Govt mulling special component in Budget for minorities

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) With apparently an eye on the
upcoming Assembly elections especially in central Indian state
Uttar Pradesh, the Indian government is toying with the idea
of having a special component for minority welfare in the
Union Budget.
The proposal, which also includes providing funds for
minority-related schemes directly at the block level, has
been mooted in an inter-ministerial memo being discussed by
the government.
The move was initiated after some Muslim MPs approached
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the Monsoon Session of
Parliament with complaints that schemes for minority welfare
were not being implemented properly.
Singh is understood to have asked the MPs to meet
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia
with their grievances. It was later decided to take up the
issue for inter-ministerial consultations which could
culminate in a note for consideration of the Cabinet Committee
on Political Affairs.
The move comes ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar
Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Goa next
year.
The note seeks to make a case for having a special
component in the Union Budget for minorities which constitute
18 per cent of the country's population.
Recently, the Prime Minister's Office had ordered a study
to assess the impact of programmes for minorities and identify
gaps which could be plugged in the 12th Plan period.
The PMO has directed the Minority Affairs Ministry to
assess within two months as to what extent the Multi-Sectoral
Developmental Programmes (MSDP) launched on the basis of
Sachar Committee recommendations have improved the lot of
minorities in the 90 identified districts across the country.
The MSDP were launched in 90 minority concentrated
districts in 2008 as part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
15-point programme following Sachar Committee recommendations.
The government has earmarked Rs 3,000 crore for these
schemes of which Rs 2,100 crore has already been released,
sources said.
Under the MSDP, government also has scholarship schemes
for minorities in four categories -- pre-matric, post-matric,
merit-cum-means for professional courses and fellowships for
higher studies. PTI NAB
MNS