Lok Sabha Question No. 78 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Discontinuation of MANF Scheme for Minority Students
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: K. Muraleedharan, Abdul Khaleque, Kunwar Danish Ali

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 78

ANSWERED ON 02.02.2023

## DISCONTINUATION OF MANF SCHEME FOR MINORITY STUDENTS

## 78.  SHRI K. MURALEEDHARAN: SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE: KUNWAR DANISH ALI:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  discontinued  the  Maulana  Azad  National  Fellowship (MANF) scheme and proposes to stop pre-matric scholarships for the students belonging to minority communities i.e. Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian and Jain since 2022-23;

(b) if so, the details thereof including the underlying reasons therefor;

(c)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  restore/  re-instate  the  said  scheme  and  if  not,  the reasons therefor;

(d) the reasons for starting scholarship schemes by the Government during the last few years;

(e) whether the minority students are not considered under any other reserved categories for continuing their studies and if so, the details thereof; and

(f) whether the discontinuation of the said scheme would not affect the studies of the minority students and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (f): The Government has implemented various schemes for the welfare and upliftment of every strata, including minorities, especially the economically  weaker  and  lesser privileged  sections  of  the  society,  through  various  schemes  of  the  Ministry  of  Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Rural Development.

Ministry  of  Minority  Affairs  has  specifically  implemented  various  schemes,  including various  Scholarship  and  Fellowship  schemes,  across  the  country  for  socio-economic  and educational empowerment of the notified minority communities.

The coverage under the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme has been revised from 2022-23 and made  applicable  for classes  IX  and  X  only  as  the  Right  to  Education  (RTE)  Act,  2009 provides for free and compulsory elementary education (classes I to VIII) to each and every child.  This  modification  has  also  been  done  to  harmonize  the  scheme  with  identical Scholarship schemes implemented by other Central Government Ministries.

It has been observed that the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) Scheme of UGC and CSIR is open  for  students  of  all  categories.  Besides,  students  from  minority  communities  are  also covered under National Fellowship Schemes for Scheduled Castes and OBCs implemented by  Ministry  of  Social  Justice  &  Empowerment  and  National  Fellowship  Schemes  for Scheduled Tribes implemented by Ministry of Tribal Affairs. As the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) Scheme overlaps with various fellowship schemes for higher education, the Government has decided to discontinue the MANF Scheme from 2022-23.

As of now, there is no proposal to restore/ re-instate these schemes.

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