Most programmes under the Ministry of Minority Affairs have seen budget cuts even as the ministry’s total budget has seen a marginal increase of 2.7 percent, from Rs 3,098 crore to Rs 3,183 crore.
The devil, however, is in the details as the percentage hike is aided primarily by a Rs 300 crore rise in the centrally-sponsored Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram – a programme aimed at plugging development deficits in around 1,300 minority concentration areas across the country.
Notably, the ministry’s budget allocation was reduced by 38 percent for the financial year 2023-24 as compared to 2022-23, with several scholarship and skill development schemes seeing major cuts in funding.
Meanwhile, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who also looks after parliamentary affairs, called it a “dream budget for all sections”. “This is a dream budget for all sections, especially for youth and women. Capital expenditure of more than Rs 11 lakh crore has been allocated. Announcements for Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and North-East will give a boost to the economy of Eastern India. Announcements for skilling and employment generation are historic. Support schemes for women are appreciated. Banking services in the northeast have been taken care of. Financial mainstreaming of the northeast will be done,” he told the media.
In the first budget of the new NDA government, under central sector schemes, it’s only the post-matric scholarship that has seen a rise, from Rs 1,065 crore to Rs 1,145 crore. The scholarship is provided to students from minority communities who fulfil merit and means criteria for studies in class 11 and 12, technical and vocational courses, and undergraduate and higher studies at recognised institutes.
Skill development and livelihood schemes have been reduced to a meagre Rs 3 crore as compared to Rs 64.4 crore granted last year. No amount has been allocated for the equity contribution to National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation, or the NMDFC, which was granted Rs 61 crore the last time.
The total education empowerment has been reduced to 1,575 crore from Rs 1,689 crore.
The pre-matric scholarship scheme has been reduced to Rs 326.2 crore as compared to the Rs 433 crore allocated last year. The Maulana Azad National Fellowship has been given Rs 45 crore as compared to Rs 96 crore. And the free coaching and allied schemes have been given just Rs 10 crore as compared to the Rs 30 crore allocated the last time.
The interest subsidy on educational loans for overseas studies has been reduced to Rs 15.3 crore from Rs 21 crore.
Special programmes have largely remained the same, such as the research, publicity, monitoring and evaluation of development schemes for minorities, and the scheme for containing population decline of small minority community. But the Hamari Dharohar programme for conservation and protection of culture and heritage of minorities, which was granted Rs 10 lakh the previous year, has not been given any amount this time.
Funds for total-statutory and regulatory bodies have been reduced by Rs 2 crore. The budget for the National Commission for Minorities has been reduced by Rs 1 crore. The same goes for the special officer for linguistic minorities.
Of the centrally sponsored schemes with transfers to states and Union territories, it is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram that has seen the largest rise in spending, from Rs 600 crore to Rs 910 crore.
In a massive fund cut before, the education scheme for madrasas and minorities had seen a 93 percent dip last year.
Newslaundry had reported last year how a sharp drop in the budgetary allocation for the ministry of minority affairs had left a significant impact on educational schemes. Two of them were discontinued before the budget was announced while five others saw massive fund cuts.
The ministry’s allocation had seen a drop of 17 percent in last year’s budget as compared to the Narendra Modi government’s first budget in 2014. While it was allocated its highest amount in the nine years of the Modi government last year, it had spent only 48 percent – less than half – of the allocated sum.
Among the central sector schemes scrapped was the Padho Pardesh Scheme, which granted interest subsidies on education loans borrowed by the minority students to study abroad. The pre-matric scholarship, which provided up to Rs 1,000 monthly to students, was scrapped for classes 1 to 8, but continued for classes 9 and 10.
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