Ministry of Minority Affairs

The Ministry of Minority Affairs is the ministry in the Government of India which was carved out of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and created on 29 January 2006. It is the apex body for the central government's regulatory and developmental programmes for the minority religious communities and minority linguistic communities in India, which include Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains notified as minority religious communities in The Gazette of India[2] under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.[3]

Ministry of Minority Affairs
Branch of Government of India
Ministry of Minority Affairs
Agency overview
Formed29 January 2006
JurisdictionGovernment of India
HeadquartersNew Delhi 110084
Annual budget3,097.10 crore (US$370 million) (2023-24 est.)[1] including National Commission for Minorities
Minister responsible
Deputy Minister responsible
Child agency
Websitewww.minorityaffairs.gov.in

The current minister is Kiren Rijiju who has been in office since 10 June 2024, and the Minister of State is George Kurian (since June 2024).

Character

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The ministry is also involved with the linguistic minorities and of the office of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, representation of the Anglo-Indian community, protection and preservation of non-Muslim shrines in Pakistan and Muslim shrines in India in terms of the Pant-Mirza Agreement of 1955, in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs.[4] The Minister in charge is also Chairperson of the Central Wakf Council, India, which manages the running of the State Wakf Boards.[5] Ministry of Minority Affairs provides Moma scholarship to minority community students of India every year. Moma Scholarship is a scholarship scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs initiated with the aim of supporting minority communities student who is not financially strong and wants to pursue higher studies in India.[6][7] Minority communities in India includes Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains. The scholarship is awarded to the students by India Government through State Government/UTs. The scholarship is awarded for the undergraduate and postgraduate courses.[3]

Linguistic Minorities, according to Indian Constitution should have a Special Officer appointed.[8]

Constitutional Article: 350B.

  1. There shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by the President.
  2. It shall be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under this Constitution and report to the President upon those matters at such intervals as the President may direct, and the President shall cause all such reports to be laid before each House of Parliament, and sent to the Governments of the States concerned.[8]

It is to be decided based on states as the states have been formed on linguistic basis.[citation needed]

Cabinet Ministers

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The Minister of Minority Affairs is the head of the Ministry of Minority Affairs and one of the cabinet ministers of the Government of India.[9]

  • Note: MoS, I/C – Minister of State with Independent Charge
No. Portrait Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency
Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
From To Period
1   A. R. Antulay
(1929–2014)
MP for Kolaba
29 January
2006
22 May
2009
3 years, 113 days Indian National Congress Manmohan I Manmohan Singh
2   Salman Khurshid
(born 1953)
MP for Farrukhabad

(MoS, I/C until 19 January 2011)
28 May
2009
28 October
2012
3 years, 153 days Manmohan II
3   K. Rahman Khan
(born 1939)
MP for Karnataka (Rajya Sabha)
28 October
2012
26 May
2014
1 year, 210 days
4   Najma Heptulla
(born 1940)
Rajya Sabha MP for Madhya Pradesh
26 May
2014
12 July
2016
2 years, 47 days Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi
5   Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
(born 1957)
Rajya Sabha MP for Jharkhand

(MoS, I/C until 3 September 2017)
12 July
2016
30 May
2019
5 years, 359 days
31 May
2019
6 July
2022
Modi II
6   Smriti Irani
(born 1976)
MP for Amethi
6 July
2022
9 June
2024
1 year, 339 days
7   Kiren Rijiju
(born 1971)
MP for Arunachal West
10 June
2024
Incumbent 164 days Modi III

Ministers of State

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No. Portrait Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency
Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
From To Period
1   Vincent Pala
(born 1968)
MP for Shillong
19 January
2011
28 October
2012
1 year, 283 days Indian National Congress Manmohan II Manmohan Singh
2   Ninong Ering
(born 1959)
MP for Arunachal East
28 October
2012
26 May
2014
1 year, 210 days
3   Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
(born 1957)
Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh, till 2016
Rajya Sabha MP for Jharkhand, from 2016
9 November
2014
12 July
2016
1 year, 246 days Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi
4   Virendra Kumar Khatik
(born 1954)
MP for Tikamgarh
3 September
2017
30 May
2019
1 year, 269 days
5   Kiren Rijiju
(born 1971)
MP for Arunachal West
31 May
2019
7 July
2021
2 years, 37 days Modi II
6   John Barla
(born 1975)
MP for Alipurduars
7 July
2021
9 June
2024
2 years, 338 days
7   George Kurian
Rajya Sabha MP for Madhya Pradesh
10 June
2024
Incumbent 164 days Modi III

Organisations

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Schemes & Scholarship Programmes

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  • Jiyo Parsi - Scheme for containing population decline of Parsis[10]
  • Nai Roshni - Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women[11]
  • Nai Manzil - An Integrated Education and Livelihood Initiative for the Minority Communities[12]
  • Nai Udaan - Support for minority students clearing prelims exam conducted by UPSC, State PSC and SSC[13]
  • Seekho aur Kamao (Learn & Earn) - Scheme for Skill Development of Minorities[14]
  • Hamari Dharohar - A scheme to preserve the rich heritage of Minority Communities of India under the overall concept of Indian culture[15]
  • Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme[16]
  • Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme[17]
  • Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme[18]
  • Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students[19]
  • Padho Pardesh - Scheme of Interest Subsidy on Educational Loans for Overseas Studies for the Students Belonging to the Minority Communities[20]

References

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  1. ^ "MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS : DEMAND NO. 66" (PDF). Indiabudget.gov.in. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Extraordinary Gazette of India Notification" (PDF). egazette.nic.in. Govt. of India. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Ministry Of Minority Affairs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2010.
  4. ^ Allocation of Business Rules, archived from the original on 25 December 2018
  5. ^ "Members". CFC website. Archived from the original on 4 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "MOMA SCHEMES post matric guidelines" (PDF). Scholarships.gov.in. GOI. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Constitutional Provisions". National Commission for Minorities. GOI. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Organizational Setup | Ministry of Minority Affairs | Government of india". Minorityaffairs.gov.in. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Jiyo Parsi - Scheme for containing population decline of Parsis", Minorityaffairs.gov.in, retrieved 25 December 2018
  11. ^ "Nai Roshni - Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women", Minorityaffairs.gov.in, retrieved 25 December 2018
  12. ^ "Nai Manzil - An Integrated Education and Livelihood Initiative for the Minority Communities", Minorityaffairs.gov.in, retrieved 25 December 2018
  13. ^ "Nai Udaan - Support for minority students clearing prelims exam conducted by UPSC, State PSC and SSC", Minorityaffairs.gov.in, retrieved 25 December 2018
  14. ^ "Seekho aur Kamao (Learn & Earn) - Scheme for Skill Development of Minorities", Minorityaffairs.gov.in, retrieved 25 December 2018
  15. ^ "Hamari Dharohar - A scheme to preserve the rich heritage of Minority Communities of India under the overall concept of Indian culture", Minorityaffairs.gov.in, retrieved 25 December 2018
  16. ^ "Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme", Minorityaffairs.gov.in, retrieved 25 December 2018
  17. ^ "Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme", Minorityaffairs.gov.in, retrieved 25 December 2018
  18. ^ "Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme", Minorityaffairs.gov.in, retrieved 25 December 2018
  19. ^ "Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students", Minorityaffairs.gov.in, retrieved 25 December 2018
  20. ^ "Padho Pardesh- Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of india". Ministry of Minority Affairs. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
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