Parliamentary replies confirmed that Pre-Matric, Post-Matric and Merit-cum-Means scholarships, as well as the Free Coaching Scheme, Interest Subsidy for Overseas Studies, Maulana Azad National Fellowship and Nai Roshni, are no longer in operation.
While past allocations rose steadily between 2014–15 and 2018–19, the government clarified that no cuts have been made to ongoing schemes for 2025–26
Meanwhile, 42 projects worth over Rs 700 crore have been sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan scheme.
Union Govt Informs Parliament of 17.06% Decline In Minority Affairs Budget
The Ministry of Minority Affairs’ budget has fallen to Rs 3,350 crore for 2025–26 — about 17 per cent lower than the 2014–19 annual average — mainly due to scholarship schemes not being extended beyond 2021–22 and multiple programmes being discontinued from 2022–23.
Summary
The Union government has allocated ₹3,350 crore to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, marking a decline of 17.06 per cent compared with the average annual allocation of ₹4,038.97 crore between 2014 and 2019.
In a Parliamentary reply on Wednesday, Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, explained that the cut in the budget was due to scholarship schemes not being approved for implementation beyond 2021–22. The second reason, he said, was that the Free Coaching and Allied Scheme, Interest Subsidy on Educational Loan for Overseas Studies scheme, Maulana Azad National Fellowship, Nai Roshni for Minorities have been discontinued with effect from the year 2022-23.
The questions were raised by BJP MPs Jugal Kishore of Jammu-5 and Alok Sharma of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
To a separate query from Navaskani K, an Indian Union Muslim League representative from Tamil Nadu‘s Ramanathapuram, the government confirmed that the Ministry’s scholarship programmes—including the Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, and Merit-cum-Means based schemes—had not been sanctioned for continuation beyond 2021–22.
Between 2014–15 and 2018–19, allocations steadily increased each year: Rs 3,734.01 crore in 2014–15, Rs 3,738.11 crore in 2015–16, Rs 3,827.25 crore in 2016–17, Rs 4,195.48 crore in 2017–18, and reaching Rs 4,700 crore in 2018–19. For the financial year 2025-26, no budget provision has been reduced for running schemes of the Ministry.
Furthermore, 42 projects covering about 1.40 lakh beneficiaries at the total outlay of more than Rs. 700 crore have been allocated under the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan scheme.
For 2025–26, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram has been allocated Rs 1,913.97 crore for infrastructure development in minority-concentrated areas, marking an increase of roughly 56 per cent compared with the 2014–19 average annual allocation of Rs 1,229.32 crore.
To a separate Parliamentary question by Thiru Thanga Tamilselvan, a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member from Theni, Tamil Nadu, the government informed the Ministry of Minority Affairs, no schemes/programmes are implemented by the Ministry under CSR, as CSR expenditure is undertaken directly by companies in accordance with the statutory framework of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
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