Government Revives Lost Schemes to Help Muslim Women

BJP has re-discovered ‘Nai Roshni’. Contrary to the expectations, instead of disbanding the minority affairs ministry or programmes running for the upliftment of certain communities, the Modi Government has unearthed the innovative leadership-initiation programme for young Muslim women and seems resolved to make it see the light of the day. 

NEW DELHI: BJP has re-discovered ‘Nai Roshni’. Contrary to the expectations, instead of disbanding the minority affairs ministry or programmes running for the upliftment of certain communities, the Modi Government has unearthed the innovative leadership-initiation programme for young Muslim women and seems resolved to make it see the light of the day.  The programme formulated during the UPA regime could never be implemented due to ‘political-official’ apathy and tardy file movement.

The Minority Affairs Ministry under the Prime Minister’s direction zoomed in on the ‘Nai Roshni’ scheme designed to bring Muslim women to the mainstream of education and other productive fields. It also helps the new government generate some sort of goodwill within the community. According to a senior Ministry official, the scheme confirms the PM’s expressed view on development popularised during the Lok Sabha campaign—‘‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’’.

Unlike the UPA government, the NDA government led by PM Narendra Modi has been targeting the minority women to provide training and opportunities to them to help improve their lives and livelihood under the scheme for ‘‘leadership development of minority women’’. The NDA government has allocated `12.50 crore in the Budget for 2014-15 for the implementation of the scheme for the leadership development of minority women. The scheme is implemented through Non-Governmental Organizations.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs had released the first instalment of `6. 42 lakh each to 248 NGOs across the country till September this year. Interestingly, Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 105 NGOs, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 32, Rajasthan with 23 and Bihar with 14. According to Minister for Minority Affairs Dr Najma A Heptulla, the present government has accelerated the pace of welfare of six notified minorities including the implementation of the existing schemes. The thrust area of the present Government is the skilling of minority youth and their placement. These programmes and schemes are being reviewed and restructured in accordance with the policies of the present Government. Though the scheme was conceived by UPA during the 11th plan period, it could not be implemented properly.

The 11th plan documents says ‘‘to tackle the double discrimination faced by Muslim women, the government would implement a scheme for minority women to empower them and place them in the forefront of making the government system at the grassroots responsive to the needs of the minority community’’. According to the document, the scheme would provide minority women support, leadership training, information and confidence to interact with government system, banks and intermediaries at all levels.

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