Funds for minority welfare up by 74 percent

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) -- The budget has increased the outlay for
the minority affairs ministry from Rs.1,000 crore last fiscal to
Rs.1,740 crore with a focus on educational schemes.

The funds have been hiked to implement projects for the welfare of the
minorities, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced while
presenting the union budget Monday.

'The plan outlay for the Ministry of Minority Affairs has been
enhanced from Rs.1,000 crore in 2008-09 to Rs.1,740 crore for 2009-10,
registering an increase of 74 percent,' he said.

Mukherjee said the hike includes Rs.994 crore for multi-sectoral
developmental programmes for minorities in selected
minority-concentrat ed districts, grant-in-aid to the Maulana Azad
Education Foundation which is almost doubled, and provisions for
National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation and pre-matric
and post-matric scholarships for minorities.

The finance minister said he has made an allocation of Rs.25 crore for
two campuses that the Aligarh Muslim University has decided to set up
at Murshidabad in West Bengal and Malappuram in Kerela.