By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: For a big push for some of its popular schemes, the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs will get Rs 2600 crore for the year 2010-2011. The Central Government, in the National Budget presented today in Lok Sabha, increased about Rs 850 crore for the ministry which was allotted Rs 1755 crore in the 2009-2010 budget. More than 90% of the increased amount will go to three mega scholarship schemes and Multi-Sectoral Development Programme.
The Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Minorities, most popular of three, will now have Rs 405 crore against Rs 180 crore in the last budget. The Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme will have Rs 238 crore against Rs 135 crore. The budget of Merit-cum-Means scheme for professional and technical courses of undergraduate and post-graduate level has also been increased to the total of Rs 121 crore from Rs 90 crore.
Also, the budget of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship scheme for minority students has been doubled. The scheme which has Rs 13.5 crore in the last budget will now have Rs 27 crore.
Besides, the mega structural development program called Multi-Sectoral Development
Programme for Minorities in selected minority concentration districts has also been given a big push with an increase of Rs 336 crore to the 2009 budget of Rs 889 crore.