Only 0.066% allocation in Union budget for 19.3% minorities: Minority rights group

By Mujahid Nafees*

The budget of Rs 48,20,512.08 crore for the year 2024-25 presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggests an increase of about 1% compared to last year, yet the allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs is only Rs 3,183.24 crore, which is approximately 0.0660% of the total budget. In the year 2021-22, the budget of the Ministry of Minority Affairs was Rs 4810.77 crore, followed by Rs 5020.50 crore proposed for 2022-23, and Rs 3097.6 crore proposed for 2023-24.

There has been a sharp reduction in Central allocations for minorities. As compared to last year, following changes have been observed:

Reduction of Rs 106.84 crore in Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme,
Increase of Rs 80.38 crore in Post Matric Scheme,
Reduction of Rs 10.2 crores in Merit Cum Means Scheme,
Reduction of Rs 50.92 crore in Maulana Azad Fellowship Scheme,
Reduction of Rs 40 crore in Coaching Scheme,
Reduction of Rs 5.70 crore in Interest Subsidy,
Zero provision in UPSC Preparation Scheme,
Rs 1 crore reduction in the budget of Qaumi Waqf Board Taraqqiyati Scheme,
Zero provision in Skill Development Initiative Scheme,
Zero provision in Nayi Manzil Scheme,
Zero provision in Minority Women Leadership Development Scheme,
Zero provision in Ustad Scheme,
Zero provision in Nayi Manzil Scheme, 0.00 provision in Hamari Dharohar Scheme,
Rs 40 crore reduction in PM Virasat Ka Samvardhan Scheme,
Zero provision in Central Share in National Minority Finance and Development Corporation,
Rs 8 crore reduction in Educational Scheme for Minorities and Madrasas,
Rs 1 crore reduction in the budget of National Minority Commission,
Rs 1 crore reduction in the budget of linguistic minorities,
Zero provision for Maulana Azad Foundation,
Rs 310.9 crore increase in PMJVK has been proposed.

The government appears to be focusing more on skill development sector, yet there is an allocation of only Rs 3 crore for this for minorities.

The above figures show that the government is discriminating against the minority community. The government does not want the minority community of India to progress on the path of development.

The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) considers this budget to be discriminatory and demands that at least Rs 1 lakh crore should be allocated in the Union Budget as per the population as a special provision to uplift the backward community.

---

*Convener, Minority Coordination Committee

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

Ahmedabad's Sabarmati riverfront under scrutiny after Subhash Bridge damage

By Rosamma Thomas* Large cracks have appeared on Subhash Bridge across the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, close to the Gandhi Ashram . Built in 1973, this bridge, named after Subhash Chandra Bose , connects the eastern and western parts of the city and is located close to major commercial areas. The four-lane bridge has sidewalks for pedestrians, and is vital for access to Ashram Road , Ellis Bridge , Gandhinagar and the Sabarmati Railway Station .

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Proposals for Babri Masjid, Ram Temple spark fears of polarisation before West Bengal polls

By A Representative A political debate has emerged in West Bengal following recent announcements about plans for new religious structures in Murshidabad district, including a proposed mosque to be named Babri Masjid and a separate announcement by a BJP leader regarding the construction of a Ram temple in another location within Behrampur.

No action yet on complaint over assault on lawyer during Tirunelveli public hearing

By A Representative A day after a detailed complaint was filed seeking disciplinary action against ten lawyers in Tirunelveli for allegedly assaulting human rights lawyer Dr. V. Suresh, no action has yet been taken by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, according to the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Myanmar prepares for elections widely seen as a junta-controlled exercise

By Nava Thakuria* Trouble-torn Myanmar (also known as Burma or Brahmadesh) is preparing for three-phase national elections starting on 28 December 2025, with results expected in January 2026. Several political parties—primarily proxies of the Burmese military junta—are participating, while Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) remains banned. Observers expect a one-sided contest where junta-backed candidates are likely to dominate.

From crime to verdict: The 27-year journey that 'rewarded' the destroyers of Babri Masjid

By Shamsul Islam Thirty-three years ago, on December 6, 1992, a 16th-century mosque was reduced to rubble by a frenzied mob orchestrated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political fronts. The demolition was not a spontaneous outburst of Hindu sentiment; it was the meticulously planned culmination of a hate campaign that branded Indian Muslims as “Babur-ki-aulad” and the Babri Masjid as a symbol of historical humiliation.

Global LNG boom 'threatens climate goals': Banks urged to end financing

By A Representative The world is on the brink of an unprecedented surge in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) development, with 279 new projects planned globally, threatening to derail international climate goals and causing severe local impacts. This stark warning comes from a coalition of organizations—including Reclaim Finance, Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, and others—that today launched the " Exit LNG " website, a new mapping project exposing the extent of the expansion, the companies involved, and their bank financiers.

Search This Blog