The Union Government has implemented various schemes for the welfare and upliftment of every strata, including the minorities, especially the economically weaker and lesser privileged sections of the society, through various schemes, Union Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Zubin Irani said on Thursday.
The various welfare schemes are lauched under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Rural Development.
The Minority Affairs Ministry has also implemented various schemes, including various scholarship and fellowship schemes, across the country for socio-economic and educational empowerment of the notified minority communities, Smriti Zubin Irani said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The State/UT-wise, gender-wise and class-wise details of scholarships provided under the Pre-Matric and Post Matric Scholarship Scheme to the students belonging to the six centrally notified minority communities during the last five years i.e. from FY 2017-18 to 2021-22 is available on the website of the Ministry i.e. www.minorityaffairs.gov.in, the minister informed.
She further informed that the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) Scheme of UGC and CSIR is open for students of all categories.
Students from minority communities are also covered under National Fellowship Schemes for Scheduled Castes and OBCs implemented by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and National Fellowship Scheme for Scheduled Tribes implemented by Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
As the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) Scheme overlaps with various fellowship schemes for higher education, the Government has decided to discontinue the MANF Scheme from 2022-23, the minister added.
