Education empowerment for minorities hit as only ₹3,350 crore allocated to Minority Affairs Ministry

The Union Budget has allocated the Ministry of Minority Affairs ₹3,350 crore for the financial year 2025-26, which is a 5% increase from the Budget Estimate of 2024-25 at ₹3,183.24 crore.

However, there is a sharp dip in budgetary allocation in education empowerment for minorities as the Budget for this year is ₹678.03 crore against the last year’s ₹1,575.72 crore.

There is a major hike of approximately ₹1,000 crore in grants-in-aid to States, which was increased from ₹527.12 crore in 2024-25 to ₹1,518.31 crore in 2025-26 but the Budget Estimate grants-in-aid to Union Territory governments was slashed from ₹30.06 crore in 2024-25 to ₹10.06 crore in 2025-26. The Revised Estimates for the two in 2024-25 remained ₹518.27 crore and ₹21.05 crore, respectively.

Schemes like pre- and post-matriculation scholarships, Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF), free coaching and interest subsidy on education loan comes under the total education empowerment of minorities. The revised Budget for these schemes remained ₹517.72 crore in 2024-25.

The education schemes for madrasas and minorities was slashed to just ₹0.01 crore in 2025-26 from ₹2 crore in 2024-25. The revised Budget for the same was ₹0.01 cr in 2024-25.

The government has also slashed the funds for the central sector schemes and projects that include education empowerment, skill development and livelihood, special programme for minorities and Prime Minister Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM-VIKAS) scheme. In 2024-25, the Budget for these was ₹2,120.72 crore, which was reduced to ₹1,237.32 crore in 2025-26. The revised Budget for these schemes in financial year 2024-25 was ₹770 crore.

In 2025-26, there is a significant hike in funds allotment for schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram. The Budget for the same was ₹910 crore in 2024-25 and it has now increased to ₹1,913.97 crore in 2025-26. The revised Budget for the same was ₹908.90 crore in 2024-25. The total umbrella programmes for the development of minorities also saw a significant hike from ₹912.90 crore in 2024-25 to ₹1,913.98 crore in 2025-26. The Revised Estimate for the same was ₹908.91 crore.