Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai
Chennai, Aug 27: Tamil Nadu Minister for Minorities Welfare A M Shahjahan on Thursday announced a series of welfare measures, financial assistance schemes and infrastructure projects aimed at benefiting minority communities across the state.
The announcements were made during the debate on the demand for grants for the Minorities Welfare Department in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
As part of a major initiative to promote higher education among Muslim women, the state government will fully bear undergraduate tuition fees for Muslim female students admitted under the government quota.
The scheme will cover students pursuing arts, science, engineering, medicine, agriculture and law courses in government, government-aided and self-financing institutions.
An initial allocation of Rs 20 crore has been earmarked for the scheme.
The minister also announced the expansion of the existing Tamil Nadu Wakf Board scholarship for Muslim girls. The scholarship, which was earlier available to students from Classes 1 to 8, will now be extended to Classes 9 and 10.
Under the expanded scheme, eligible students will receive an annual grant of Rs 2,000. The initiative is expected to benefit 41,384 schoolgirls, with an allocation of Rs 8.28 crore.
To promote access to higher education among minority women in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu Wakf Board will establish a dedicated Minorities Women’s Arts and Science College in the city.
The institution will receive a starting grant of Rs 2.45 crore, Shahjahan said.
The government will also establish a Rs 100-crore revolving fund to provide interest-free loans for the development of income-generating assets on Muslim Wakf and Christian religious properties.
According to the minister, the loans will support projects such as commercial complexes and marriage halls, enabling community properties to generate sustainable income.
Another major initiative will focus on skill development for minority youth. Modern training programmes aligned with current market requirements will be provided to 10,000 minority youths over four years through the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation.
The training will cover sectors including Information Technology, automobile, apparel designing, beauty and wellness, embroidery and agriculture.
The programmes will be implemented across all districts of Tamil Nadu with the objective of promoting self-employment, improving employment opportunities and raising the living standards of minority families.
The measures announced by the state government cover education and financial support for Muslim girls and women, infrastructure for higher education, development of income-generating community properties and skill training for minority youth.