Centre spent ₹7,641 crore on minorities in Past 11 Years: Kurian tells Rajya Sabha

The Centre has disbursed ₹10,225.83 crore for the socio-economic uplift of Sikh and other minority communities since the inception of the National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC) in 1994, Union Minister George Kurian informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Of this, ₹7,641 crore was released in the last 11 years alone for self-employment and income-generation schemes.

Responding to supplementaries during Question Hour, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs said the NMDFC’s concessional loan programmes have benefitted over 27.35 lakh families across notified minority communities. “The Government of India is taking care of all people,” he added, noting that 1,073 long-term visas (LTVs) have been issued to individuals arriving from Pakistan. He further said 337 citizenships have been granted under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

In a separate written reply, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju highlighted progress under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK), which targets education, health, skill development and women’s empowerment in minority-concentrated regions. “Over 11 lakh infrastructure assets have been sanctioned, and nearly 9 lakh completed, with a total project cost of ₹26,237 crore. More than ₹16,300 crore has been released to states, UTs and central agencies since inception,” Rijiju said.

He also outlined achievements of the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) scheme, focused on skill training, entrepreneurship and educational support. This year, 42 projects benefiting 1.40 lakh people have been approved with an outlay exceeding ₹700 crore. One project, allocated to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), aims to train 29,600 individuals in modern job roles and help 2,000 school dropouts re-enter formal education.

Rijiju further detailed that LTVs are issued to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who seek long-term settlement in India. The visas granted for five years allow access to education, private-sector employment, housing and banking facilities.

Of the 337 Sikh community members granted citizenship under CAA, 296 were from Delhi, followed by Haryana (14), Madhya Pradesh (6), Punjab (13) and Uttarakhand (8).