Jammu Kashmir Among Top Beneficiaries of Minority Welfare Loans as Centre Details National Schemes, Fund Utilisation

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has emerged as one of the leading recipients of concessional loans under the Union government’s minority welfare initiatives, with Rs 120.34 crore disbursed over the past three financial years through the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC). According to data presented in the Lok Sabha by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, this places the Union Territory among the top five regions in terms of financial support, behind Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.

The figures come as part of the Centre’s response to a parliamentary question on minority welfare schemes, which also highlights that Ladakh received Rs 1 crore during the same period. The funds were channelled through state-level agencies to provide concessional loans for income generation and educational support, targeted at backward sections within six centrally notified minority communities: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, and Jains.

In addition to NMDFC loans, Jammu and Kashmir benefited from allocations under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK), a centrally sponsored scheme aimed at building health, education, and skill development infrastructure in minority-concentrated areas. Ladakh too received Rs 15.98 crore for community projects, underscoring the growing reach of these initiatives across the Union Territories.

The ministry emphasised that PMJVK is demand-driven, with funds released only when states and UTs follow the Public Financial Management System guidelines to ensure proper utilisation and transparency. PMJVK now applies to all districts nationwide, allowing proposals for areas where the minority population exceeds 25 percent within a 15-kilometre radius.

For skill development, the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) scheme has consolidated five earlier programmes into one umbrella plan. This includes non-traditional and traditional training, women’s leadership initiatives, credit linkages, and infrastructure development. Between 2023 and 2025, PM VIKAS saw a combined allocation of over Rs 545 crore, and a project under this scheme has been sanctioned to the Indian Institute of Information Technology in Kottayam, Kerala.

On the educational front, the government confirmed that pre-matric, post-matric, and merit-cum-means scholarships, earlier implemented through the National Scholarship Portal, have not been approved beyond 2021-22. The scholarship amount was previously credited directly into students’ bank accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer system.

Nationally, Kerala topped the list of concessional loan disbursements under NMDFC with Rs 975.75 crore over three years, followed by West Bengal at Rs 1,024.55 crore, Tamil Nadu at Rs 190.83 crore, and Maharashtra at Rs 76.15 crore. Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana also figured prominently with double-digit crore disbursements.

The ministry clarified that no state-specific financial targets were fixed for PM VIKAS and other central sector schemes, with funds released based on project proposals, demand, and repayment status of earlier loans. It also ruled out the introduction of new schemes but stressed that ongoing initiatives are designed to ensure “socio-economic empowerment of economically weaker and lesser-privileged sections of minority communities”.

The eligibility criteria for NMDFC loans include an annual family income cap of Rs 3 lakh under Credit Line-1 and Rs 8 lakh under Credit Line-2 for higher quantum loans. Beneficiaries are identified through state channelising agencies, with loan amounts linked to demand and field-level assessments.

With Jammu and Kashmir showing significant utilisation of concessional loans and infrastructure funding, the ministry’s data suggests that the region is emerging as a focal point for minority welfare interventions, even as southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu continue to dominate the national disbursement figures.