Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme For The Welfare Of Minorities (2025)

Policy Update

Sivasankari Sridhar

Background

The Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities is a major national initiative of the Government of India aimed at ensuring equitable access to development for minority communities. Introduced to integrate minority welfare with mainstream development planning, the programme focuses on education, skill development, livelihood enhancement, security, and social empowerment.

It aligns with the government’s broader agenda of inclusive growth by ensuring that general welfare schemes benefit minority populations in proportion to their share and needs. The programme works across ministries, state governments, district administrations, and community-level institutions, enabling targeted interventions at the grassroots level.

The initiative addresses longstanding gaps in educational attainment, employment opportunities, healthcare access, and protection of minority communities from discrimination and marginalisation. It supports national missions such as Skill India, Digital India, and universal social protection schemes.

Functioning

The programme functions through a multi-component framework, broadly divided into education, skill development, infrastructure, social inclusion, and security-related support.

1. Education Enhancement

Expansion of scholarships for school, college, and higher-education students from minority communities.
Support for modernising traditional educational institutions, including providing teaching resources, training, and digital learning aids.
Implementation of school infrastructure improvements in minority-concentrated areas.
Encouraging enrolment and retention of minority girls through residential schooling, hostels, and special coaching programmes.

2. Skill Development and Livelihood Promotion

Vocational training and skill certifications for youth in high-demand sectors.
Entrepreneurship development initiatives with financial assistance and mentorship support.
Strengthening women’s livelihood groups and self-help collectives in minority clusters.
Linkages with national skilling and employment missions for long-term economic mobility.

3. Infrastructure Development in Minority Areas

Upgrading public services—roads, schools, healthcare centers, sanitation facilities—in minority-concentrated districts.
Improving access to housing, drinking water, and electricity under general schemes with priority coverage.
Establishing community development centers to improve outreach and service delivery.

4. Improving Access to Welfare and Social Protection Schemes

Ensuring minority beneficiaries’ inclusion in health insurance, pension, nutrition, and social security schemes.
Outreach drives through local authorities and civil society partners to raise awareness about entitlements.
Strengthening digital access to welfare programmes through common service centers and community facilitators.

5. Security and Social Harmony

Measures to prevent communal tensions and promote community-level peacebuilding.
Strengthening district-level mechanisms for monitoring law-and-order situations in sensitive areas.
Police sensitisation programmes to build trust and ensure fair enforcement.

While the programme has strong institutional design, periodic reviews highlight gaps in district-level implementation, uneven coverage across states, and limited public awareness of entitlements.

Performance

Recent updates from central ministries, parliamentary committees, and state-level departments indicate steady progress:

Education and Scholarships

A large number of students benefit annually from various scholarship categories.
Several thousand teachers have been trained under modernization programmes.
School and higher-education support initiatives have expanded to many districts with significant minority populations.

2. Skill Development and Livelihoods

Tens of thousands of youth have received skill training in diverse sectors.
Women’s livelihood programmes have gained attention in numerous minority-concentrated blocks.
Entrepreneurship schemes have supported a substantial pool of first-generation business owners.

3. Infrastructure Upgradation

Public facilities such as health centers, roads, and school buildings in minority areas have seen significant improvements.
Community development projects have enhanced service delivery across several underserved regions.

4. Access to Welfare Schemes

Awareness campaigns have enabled large-scale enrolment into national social protection schemes.
Digital outreach initiatives have supported beneficiaries in remote and rural minority clusters.

5. Social Cohesion and Security Measures

Peace committees and community forums have been activated across many districts, improving coordination and reducing tensions.
Training programmes for law-enforcement personnel have been implemented on a periodic basis.

However, limited real-time dashboards and variation in district-level reporting continue to restrict full transparency on performance metrics.

Impact

The programme has contributed to significant improvements in minority welfare across multiple sectors:

Educational Mobility: A substantial rise in scholarship-supported students has improved school retention and higher education participation. The modernisation of traditional educational institutions has increased academic quality and digital readiness.
Economic and Livelihood Gains: Skill development and entrepreneurship initiatives have enhanced employment prospects and supported income generation for youth and women in minority communities.
Improved Access to Basic Services: Infrastructure projects have strengthened access to essential services such as healthcare, sanitation, and schooling, especially in areas previously lacking basic amenities.
Enhanced Social Inclusion: Awareness and enrollment drives have enabled minority communities to access national welfare schemes more effectively, reducing socio-economic vulnerability.
Better Peace and Security Outcomes: Local-level coordination and sensitisation efforts have contributed to improved communal harmony and community relations in sensitive regions.

Despite these gains, implementation disparities across states, low community awareness in certain regions, and slow infrastructure execution remain persistent challenges.

Emerging Issues and Recommendations

Limited Awareness of Entitlements: Beneficiaries in remote areas often have low exposure to welfare schemes. Recommendation: Conduct sustained grassroots campaigns through local institutions and community workers.
Variation in State-Level Implementation: Progress differs widely across states and districts. Recommendation: Introduce performance-based incentives and uniform monitoring standards.
Infrastructure Execution Delays: Some projects face administrative and procurement-related delays. Recommendation: Streamline processes and strengthen district-level convergence mechanisms.
Skill–Employment Mismatch: Training programmes do not always align with market demands. Recommendation: Collaborate closely with industry partners to update training modules regularly.
Absence of Real-Time Dashboards: Public access to programme progress is limited. Recommendation: Launch a transparent, user-friendly dashboard for tracking district and sector-wise outcomes.
Need for Stronger Women-Focused Initiatives: Women in minority communities continue to face multiple barriers. Recommendation: Increase women-specific scholarships, skilling modules, and entrepreneurship support.

Way Forward

The Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme remains a central pillar for inclusive development in India. Strengthening implementation, improving monitoring systems, and expanding outreach will be critical for maximizing its long-term impact.

Aligning the programme with emerging policy frameworks—such as NEP 2020, new skilling missions, and digital governance reforms—can help create a more equitable and empowered environment for minority communities.

With sustained political attention, institutional coordination, and grassroots engagement, the programme can evolve into a comprehensive national framework for minority development.

References

Ministry of Minority Affairs. (2023). Annual Report 2022–23. Government of India.
https://minorityaffairs.gov.in

Press Information Bureau. (2023). Updates on minority welfare initiatives. Government of India.
https://pib.gov.in

Parliament of India. (2022). Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment Report. Lok Sabha Secretariat.
https://loksabha.nic.in

NITI Aayog. (2024). Social sector and inclusion reports. Government of India.
https://niti.gov.in

Ministry of Education. (2020). National Education Policy 2020. Government of India.
https://www.education.gov.in

About the Contributor

Sivasankari Sridhar is currently pursuing her bachelor’s in economics from Dr B.R Ambedkar School of Economics, Bangalore and is also a research intern at IMPRI.