The budgetary allocation for Minorities has been slashed from Rs 5,020.50 crore last year to Rs  3,097.60 crore for the upcoming year. It is a dip of over 38 per cent from the last financial year. Owing to several stern measures, and cut in welfare schemes, the revised estimate for the last fiscal was Rs 2,612.66 crore, which indicates an underutilisation of over 47.96 per cent.

Almost 50% cut has been incurred in the special schemes for minorities which includes research, studies, publicity, monitoring and evaluation of development schemes. The Madrasas have been allocated only Rs 10 crore for the financial year 2023-24. The same is 93% less than the Budget allocation of 2022-23, which was Rs 160 crore. Only time will reveal if it was intentional or a compulsion?

Former Cabinet Minister Subramanian Swamy makes a revealing statement by asking, ‘Is this a budget?’ He further tweeted: “It is a grocery store shopkeeper’s bill – A decent budget should disclose what are the objectives. If it is GDP growth rate then disclose the level of investment and rate of return; the priorities, the economic strategy, and resource mobilization.”

The total allocation of the Budget for education empowerment for minorities which was Rs 2,515 crore last year is reduced to Rs 1,689 crore this year. In the recent past, the Government has been working hard to ‘improvise’ upon the welfare schemes for the minorities. The Finance Ministry has discontinued the pre-matric scholarship for minority students for classes I-VIII and restricted it to classes IX and X only, on the pretext of Right to Education (RTE) that provides free education to all till Class VIII. 

The budget proposes to have major fund cuts in several scholarships and skill development schemes for students from minority communities. This year only Rs 44 crore has been allotted for such development schemes, against the Budget of Rs 365 crore last year.

The funds for the pre-metric scholarship for minorities for the financial year 2023-24 has been brought down by over Rs 900 crore. The scholarship funds in the last Budget were Rs1,425 crore, which is reduced to Rs 433 crore. However, as a respite, the funds for post-metric scholarship, have been increased from Rs 515 crore to Rs 1,065 crore.

Schemes under the Ministry of Minority Affairs that provides support for students clearing UPSC, SSC, and State public service commission exams has been completely ignored. The Budget for the same was 8 crore last year. Similarly, the free coaching and allied schemes for minorities too saw a Budget cut of around 60%, being earmarked as 30 crore against 79 crore last year.

Skill development training like Nai Manzil, USTAD got a Budget of mere Rs10 lakh, the same was Rs 235 crore and Rs 7 crore last year. The Budget for research schemes for minorities too has been slashed to Rs 20 crore from Rs 41 crore last year. The total funds for various skill development and livelihood schemes were Rs 491 crore in 2022-23 and the same is Rs 64.40 crore this year.

Amidst all those cuts, an amount of Rs 540 crore has been proposed as grants to implement a newly created scheme called Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan, focused on the skilling, entrepreneurship and leadership training requirements of the minority and artisan communities across the country.

The Budget allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK), erstwhile Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) launched in 2008 and restructured in June 2013 is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), with a budget of Rs1,650 crore last year has been reduced to Rs 600 crore this year. The Scheme aims at developing socio-economic infrastructure and basic amenities in the identified Minority Concentration Areas for improving the quality of life of the people in these areas and reduce imbalances as compared to the national average.

Heading towards the Amrit kaal, at the cost of Minorities!