Executive Summary:
The Ministry of Minority Affairs addressed concerns raised in the Eighth Report of the Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment regarding the implementation of minority welfare schemes. Measures have been introduced to streamline processes and ensure timely scholarship disbursal, including the use of Aadhaar Payment Bridge and biometric authentication. Discontinued schemes like MANF and Padho Pardesh were noted to overlap with other ministries' schemes.
Key Points / Main Content:
* **Implementation of Recommendations:** The Ministry has taken note of the recommendations in the Eighth Report of the Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment Eighteenth Lok Sabha.
* **Streamlining Measures:** Various measures are being introduced to streamline the prevailing system, including:
* Aadhaar Payment Bridge system
* Biometric authentication system for scholarship disbursal
* Special drives for verification
* Instructions to States to integrate State Scholarship Portals with the National Scholarship Portal.
* **Discontinuation of Schemes:**
* Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) and Padho Pardesh schemes have been discontinued.
* Reason: Overlap with similar schemes of other Ministries/Departments.
* **Alternative Support:** UGC and CSIR Fellowship Schemes are open to all candidates, including minorities.
* **Monitoring Mechanisms:** Mechanisms are already in place for efficient implementation of the Ministry's schemes.
* All three scholarship schemes are on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP 2.0).
* Workshops were conducted and instructions relayed to stakeholders to avoid delays.
* State/UT administrations regularly monitor implementation.
Impact Analysis:
* **Minority Students:**
* Impact: Discontinuation of MANF and Padho Pardesh; potential access to UGC, CSIR, National Fellowship Schemes for Scheduled Castes and OBCs.
* Action Required: Explore eligibility for alternative fellowship schemes and utilize the National Scholarship Portal (NSP 2.0) for scholarship applications.
* **State/UT Administrations:**
* Impact: Increased responsibility for monitoring the implementation of scholarship schemes.
* Action Required: Integrate State Scholarship Portals with the National Scholarship Portal, regularly monitor implementation with district formations and institutes, and take timely action to avoid delays.
* **Ministry of Minority Affairs:**
* Impact: Oversight of streamlined processes and monitoring mechanisms for minority welfare schemes.
* Action Required: Maintain and improve the National Scholarship Portal (NSP 2.0), conduct workshops for stakeholders, and ensure efficient delivery of minority welfare programs.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Minority Affairs: The Indian government ministry responsible for minority affairs.
MS Iqra Choudhary: Member of Parliament who raised a question about minority welfare schemes.
Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF): A discontinued scholarship scheme for minority students in India.
Padho Pardesh: A discontinued scheme related to education for minority students.
Shri Kiren Rijiju: The Minister of Minority Affairs who provided the answer to the parliamentary question.
Aadhaar Payment Bridge system: A system used to streamline scholarship disbursal.
National Scholarship Portal (NSP 2.0): An online portal for applying for scholarships, including those for minority students.
Ministry of Social Justice Empowerment: A ministry that implements National Fellowship Schemes for Scheduled Castes and OBCs, which also cover minority communities.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2887
ANSWERED ON 06/08/2025
IMPLEMENTATION OF MINORITY WELFARE SCHEMES
2887. MS IQRA CHOUDHARY:
Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has taken note of the Parliamentary Panel’s recommendations on
timely implementation of minority welfare schemes;
(b) if so, the key recommendations including the need to expedite approvals, streamline processes,
address delays in scholarship disbursal, review the discontinuation of schemes like Maulana Azad
National Fellowship (MANF) and Padho Pardesh and improve monitoring of implementation and
expenditure;
(c) whether any assessment has been conducted to evaluate the impact of discontinuing these
schemes on minority students;
(d) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken to mitigate such impact, including introduction of
alternative support or restructuring of existing schemes; and
(e) whether a timeline and monitoring mechanism has been fixed/put in place to ensure efficient
delivery of minority welfare programmes and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS
(SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)
(a) and (b) The Ministry has taken note of recommendations made in the Eighth Report of the
Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment (Eighteenth Lok Sabha) on ‘Demands
for Grants (2025-26)’ of the Ministry of Minority Affairs. In this regard, various measures have
been introduced for streamlining/strengthening the prevailing system including introduction of
Aadhaar Payment Bridge system and Bio-metric authentication system in order to streamline the
process and timely disbursal of scholarships, special drives for verification, instruction to States to
integrate their State Scholarship Portals with the National Scholarship Portal etc. The Maulana
Azad National Fellowship (MANF) and Padho Pardesh scheme have been discontinued due to the
cognizant reasons of overlap of these schemes with similar schemes of other Ministries/
Departments.
(c) and (d) While no such assessment has been conducted, the UGC and CSIR Fellowship
Schemes are open for candidates of all social categories and communities including minorities.
Further, students from minority communities are also covered under National Fellowship Schemes
for Scheduled Castes and OBCs implemented by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
(e) Monitoring mechanisms for Schemes implemented by the Ministry are already in place for
efficient implementation of the Schemes of this Ministry. With particular reference to Scholarship
Schemes of the Ministry, the Ministry had already onboarded its all three scholarship schemes on adedicated scholarship portal i.e. National Scholarship Portal (NSP) 2.0 under URL:
www.scholarships.gov.in. for applying online scholarship i.e. Pre-matric, Post Matric and Merit-
cum-Means based scholarship schemes for students belonging to minority communities.
Workshops were conducted and instructions were relayed to all concerned stakeholders to ensure
that they take necessary action due on their parts in time to avoid any delay in implementation of
these schemes. The State/UT administrations also monitor the implementation of these schemes
regularly with their respective district formations and institutes of their respective States/UTs.
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