Lok Sabha Question No. 335 (STARRED), answered on 2015-08-12
Subject: PM&#39;s New 15-Point Programme
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: (ADV.) JOICE GEORGE, R.K. BHARATHI MOHAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO.*335 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.08.2015

## PM'S NEW 15-POINT PROGRAMME

## *335 ADV.  JOICE GEORGE: SHRI BHARATHI MOHAN R. K.:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  reviewed  the  progress  made  under  the  Prime Minister's New 15-Point Programme for the welfare of the minorities and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the extent to  which the conditions of  minorities improved as a result of above programme;
- (c) whether the  Government is aware  that separate fund for the Prime Minister's New 15-Point Programme for the welfare of minorities is not being earmarked, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (d)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  launch  another  programme  for  the welfare of minorities and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government to facilitate the Prime Minister's New 15-Point Programme?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (DR. NAJMA A. HEPTULLA)

- (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## Statement referred to  in  reply  to  parts  (a)  to  (d)  of  the  Lok  Sabha  Starred Question no. *335 to be answered on 12.08.2015 asked by Adv. Joice George and Shri Bharathi Mohan R. K. regarding 'PM's New 15-Point Programme'

(a)  &  (b):  Twenty  four  programmes/schemes  under  the  Prime  Minister's  New  15 Point  Programme  (PP)  are  implemented  by  eleven  Ministries/Departments  of  the Government  of  India,  administratively  concerned  with  implementation  of  those programmes/schemes. Many of these schemes are being implemented through the State Governments/UT Administrations. The different schemes under the Programme for the Welfare of Minorities are being monitored  at different levels of the  Government  to  ensure  their  effective  implementation.  Ministry  of  Minority Affairs,  being  the  nodal  Ministry  for  the  PM's  New  15-PP,  monitors  and  reviews these  programmes  on  quarterly  basis  with  the  nodal  officers  of  the  concerned Ministries/Departments.  The progress of implementation, with reference to targets, is also monitored once in six months by a Committee of Secretaries, and thereafter a  report  is  submitted  to  the  Union  Cabinet.    At  State  and  district  levels,  the monitoring is done by State Level and District Level Committees in which Members of Parliament and  Members  of  Legislative Assemblies, representatives from Panchayati  Raj  Institutions/  Autonomous  District  Councils,  representatives  from reputed Non-Governmental Institutions dealing with Minorities are also included.

As  development  process  is  continuous  and  asymmetrical,  it  is  not  possible  to establish a direct co-relation between the schemes and programmes implemented by the Government and the direct benefits of these to the beneficiaries.

The status of achievements under the Prime Minister's New 15 Point Programme for  the  Welfare  of  Minorities  (from  June,  2006  to  March,  2015)  is  detailed  at Annexure .

(c) &  (d): Prime Minister's New 15 Point Programme for the  Welfare of Minorities (PM's New 15-PP) is an overarching programme, which covers various schemes / initiatives of different Ministries  /  Departments  by  either  earmarking  15%  of targets/outlays for the minorities or by specific monitoring of flow of benefits / funds to minorities or areas with substantial minority population. Some of the programmes/ Schemes being implemented under PM's New 15-PP are individual beneficiary oriented while some schemes are for creating community assets, where the  benefits  accrue  to  the  whole  community  living  in  that  area  with  substantial minority population. Some of the schemes are special initiatives of the Government where state-wise  targets/  achievements  cannot  be  quantified.  In  all  the  schemes under 15 Point Programme, the funds are allocated from the annual/Plan budget of the concerned Ministries/Departments for the welfare of minorities.

Besides, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, being the Nodal Ministry for implementation of 15 PP,  is  also  implementing  seven  schemes under the programme  in  which  100%  of  funds  are  utilised  for  the  welfare  of  minority communities. The Ministry is also implementing fourteen other schemes, which are meant exclusively for welfare of  minority communities and  bringing  new schemes every  year  for  minorities.  The  new  schemes/initiatives  taken  by  the  Ministry  of Minority Affairs during the  years 2014-15 and 2015-16 are -  USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills  and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for  Development),  Hamari Dharohar, Cyber Gram (to impart 'Digital Literacy'  under  the ongoing scheme of Multi-sectoral Development Programme), Nai Manzil  (educational enhancement and skill training for the school dropouts) and Maulana Azad National Academy for SkillsMANAS  (to  meet  all  the  needs  of  minority  communities  with  respect  to  skill development by providing  a  special  purpose  vehicle  for  giving  entrepreneurship and  skill  development  training  to  minority  communities  and  linking them  to concessional credit for providing them sustainable livelihood  options, with primary emphasis on entrepreneurship).

An amount of Rs. 3,090.52 crore (under Plan and Non-Plan heads) was spent by the  Ministry  of  Minority  Affairs  towards  the  welfare  of  minorities  during  the  year 2014-15. As and when the need arises, the Ministry of Minority  Affairs formulates and  launches  new  schemes  for  the  welfare  of  minorities  based  on  specific requirement to address the changing needs/environment of the minority communities.

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Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  to  parts  (a)  &  (b)  of  the  Lok  Sabha  Starred Question no. *335 to be answered on 12.08.2015 asked by Adv. Joice George and Shri Bharathi Mohan R. K. regarding 'PM's New 15-Point Programme'

## Major achievements under Prime Minister's 15 Point Programme

Major achievements by various Ministries/Departments under the Programme (from June 2006-07 to 2014-15), in areas with substantial minority population, are as below:

##  Educational empowerment:

-  24,325  schools  and  236,503  additional  classrooms  constructed  and  more  than 33,357 new schools opened under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) in areas having substantial minority population;
-  555 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas sactioned and operationalised.
-  3.87 crore scholarships awarded and Rs. 7,645.78 crore disbursed as scholarship; 30% of scholarships are earmarked for girls.
-  Scheme  for  Providing  Quality  Education  in  Madarsas  (SPQEM) -  65,095 Madarsas and 125,862 teachers assisted with an amount of Rs. 906.40 crore.
-  Infrastructure  Development  of  Minority  Institutions  (IDMI) -  949  minority institutions assisted and Rs. 141.52 crore released.
-  Corpus of Maulana Azad Education Foundation increased from Rs. 200 crore to Rs. 1,136 crore (to be enhanced to 1200 crore during 12 th Plan). This will enable the  Foundation  to  extend  more  grants  to  the  minority  educational  NGOs  and scholarships for girl students.
-  To  impart  Digital  Literacy  to  the  minority  students  of  Madarsas  and  Schools 'Cyber  Gram Yojana' a new component of Multi-sectoral Development Programme  (MsDP)  approved  and  guidelines  issued.  During  2014-15,  digital literacy  programme  has  been  sanctioned  for  3.61  Lakh  minority  students  in  the States of West Bengal, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. During 2015-16, Rs. 4.18 crore have been released in UP.
-  To mainstream Madarsa students and school dropouts through bridge course with the help of reputed Academic Institutions a New Scheme 'Nai Manzil' has been launched on 08 th August, 2015.

##  Skill Development:

-  153  ITIs and 45 Polytechnics sanctioned for minority concentration areas under MsDP;
-  1,493 out of 10,750 ITIs/ Industrial Training Centers (13.89%) affiliated to National Council for Vocational Training are in minority concentration areas with a capacity of 2,34,010 seats;
-  Ministry  of  Minority  Affairs  has  launched  a  new  scheme  'Seekho  aur  Kamao (Learn & Earn)' a 100% central sector scheme, for skill development of minorities. Training of 40,884 minority youths has been sanctioned under Seekho  aur Kamao in different States during 2013-14 and 2014-15.
-  1,157,381  persons  assisted  under  Swarnjayanti  Grameen  Swarojgar  Yojana (SGSY)  and  Aajeevika  up  to  2013-14.  During  2014-15,  under  the  revamped scheme of NRLM, 14,058 SHGs have been promoted, 8,048 SHGs provided with Revolving  Fund  of  Rs.  11.94  crore  and  Community  Investment  Support  Fund (CIF) of Rs. 15.06 crore disbursed to 2,806 SHGs.



-  USTTAD -  Ministry of  Minority  Affairs approved a new scheme for 'Upgrading the Skills  and  Training  in  Traditional  Arts/Crafts  for  Development  (USTTAD)' to conserve traditional arts/crafts, build capacity of traditional artisans and craftsmen belonging to minority communities and train minority youths in traditional arts/crafts.

## Access to Credit :

-  PSL  to  minorities have  crossed  15%  benchmark.  The  Priority  Sector  Lending (PSL) disbursement for minorities has steadily increased from 10.6% in 2007-08 to 15.84% during 2014-15 .
-  19,681 new bank branches opened in minority areas.
-  NMDFC disbursed Rs.  977.21  crore  to  about  4.68  lakh  beneficiaries  during  the 11 th Plan and Rs. 1,228.42 crore to 307,267 beneficiaries  during the first four years of 12 th Plan (up to 30.06.2015).

##  Special Development Initiatives :

-  Multi-sectoral Development Programme launched to address development deficit in minority areas
- -710 blocks and 66 towns in 196 districts, at present, covered.
- -Plans  worth  about  Rs.  7,220.48  crore  approved  and  Rs.  5462.28  crore released (since inception of scheme in 2008-09).
- -Projects approved for:
-  1,184  new school buildings (all levels),
-  805 hostels,
-  3,831 Health Centres,
-  34,588 Anganwadi Centres,
-  153 Industrial Training Institutes,
-  45 Polytechnics,
-  336,722 houses on IAY pattern
-  Skill training approved for 1,25,085 minority youths.
-  Projects of Rs. 19,359.02 crore taken up in minority concentration towns/cities under  different  components  of  Jawaharlal  Nehru  National  Urban  Renewal Mission.
-  28.77 lakh  houses sanctioned with an  amount of Rs. 10,495.64  crore under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY).
-  More  than  70  thousand  Anganwadi  Centres  operationalised  in  the  Blocks having substantial minority population.
-  99,044 habitations with substantial minority population covered under National Rural Drinking Water Programme.

##  Recruitment  of  minorities  in Government,  Public  Sector Undertakings  (PSUs), etc.:

Recruitment of minorities in Central Government, PSUs, Banks, etc., has gone up from 6.24% in 2011-12 to 7.89% in 2013-14. Department of Personnel & Training has  issued  guidelines  to  all  the  State  Governments,  PSUs,  etc.  to  give  special consideration to minorities in the recruitment.

##  Communal Harmony:

M/o  Home Affairs has issued guidelines to the States and  UTs  in June, 2008 to promote communal harmony

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