By Abdul Hameed, TwoCircles.net,
Mumbai: Keeping an eye on the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections the Congress-led Maharashtra government on Wednesday sanctioned Rs 110 crore to be spent on eight different schemes for educational and economic uplift of the minorities that constitute 20% of the state’s 10 crore population.
The educational schemes will see spending of Rs 4, 31,000 on school uniform project for students up to Std. 7th. The students will be provided annually two sets of uniform free of cost. Besides, 1,553 schools which have more than 70% students from the minority communities will be given Rs 31.06 crore for infrastructure and basic amenities such as renovation of school buildings, water supply, computer labs and toilets.
To check dropout rate of minority community students their parents will be given daily encouragement allowance of Rs 2 per child.
The government has proposed to give the students doing professional courses such as engineering, medicine, MBA, MCR and CA etc a scholarship of Rs 25,000. Under the scheme 21,748 students whose families’ annual income is below Rs 2.50 lakh will be benefited.
To ensure more job opportunities in commercial sectors for minority students the government will introduce for them the vocational courses in mall, computer, mobile, plumbing and television repair etc. At least 2,000 scholarships will be provided through Maulana Azad Alpsankhayak Arthik Vikas Mahamandal.
The government has reserved Rs 18.93 crore for the minority-dominated areas to create better infrastructure and more basic facilities.
Moreover, the government is intending to conduct a thorough research into the problems which the minorities are facing so that they may be efficiently tackled in future. It will spend Rs 59 lakh on it.
To make available more information about the schemes and as to how to take its benefit the government will set up a helpline at the cost of Rs 25 lakh, which is likely to be operated by the Minority Commission.