PMO orders urgent impact assessment of schemes for minorities

Amid complaints that government schemes for minorities are not reaching the intended people, the Prime Minister's Office has ordered an urgent study to assess impact of these programmes and identify gaps which could be plugged in the 12th Plan beginning next year.

Amid complaints that government schemes for minorities are not reaching the intended people, the Prime Minister's Office has ordered an urgent study to assess impact of these programmes and identify gaps which could be plugged in the 12th Plan beginning next year.

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The PMO has directed the Minority Affairs Ministry to assess within two months as to what extent the Multi-Sectoral Developmental Programmes (MSDP) launched on the basis of Sachar Committee recommendations have improved the lot of minorities in the 90 identified districts across the country, sources said on Sunday.

The assessment is aimed at finding out to what extent the MSDP, launching in 2008, has improved the lot of minorities and what more can be done in this regard, sources told PTI.

In the third year of implementation of the schemes, the government wants to identify gaps so that these can be plugged in the 12th Five Year Plan.

The quick assessment, at least in terms of statistics, has been ordered so that the future programme of action with regard to uplift of minorities could be incorporated in the next Plan, the sources said.

The move comes in the backdrop of complaints that the benefits are not reaching the targeted people.

The MSDP were launched in 90 minority concentrated districts in 2008 as part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 15-point programme following Sachar Committee recommendations.