The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a new 15-point programme to prevent and control communal incidents and take care of minorities' welfare.
The Centre also decided to earmark 15 per cent of funds in various schemes and programmes for nationally declared minorities.
The programme has been recast to focus action sharply on issues intimately linked with the social, educational and economic uplift of minorities and provide for earmarking of outlays in certain schemes so that progress could be monitored, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said after a meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The revised programme is also aimed at taking care of prevention of communal riots, prosecution of communal offences and rehabilitation of riot victims.
Under the category of enhancing education opportunities, equitable availability of the Integrated Child Development Services, improving access to school education, greater resources for teaching Urdu, modernising Madrassa education, scholarship for meritorious students from minority communities and improving educational infrastructure through the Maulana Azad Education Foundation would be covered.
Self-employment and wage employment for the poor, upgrading skills through technical training, enhanced credit support for economic activities and recruitment to state and central services would be covered under the equitable share in economic activities category.
Under the category of improving the living conditions of minorities, subjects like equitable share in rural housing scheme and improvement in condition of slums inhabited by minority communities would be taken care of.
The existing 15-point programme for the welfare of minorities was formulated in May 1983 covering different aspects for action, commonly known as the 'Prime Minister's 15-point programme for the Welfare of Minorities".
