SCHEMES AND PROGRAMMES

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: Review of implementation

In the recently concluded Monsoon Session of Parliament , the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development released a report on the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Development Act, 2005 (MGNREGA).  This blog provides a brief introduction to the key provisions of MGNREGA , followed by an overview of the major findings and recommendations of the Standing Committee.

I. MGNREGA: A brief introduction

A. Objectives: MGNREGA, which is the largest work guarantee programme in the world, was enacted in 2005 with the primary objective of guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households.  Secondly, it aims at addressing causes of chronic poverty through the ‘works’ (projects) that are undertaken, and thus ensuring sustainable development.  Finally, there is an emphasis on strengthening the process of decentralisation through giving a significant role to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in planning and implementing these works.

B. Key features:

• Legal right to work: Unlike earlier employment guarantee schemes, the Act provides a legal right to employment for adult members of rural households.  At least one third beneficiaries have to be women.  Wages must be paid according to the wages specified for agricultural labourers in the state under the  Minimum Wages Act, 1948, unless the central government notifies a wage rate (this should not be less than Rs 60 per day).  At present, wage rates are determined by the central government but vary across states, ranging from Rs 135 per day to Rs 214 per day.
• Time bound guarantee of work and unemployment allowance: Employment must be provided with 15 days of being demanded failing which an ‘unemployment allowance’ must be given.
• Decentralised planning: Gram sabhas must recommend the works that are to be undertaken and at least 50% of the works must be executed by them.  PRIs are primarily responsible for planning, implementation and monitoring of the works that are undertaken.
• Work site facilities: All work sites should have facilities such as crèches, drinking water and first aid.
• Transparency and accountability: There are provisions for proactive disclosure through wall writings, citizen information boards, Management Information Systems and social audits.  Social audits are conducted by gram sabhas to enable the community to monitor the implementation of the scheme.
• Funding:  Funding is shared between the centre and the states.  There are three major items of expenditure – wages (for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled labour), material and administrative costs.  The central government bears 100% of the cost of unskilled labour, 75% of the cost of semi-skilled and skilled labour, 75% of the cost of materials and 6% of the administrative costs.

MGNREGA was implemented in phases, starting from February 2006, and at present it covers all districts of the country with the exception of those that have a 100% urban population.  The Act provides a list of works that can be undertaken to generate employment related to water conservation, drought proofing, land development, and flood control and protection works.  Table 1 provides information regarding employment generation and expenditure under MGNREGA.

Table 1: MGNREGA: Key indicators

Year	Number of households provided employment (in crore)	Average number of person days of work per household	Total Expenditure (in lakh)
2006-07	2.10	43	8823.35
2007-08	3.39	42	15856.88
2008-09	4.51	48	27250.10
2009-10	5.25	54	37905.23
2010-11	5.49	47	39377.27
2011-12*	4.99	43	38034.69
2012-13**	4.25	36	28073.51

Source: Standing Committee on Rural Development; PRS. Note: *Provisional ** As on 31.01.2013

II. Findings and Recommendations of the Standing Committee on Rural Development

A. Achievements: The Standing Committee highlighted several achievements of MGNREGA in the seven years of its implementation, especially:

• Ensuring livelihood for people in rural areas.
• Large scale participation of women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs) and other traditionally marginalised sections of society.  SCs/STs account for 51% of the total person-days generated and women account for 47% of the total person-days generated.
• Increasing the wage rate in rural areas and strengthening the rural economy through the creation of infrastructure assets.
• Facilitating sustainable development, and
• Strengthening PRIs by involving them in the planning and monitoring of the scheme.

B. Challenges: However, the Committee found several issues with the implementation of the scheme. As Table 1 (above) shows, the average number of days of employment provided to households has been lower than the mandated 100 days, and has been decreasing since 2010-11.

Key issues that the Committee raised include

• Fabrication of job cards: While as many as 12.5 crore households have been issued job cards out of an estimated 13.8 crore rural households ( as per the 2001 census), there are several issues related to existence of fake job cards, inclusion of fictitious names, missing entries and delays in making entries in job cards.
• Delay in payment of wages: Most states have failed to disburse wages within 15 days as mandated by MGNREGA.  In addition, workers are not compensated for a delay in payment of wages.
• Non payment of unemployment allowances: Most states do not pay an unemployment allowance when work is not given on demand.  The non-issuance of dated receipts of demanded work prevents workers from claiming an unemployment allowance.
• Large number of incomplete works: There has been a delay in the completion of works under MGNREGA and inspection of projects has been irregular.  Implementing agencies were able to complete only 98 lakh works out of 296 lakh works.  As Table 2 shows, a large percentage of works remain incomplete under MGNREGA and the work completion rate appears to be decreasing in recent years.

Table 2: Work completion rate

Year	Work completion rate (%)
2006-07	46.34
2007-08	45.99
2008-09	43.76
2009-10	48.94
2010-11	50.86
2011-12*	20.25
2012-13*	15.02
Total	33.22

Source: Standing Committee on Rural Development. Note: * As on 30.01.2013

• Other key challenges include poor quality of assets created, several instances of corruption in the implementation of MGNREGA, and insufficient involvement of PRIs.

C. Recommendations: The Committee made the following recommendations, based on its findings:

• Regulation of job cards: Offences such as not recording employment related information in job cards and unlawful possession of job cards with elected PRI representatives and MGNREGA functionaries should be made punishable under the Act.
• Participation of women: Since the income of female workers typically raises the standard of living of their households to a greater extent than their male counterparts, the participation of women must be increased through raising awareness about MGNREGA.
• Participation of people with disabilities: Special works (projects) must be identified for people with disabilities; and  special job cards must be issued and personnel must be employed to ensure their participation.
• Utilisation of funds:  The Committee found that a large amount of funds allocated for MGNREGA have remained unutilised.  For example, in 2010-11, 27.31% of the funds remained unutilised.  The Committee recommends that the Department of Rural Development should analyse reasons for poor utilisation of funds and take steps to improve the same.  In addition, it should initiate action against officers found guilty of misappropriating funds under MGNREGA.
• Context specific projects and convergence: Since states are at various stages of socio-economic development, they have varied requirements for development.  Therefore, state governments should be allowed to undertake works that are pertinent to their context.  There should be more emphasis on skilled and semi-skilled work under MGNREGA.  In addition, the Committee recommends a greater emphasis on convergence with other schemes such as the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, National Rural Health Mission, etc.
• Payment of unemployment allowance: Dated receipts for demanded work should be issued so that workers can claim unemployment allowance.  Funds for unemployment allowance should be met by the central government.
• Regular monitoring: National Level Monitors (NLMs) are deployed by the Ministry of Rural Development for regular and special monitoring of MGNREGA and to enquire into complaints regarding mis-utilisation of funds, etc.  The Committee recommends that the frequency of monitoring by NLMs should increase and appropriate measures should be taken by states based on their recommendations.  Additionally, social audits must mandatorily be held every six months.  The Committee observes that the performance of MGNREGA is better in states with effective social audit mechanisms.
• Training of functionaries: Training and capacity building of elected representatives and other functionaries of PRIs must be done regularly as it will facilitate their involvement in the implementation of MGNREGA.

The Mid Day Meal Scheme

In light of recent debates surrounding the implementation of the Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) in certain states, it is useful to understand the basic features of the scheme.

The MDMS is the world’s largest school meal programme and reaches an estimated 12 crore children across 12 lakh schools in India. A brief introduction follows, outlining the key objectives and provisions of the scheme; modes of financing; monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and issues with implementation of the scheme. Examples of ‘best practices’ and major recommendations made by the Planning Commission to improve the implementation of the scheme are also mentioned.

Provisions:  The MDMS emerged out of the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP – NSPE), a centrally sponsored scheme formulated in 1995 to improve enrollment, attendance and retention by providing free food grains to government run primary schools. In 2002, the Supreme Court directed the government to provide cooked mid day meals (as opposed to providing dry rations) in all government and government aided primary schools.[1]

Calorie norms for the meals have been regularly revised starting from 300 calories in 2004, when the scheme was relaunched as the Mid Day Meal Scheme. At present the MDMS provides children in government aided schools and education centres a cooked meal for a minimum of 200 days.[2] Table 1 outlines the prescribed nutritional content of the meals.

Table 1: Prescribed nutritional content for mid day meals 

Item	Primary (grade 1-5)	Upper Primary(grade 6-8)
Calories	450	700
Protein (in grams)	12	20

Source: Annual Report, 2011 – 12, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India; PRS.

Objectives: The key objectives of the MDMS are to address the issues of hunger and education in schools by serving hot cooked meals; improve the nutritional status of children and improve enrollment, attendance and retention rates in schools and other education centres.

Finances: The cost of the MDMS is shared between the central and state governments. The central government provides free food grains to the states. The cost of cooking, infrastructure development, transportation of food grains and payment of honorarium to cooks and helpers is shared by the centre with the state governments. The central government provides a greater share of funds. The contribution of state governments differs from state to state. Table 2 outlines the key areas of expenditure incurred by the central government under the MDMS for the year 2012 – 2013.

Table 2: Key areas of expenditure in the MDMS (2012 – 2013)

Area of expenditure	Percentage of total cost allocated
Cooking cost	53
Cook / helper	20
Cost of food grain	14
Transportation assistance	2
Management monitoring and evaluation	2
Non recurring costs	10

Source: Ministry of Human Resource Development; Fourth NSCM Committee meeting, August 24, 2012; PRS.

Monitoring and Evaluation: There are some inter state variations in the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms of the MDMS.  A National Steering cum Monitoring Committee and a Programme Approval Board have been established at the national level, to monitor the programme, conduct impact assessments, coordinate between state governments and provide policy advice to central and state governments. Review Missions consisting of representatives from central and state governments and non governmental agencies have been established. In addition, independent monitoring institutions such as state universities and research institutions monitor the implementation of the scheme.

At the state level, a three tier monitoring mechanism exists in the form of state, district and block level steering cum monitoring committees. Gram panchayats and municipalities are responsible for day to day supervision and may assign the supervision of the programme at the school level to the Village Education Committee, School Management and Development Committee or Parent Teacher Association.

Key issues with implementation: While there is significant inter-state variation in the implementation of the MDSM, there are some common concerns with the implementation of the scheme. Some of the concerns highlighted by the Ministry for Human Resource Development based on progress reports submitted by the states in 2012 are detailed in Table 3.

Table 3: Key implementation issues in the MDMS

Issue	State(s) where these problems have been reported
Irregularity in serving meals	Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh
Irregularity in supply of food grains to schools	Orissa, Maharashtra, Tripura, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh
Caste based discrimination in serving of food	Orissa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh
Poor quality of food	Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Chhattisgarh
Poor coverage under School Health Programme	Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
Poor infrastructure (kitchen sheds in particular)	Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa
Poor hygiene	Delhi, Rajasthan, Puducherry,
Poor community participation	Most states – Delhi, Jharkhand, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh in particular

Source: Ministry of Human Resource Development; PRS.

Best practices: Several state governments have evolved practices to improve the implementation of the MDMS in their states. These include involving mothers of students in implementation of the scheme in Uttarakhand and Jharkhand; creation of kitchen gardens, i.e., food is grown in the premises of the school, in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and West Bengal; construction of dining halls in Tamil Nadu; and increased community participation in the implementation of the scheme Gujarat. More information is available here.

Planning Commission evaluation of MDMS: In 2010, a Planning Commission evaluation of the MDMS made the following recommendations to improve implementation of the scheme:

i. Steering cum monitoring committees at the district and block levels should be made more effective.

ii. Food grains must be delivered directly to the school by the PDS dealer.

iii. The key implementation authority must be made responsible for cooking, serving food and cleaning utensils, and school staff should have a supervisory role.  The authority should consist of local women’s self help groups or mothers of children studying in the schools.

iv. Given the fluctuating cost of food grains, a review of the funds allocated to the key implementation authority must be done at least once in 6 months.

v. Services might be delivered through private providers under a public private partnership model, as has been done in Andhra Pradesh.

Status of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission

On November 28, 2012, the Comptroller and Auditor General submitted its report on the implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).  According to the report most of the projects initiated under JNNURM have not been completed.  For instance with respect to urban infrastructure projects, only 231 projects out of the 1298 sanctioned projects have been completed.  Similarly, with respect to housing projects, only 22 of the 1517 projects have been completed.  Some of the other key recommendations of the report are:

•  Some of the reasons for the delay in completing the projects include: (i) delay in acquiring land; (ii) deficiency in preparation of projects; and (iii) non-identification of beneficiaries which increased the risk of ineligible beneficiaries getting the benefits.
•  A total allocation of Rs 66,084 crore had been made by the Planning Commission.  However, against this total allocation, the central government had made an allocation of only Rs 37,070 out of which until March 30, 2011 only Rs 32,934 had been released.
• There was a delay in releasing these funds to the states.  A large portion of the funds was released only in the last quarter and more particularly in March.
• The JNNURM guidelines were deficient as they did not provide adequate guidance to the states on the method of parking the funds and utilization of interest.

The need and objectives of JNNURM

According to the 2011 census India’s urban population has increased from 286 million in 2001 to 377 million in 2011 .  With the increase in urban population, there is a requirement to improve the urban infrastructure and improve the service delivery mechanisms.  With these specific objectives in mind, the central government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission 2005-2006.  The aim of the Mission is to encourage reforms and fast track planned development of identified cities (such as cities with a population of more than 1 million as per the 2001 census).  JNNURM has two main components namely : (i) Urban Infrastructure and Governance  and (ii) Urban Infrastructure Development for Small and Medium Towns.

The duration of JNNURM was from 2005-06 to 2011-12. However, as the projects have not been completed the Government has extended its duration until March 2014.

Funds for JNNURM

The funds for JNNURM are provided through the Additional Central Assistance.  This implies that the funds are provided as grants to the states directly from the centre.   In the 2012 Union Budget, the central government has allocated Rs 12,522 crore for JNNURM. This represents around 10 % of the total central assistance through the different schemes to states and union territories in 2012-13.

As on June 30 2012, 554 projects at a total cost of Rs 62,253 crore have been sanctioned under the Urban Infrastructure and Governance sub-mission of JNNURM.   The table below shows the status of the sanctioned JNNURM  projects in the different states.

State wise status of the projects under JNNURM                 (as on August 6, 2012)

Name of State	Total Allocation (Rs Lakh)	Number of sanctioned projects	Completed Projects
Andhra Pradesh	2,11,845	52	18
Arunachal Pradesh	10,740	3	NA
Assam	27,320	2	NA
Bihar	59,241	8	NA
Chandigarh	27,087	3	NA
Chattisgarh	24,803	1	NA
Delhi	2,82,318	23	4
Goa	12,094	2	NA
Gujarat	2,57,881	72	40
Haryana	32,332	4	NA
Himachal Pradesh	13,066	5	NA
Jammu & Kashmir	48,836	5	NA
Jharkhand	94,120	5	NA
Karnataka	1,52,459	47	22
Kerala	67,476	11	NA
Madhya Pradesh	1,32,850	23	7
Maharashtra	5,50,555	80	21
Manipur	15,287	3	NA
Meghalaya	15,668	2	NA
Mizoram	14,822	4	NA
Nagaland	11,628	3	NA
Orissa	32,235	5	NA
Punjab	70,775	6	1
Puducherry	20,680	2	NA
Rajasthan	74,869	13	2
Sikkim	10,613	2	NA
Tamil Nadu	2,25,066	48	12
Tripura	14,018	2	NA
Uttar Pradesh	2,76,941	33	4
Uttarakhand	40,534	14	NA
West Bengal	3,21,840	69	15

Source: Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission; PRS.

• Gujarat at 55.55% has the highest number of completed projects, while Uttar Pradesh at 12.24% has the lowest number of completed projects.
• Out of the larger states, Delhi and Maharashtra at 17% and 26% have a comparatively low rate of completed projects.
• Maharashtra has the highest number of sanctioned projects, while the North Eastern states, Chattisgarh and Puducherry have the lowest number of sanctioned projects.

Implementation of the Implementation of the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran 

Yojana

ajiv Awas Yojana

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the launch of the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), to be implemented in Mission mode during 2013-2022. This was stated by Dr. (Ms.) Girija Vyas, Union Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA), in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. For effective implementation of the scheme, the emphasise is given on the following: (i) Community should be involved at every stage, from planning through implementation and post-project maintenance leading to community ownership and sustainability of the scheme. (ii) For effective monitoring central assistance is available for components such as establishment of technical cells at both State and City levels, cost of preparation of Slum Free City Plansof Action(SFCPoA) including preparatory activities, preparation of DPRs, Third Party Inspection and Monitoring (TPIM) and Social Audit. (iii) Monitoring of quality of projects executed by the implementing agencies by Third Party Inspection and Monitoring Agency (TPIMA) at both Central and State level. The Minister further stated that this Ministry has also issued guidelines for Community Participation, Guidelines for Social Audit and DPR preparation for effective implementation of the scheme. The scheme is applicable to all cities/UAs of the country. The selection for seeking assistance under the scheme is to be made by the States in consultation with the Centre. The cities/UAs covered under preparatory phase of RAY are automatically included under implementation phase of RAY. The Minister further stated that Central financial assistance available under RAY is 50% for cities with population more than 5 lakh, 75% for cities with population less than 5 lakhs (census 2011) and 80% for cities in North Eastern and Special Category States irrespective of their population with upper ceiling of per Dwelling Unit cost including infrastructure at Rs. 5 lakh, Rs. 4 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh respectively for above category of cities, the Minister added.  Integrated Child Protection Scheme The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today gave its approval for continuation of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) in the XII Plan, with enhanced financial norms. The total financial implication for the XII Plan period would be Rs. 3000.33 crore, which includes a Central share of Rs. 2350 crore and a State share of Rs. 650.33 crore. The approval of the revised scheme with enhanced financial norms at par with other existing government schemes and flexibility in staffing and structural patterns etc. will: 1.      prevent attrition and help in recruitment of skilled child protection personnel; 2.      ensure  sufficient  nutrition  and  minimum  required  facilities  are  provided  to children; 3.      promote convergence with other schemes being run by government or NGOs to reduce staff cost and build linkages between existing programs; and 4.      help State/UTs to provide child protection services in a more cost effective manner. The ICPS is a Centrally sponsored program for child protection, being implemented across the country from 2009-10. It was conceived at the beginning of the XI Plan period, when children were placed at the "centre of development` by the XI Plan and protection of children from abuse and exploitation was stated to be integral to their holistic growth and development.   The scheme was introduced with an allocation of Rs 1071.03 crore as Central share (total project cost being Rs 1338.06 crore including State Government and NGO share) for the XI Plan period (2007-12).  Its aims was to address gaps in existing initiatives and putting in place, a safety net of exclusive structures, services and trained personnel for the protection of children in difficult circumstances. It provides financial resources to States/UT Administrations for the effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (JJ Act) and brings together piecemeal initiatives on child protection. Implementation of the scheme for nearly five years now has highlighted the urgent need for, revision of financial norms and provision of flexibility to secure effective implementation of programs and services for protection of children. It has also brought out the necessity for continuation of protection services introduced under ICPS. Accordingly, norms have been enhanced for, construction (Rs. 1000/sq.ft. from Rs. 600/sq.ft. earlier); maintenance grant in homes, open shelters, specialized adoption agencies from existing Rs. 750 per child per month to Rs. 2000 per child per month; salaries as well as other recurring administrative costs. hri K Rahman Khan Launches Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme, and Nalanda Project Nalanda A Faculty Development Program for Minorities’ Higher Educational Institutions Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme for Student of the Schools Financially Aided by MAEF Shri K Rahman Khan , the union  Minister of Minority Affairs launched  two new initiatives here today for the welfare of Minorities. The twin initiatives are Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme, and Nalanda Project, a Faculty Development Program for Minorities’ Higher Educational Institutions. The Minister aso handed over Sehat Cards to few students. Speaking on the occasion Shri K Rahman Khan saidUnder the Maulana Azad Sehat scheme, “Sehat Card” would be issued to every student of the Institution financially aided by MAEF. Preventive Health Check-up Camps would be organized by the Institute twice in a year, through Government/Private Hospitals/Nursing Homes. In exceptional and deserving cases for serious ailments, the poor students belonging to notified minorities would be provided financial assistance for treatment in Government/Recognized Hospitals. Serious ailments of Kidney, Heart, Liver, Cancer and Brain or any other life threatening diseases including Knee surgery and Spinal surgery would be covered. The Minister said that  “Nalanda Project” is an innovative Faculty Development Program of Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, under its Information, Education and Communication (IEC) strategy for awareness, orientation and development of faculties of Minority Universities/ Minority Managed Degree Colleges (MMDCs) and higher educational institutions located in minority concentration areas in the country. Excerpts from the Minister’s speech “The Ministry of Minority Affairs was created on 29th January 2006 with a mission to ensure a focused approach towards issues relating to the minorities and to facilitate the formulation of overall policy, planning and development programmes for the benefit of the minority communities. “Ministry aims for inclusive growth of notified minorities namely, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains. It adopted a multi-pronged strategy for development of minority communities with focus on educational empowerment; area development; economic empowerment; women empowerment; development of vulnerable minority communities and strengthening of minority institutions. “Adding to these efforts, I am very happy to inform that Ministry has now taken a new dimension to ensure good health of minorities.Finance Minister had announced in his budget speechof 2013-14 that medical facilities would be provided to the institutions financed by Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Minority Affairs.Accordingly, Ministry has launched “Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme” today. “Under this scheme, “Sehat Card” would be issued to every student of the Institution financially aided by MAEF. Preventive Health Check-up Camps would be organized by the Institute twice in a year, through Government/Private Hospitals/Nursing Homes.All findings of the Preventive Health Checkups will be entered in the Sehat Card of the student by the Doctors. “A Dispensary/Health Care Centre is to be set up in the educational institutions (School) to provide daily medical facilities to the students studying in the educational institutions funded/aided by MAEF. “In exceptional and deserving casesfor serious ailments, the poor students belonging to notified minorities wouldbe provided financial assistance for treatment in Government/Recognized Hospitals. Serious ailments of Kidney, Heart, Liver, Cancer and Brain or any other life threatening diseases including Knee surgery and Spinal surgery would be covered. “Further, as you all may be aware that in conformity with the recommendations of Sachar Committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs gives highest importance to the education of minorities. Ministry is already engaged in supporting the education of students belonging to minority communities through scholarships at all levels. “Higher education is an instrument of upward mobility through promotion of excellence at individual, institutional and national level. Excellence of work force is a pre-requisite for sustained growth of any nation and for humankind, excellence is a must for extending the frontiers of knowledge and cultivation of values. “Ministry of Minority Affairs is of firm conviction that to strengthen the efforts for educational development of minorities, it is also essential to organize orientations programs for teachers from time to time in addition to support to students. Though agencies like NCERT, NEUPA etc. are involved in such teachers training and development programs, yet Ministry considers that in case of minorities, more efforts are required to develop faculty of higher education institutions.   “We are of the view that for improving the overall quality of higher education, there has to be generous support for individuals and institutions working at the undergraduate level besides support for attempts to redefine relevant knowledge in keeping with our local contexts and sensitivities. “In this direction, “Nalanda Project”is an innovative Faculty Development Program of Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, under its Information, Education and Communication (IEC) strategy for awareness, orientation and development of faculties of Minority Universities/ Minority Managed Degree Colleges (MMDCs) and higher educational institutions located in minority concentration areas in the country. “Today, I feel privileged to inform that the Nalanda Project is being taken up at Aligarh Muslim University, a premier Minority University of world fame, which is also a Nodal Staff College of University Grant Commission. The support given by Aligarh Muslim University in developing this program will go a long way in improvement of higher education among minorities. “Faculty development is an essential element of institutional effectiveness in higher education. It has become a priority at many academic institutions as a way to improve the quality of academic programs and to respond to emerging faculty, student, program, and industry needs. The extent to which the University/College supports faculty development will be strongly reflected in levels of student engagement and motivation, and thus ultimately, student learning. “The need for faculty development programs in higher education is immense for several reasons viz. increases in the complexity of higher education; demands from internal and external Constituencies and the necessity to balance teaching, scholarship, service, and personal responsibilities. “The primary goal of faculty development is to help faculty learn new ways to achieve excellence and to grow as faculty members. It is an ongoing process of understanding, learning, and growth. Faculty development includes education, collaboration, resources and support. “In addition to faculty and instructional development, faculty development concerns itself with culture change. Through educational programs and workshops faculty can learn the skills necessary to reach excellence in a changing academic environment. “Today’s learners expect and, in many cases, demand that their instructors infuse their teaching with the kinds of digital technologies with which they have grown up and are accustomed. “Faculty who engage in professional development experiences benefit also in terms of increased vitality, informed pedagogy, teaching innovations, and scholarly teaching. “Moreover, faculty professional development will contribute to the effective use of emerging technologies and establish a firm foundation for the overall development of high-quality programs and curricula. “I have huge expectations with the programme and I am sure that the Minorities’ Higher Education Institutions will make the fullest use of this project. “Today, in this august gathering,also participatedby Principals and Lecturers of Minority institutions from across India, I may take the opportunity to introduce them about the other educational programmes of the Ministry for welfare and development of Minorities.    “Ministry has made intensive efforts for educational empowerment of minorities through Pre-matric, Post-matric, Merit-cum-means based Scholarships and Maulana Azad National Fellowships. The coverage of the Scholarship Schemes in the last four-five years has increased manifold. “More than half of annual budget of the Ministry is spent on scholarship and fellowship programmes of the Ministry. During 2012-13 and 2013-14 so far, the Ministry has spent more than Rs.3600 crore to award scholarships to more than 1.58 Crore minority students. “In addition, to strengthen the efforts towards educational empowerment, the Maulana Azad Education Foundation awards scholarships to 25000 meritorious minority girls annually. The annual number of awards has been increased to 35000 now. The corpus of MAEF has been raised from Rs.750 crore to Rs.1250 crore during 12th Plan. MAEF also supports private educational institutions to develop educational infrastructure. “The total process of implementation of these Schemes is done online and thereby, ensuring transparency and accountability with clear-cut defined roles and responsibilities of all the stakeholders under the Schemes. “2,266 fresh Fellowships were awarded under Maulana Azad National Fellowship and Rs. 96.86 crores released to University Grants Commission (UGC), the Nodal Agency for the Fellowship during the 11thFive Year Plan.  During 2012-13 and 2013-14, Fresh 1510 Fellowships have been awardedand Rs. 116 Crorehave been released to UGC. “Under the Free Coaching and Allied Scheme, 27876 minority candidates were coached for employment in various sectors with the budget support of Rs. 54.60 crores during the 11th Five Year Plan.  During 2012-13 and 2013-14, a total of 14983 minority candidates have been coached and Rs. 33.38 crores spent. “Financial Support is also provided to minority candidates who clear Prelims exams conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and State Public Service Commissions (SPSCs).  Under this scheme, one time financial support ofRs. 50,000 for gazetted post and Rs. 25,000 for non-gazetted post is given.  During 2013-14, it is planned to support 800 minority candidates.  Till 31/12/2013, an amount of Rs. 95.75 lakh has been released to provide financial assistance to 274 candidates who cleared prelims exam conducted by UPSC and SSC. ““PadhoPardesh” is the new scheme of the Ministry wherein the Ministry provides interest subsidy to minority students who avail loans from Banks for overseas studies. “Further, among other programmes, under Area Development strategy, the Ministry has two major programmes viz. Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme and Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP). In order to intensify the Government’s efforts and bring in synergy with the programmes of other Ministries/Departments, Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme for minorities was launched in June 2006. “Through Prime Minister’s 15 Point Programme, the Central Government ensures equitable allocation of resources for development of minorities by earmarking 15% of target/outlays under important flagship development programmes of Government of India namely, Integrated Child Development Services, SarvaShikshaAbhiyan, Aajeevika, Indira AwasYojana, SGSRY, Priority Sector Lending etc. “Multi-sectoral Development Programme or MsDP is the flagship programme of the Ministry which was launched in 2008-09 to address the development deficits by creating socio-economic infrastructure and providing basic amenities.  It may include schools, health centres, drinking water facility, sanitation, electricity, skill development etc. “Under MsDP, the unit of planning is Minority Concentration Blocks (MCBs). 710 MCBs and 66 Minority Concentration Towns (MCTs) have been identified for implementation of MsDP during 12th Plan. Since inception so far, the projects worth Rs.6200 Crore have been approved and more than Rs.4433 Crore released under MsDP. “Ministry has launched a new scheme “SeekhoaurKamao (Learn & Earn)” for skill development of minorities. The scheme guarantees minimum 75% employment of trained minority youths and out of them 50% will be in organized sector. During 12th Five Year Plan, Ministry targets to upgrade the skills of about 3.5 lakh minority youths with Rs. 750.00 Crore. The school drop outs and unemployed youths of the community may benefit from this scheme immensely. “For women empowerment, Ministry started “NaiRoshni”, a Leadership Development Programme for Minority Women during 2012-13 and supported training of 36950 women in 12 States with an amount of Rs.10.45 Crore.  During 2013-14, Ministry aims to train 40,000 women with an amount of Rs. 15.00 Crore. “In addition to this, I would like to inform that Ministry has launched a dedicated Toll Free Helpline “Khidmat” – 1800-11-2001, to assist the members of minority communities and provide information on schemes/programmes of the Ministry. The helpline works on all working days between 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. “To improve public interface, generate awareness and develop dialogue with target communities, Ministry has also launched a quarterly tri-lingual (Hindi, English and Urdu) magazine “Minority Today” this year. “Ministry has also launched a Pilot Project “Minority Cyber Gram” for Digital literacy of Minorities in collaboration with Digital Empowerment Foundation in PPP Mode at village Chandauli, District Alwar, Rajasthan on 19.02.2014. “Finally, I have attempted to highlight the important schemes and initiatives of the Ministry for the health and education of minorities, but I am sure that there may be many issues and concerns of minority students and the educational institutions which may also need immediate attention by the Ministry. I would be grateful to the students, doctors, and faculties present here if they enlighten me on the unattended issues. I assure you that the Ministry will leave no stone unturned for the better health and education of the minorities.”