DUBAI, 2 March 2007 — India’s general budget for 2007-08 presented to Indian Parliament’s Upper House on Wednesday has something to offer to minority communities, the Muslims in particular.
Based on Sachar Committee report which was constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year to look into social, economic and education status of the Muslim community in the country, a separate rupees 630 million (nearly SR54 million) has been earmarked as share capital for National Minorities Development Finance Corporation, a government organization that seeks to promote economic and developmental activities for the benefit of backward sections amongst the minorities.
The Sachar Committee had reported that the Muslim community in India was at the bottom of the heap when it comes to benefits from government-run welfare schemes, access to education and employment opportunities. The community is by and large left out in the system of credit that includes bank loans.
It seems Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has taken serious note of the committee’s other findings such as Muslim population had crossed 150 million mark as of 2006 but out of this only 4% actually graduated from schools.
Alarmed by this trend, the minister has now announced scholarships program worth rupees 720 million (nearly SR62 million) for pre-metric, (less than grade X) and rupees 480 million (nearly SR41 million) for graduate and postgraduate students belonging to minority community, the term generally used to describe Muslims in India.
The other facets of the budget that would affect the nonresident Indians (NRIs) include Permanent Account Number (PAN) issued by the Income Tax department to be made sole identity for participants in the security markets and the government’s resolve to upgrade 1,396 Indian Technical Institutes to achieve technical excellence.
Most of the NRIs, particularly those in the Gulf countries send their children to India in the hope that they get better technical education that meets the global demand for qualified manpower in engineering, information and bio-technology.
