           |                                               6.87 |
| 24        | NAGALAND          |                                               0.03 |
| 25        | ODISHA            |                                               0.06 |
| 26        | PUDUCHERRY        |                                               0.02 |
| 27        | PUNJAB            |                                              13.42 |
| 28        | RAJASTHAN         |                                              10.66 |
| 29        | SIKKIM            |                                               0.2  |
| 30        | TAMILNADU         |                                             190.83 |
| 31        | TELANGANA         |                                               6.34 |
| 32        | TRIPURA           |                                               0.04 |
| 33        | UTTAR PRADESH     |                                               4.03 |
| 34        | UTTARAKHAND       |                                               0.53 |
| 35        | WEST BENGAL       |                                            1024.55 |
|           | Total             |                                            2507.6  |