Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India

The Ministry of Minority Affairs is a ministry of the Government of India responsible for the regulatory framework and development programmes for minority communities in India. It formulates and implements policies, programmes, and schemes for the welfare and socio-economic development of the six notified minority communities: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis. The ministry administers several key initiatives including scholarship schemes, skill development programmes, and educational support through the Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF). MAEF, established in 1989, has distributed scholarships to over 230,000 girl students and sanctioned grants exceeding Rs 199 crores to NGOs for educational infrastructure development. The ministry operates multiple scholarship programmes at pre-matric, post-matric, and merit-cum-means levels, reaching millions of students annually through the National Scholarship Portal.