SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has ranked among the top five beneficiaries of the Union government’s minority welfare schemes, receiving ₹120.34 crore in concessional loans over the past three financial years through the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC). The figures were shared in the Lok Sabha by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, with Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra also among the top recipients.
The NMDFC loans are aimed at supporting income generation and education for economically weaker sections of six notified minority communities—Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, and Jains. During the same period, Ladakh received ₹1 crore under the scheme.
J&K also benefitted from the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK), which funds health, education, and skill development projects in minority-concentrated areas. Ladakh received ₹15.98 crore under PMJVK. The scheme is demand-driven and contingent on compliance with Public Financial Management System guidelines.
Additionally, the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) scheme—an umbrella initiative combining five earlier programmes—has been allocated over ₹545 crore for 2023–2025. The scheme focuses on traditional and non-traditional skills, women’s leadership, and credit linkages. A project under PM VIKAS was recently sanctioned to the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kottayam.
