Minorities

NITI Aayog Strategy for India @75

Objective

• To bridge the gap between minority communities and the rest of the population with respect to various socio-economic and human development indicators through affirmative action.

Current Situation

• Census 2011 total population of 121 crore, Hindus constitute 79.8%, Muslims 14.25%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7% and Jains 0.4%.
• religious minorities lag behind on indicators pertaining to educational attainment, gender equality and workforce participation.

Constraints

• Data on development indicators not generated at regular intervals.
• Some also included under SCs, STs and OBCs resulting in duplication of schemes

Way Forward

• Enhance pre-matric scholarships, post-matric scholarships, merit-cum-means scholarships, Maulana Azad National Fellowships and National Overseas Scholarships with a 15 per cent increase annually from 2019-20.
• Increase the number of scholarships for girls from minority communities by 10 per cent every year.
• Provide access to public transport in buses and cycles to raise enrolment rates among girls from vulnerable communities.
• Train at least 100,000 minority women under Nai Roshni and Seekho Aur Kamao scheme yearly
• Identify the poorest among the minority communities through the Socio-Economic Caste Census data for proper targeting of various schemes.