Parliament panel slams Minority Affairs for delay in scholarship approvals
In its Eleventh Report on action taken over the ministry's 2024-25 demands for grants, tabled in Parliament on Monday, the panel noted that the Pre-Matric, Post-Matric and Merit-cum-Means scholarships have remained in abeyance since 2022-23 pending 'harmonisation' with similar schemes of other ministries.
It said the delay has deprived economically weaker students of crucial support.
'The Committee strongly believe that the education of the students must have suffered due to non-availability of financial assistance to them. The students should not be made to suffer for no fault, concrete steps need to be taken to complete the process in a time-bound manner,' it said, adding that the ministry must match benefits available to other marginalised groups.
The committee in its Original Report found that several schemes, such as National Fellowship, National Overseas Scholarship, Free Coaching, and Residential Education, are being implemented without any interruption in the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
However, these schemes have been discontinued by Minority Affairs, it said.
In the absence of these schemes, the Ministry of Minority Affairs is depriving needy and deserving students of minority communities from pursuing higher education, the report read.
The committee recommended reconsidering the decision to discontinue the educational schemes for minority communities.
On livelihood support, the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the ministry's vague response on the roll-out of the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) scheme, formed by merging five earlier programmes.
It said no expenditure was made under the scheme in 2023-24 and stressed that the ministry must fully utilise the 2024-25 budget before the 15th Finance Commission cycle ends in 2025-26.
The report said that despite the adoption of the Public Financial Management System and Single Nodal Agency rules by most states, delays in project approvals and execution under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram persist.
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