News Highlights:
Budget allocation for Minorities: The Budget allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs was reduced by 38% for the financial year 2023-24 to the year 2022-23.
Key takeaway:
- Several scholarship and skill development schemes got major fund cuts, including the merit-cum means scholarship for professional and technical courses for students from minority communities.
- The Budget estimate for the Ministry of Minority Affairs was ₹5,020.50 crore in 2022-23. This time, the Ministry has been allotted ₹3,097 crores.
Key findings in budget allocation:
- The total budget allocated:
- In 2022–2023, the Ministry of Minority Affairs’ projected budget was ₹5,020.50 crore.
- The Ministry has been given a 3,097 crore budget this time. The Ministry’s increased funding allocation for 2022–2023 was Rs 2,612.66 crore.
- Scholarship:
- The Finance Ministry cut over 900 crores from the pre-metric scholarship for minorities for the fiscal year 2023–2024.
- The amount allocated for scholarships in the previous budget was 1,425 crore, but it is now only 433 crore.
- The amount allocated for post-metric scholarships has grown from 515 billion to 1,065 billion.
- Free coaching and allied schemes:
- The free coaching and allied schemes for minorities saw a Budget cut of around 60% this year. The same was 79 crore last year, while 30 crores has been allocated for the same this year.
- Programs run by the Ministry of Minority Affairs that help students pass the preliminary rounds of the UPSC, SSC, and State Public Service Commission did not receive any funding during the current fiscal year. Last year’s budget for the same was 8 crore.
- Education empowerment:
- The budget’s overall allotment for minorities’ educational empowerment, which was Rs 2,515 crore last year, has been cut to Rs 1,689 crore this year.
- For the fiscal year 2023–2024, 10 crores have been allotted to the Education Scheme for Madrasas and Minorities. The same is 93% less than the 2022–23 budget’s allotted 160 crores.
- Special schemes for minorities:
- Almost 50% cut is there in the special schemes for minorities, which includes research, studies, publicity, monitoring and evaluation of development schemes for minorities, for conservation protection of the heritage of minorities and schemes for containing population decline of minorities.
- The Budget for research schemes for minorities, too, has been slashed to ₹20 crores from ₹41 crores last year.
- Skill development training:
- The budget for skill development training programmes such as Nai Manzil and USTAD was only Rs10 lakhs; the corresponding amounts were 235 crore and 7 crores last year.
- The total funds for various skill development and livelihood schemes were ₹491 crores in 2022-23, and the same is ₹64.40 crores this year.
- PM Vikaas scheme:
- This year, a new component of PM Vikaas (Prime Minister-Virasat Ka Samvardhan) has been added to the budget for the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
- Under the same, 540 crores have been allocated in total.
- Budget allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK):
- The budget for PMJVK decreased from 1,650 crores last year to 600 crores this year.
- The scheme aims to develop socio-economic infrastructure and basic amenities in the identified Minority Concentration Areas to improve the people’s quality of life and reduce imbalances compared to the national average.
- Based on Census 2011 data, 870 Minority Concentration Blocks (MCBs), 321 Minority Concentration Towns (MCTs) and 109 Minority Concentration Districts HQs (MCD HQs) falling in 33 States/UTs have been identified.
- Given the large geographical coverage of PMJVK, the decline in allocation in this year’s Budget (₹600 crores) from the last year’s Budget (₹1,650 crores) will impact the implementation and desired objective of the scheme.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: The Hindu