Ministry of Minority Affairs, Govt. of India Launches Central Sector Scheme Nai Manzil. As of now, 98,712 beneficiaries have been trained under the Nai Manzil scheme, with over 50% being women.
Introduction
The Ministry of Minority Affairs has launched a new scheme to benefit minority youth who lack a formal school leaving certificate. The scheme, known as Nai Manzil, is aimed at providing formal education and skills development to help the beneficiaries seek better employment and livelihoods.
The Scheme “Nai Manzil” aims to benefit the youth (both men & women) belonging to six notified minority communities of 17-35 years of age, who do not have formal school leaving certificate, i.e., those in the category of school –dropouts or educated in community education institutions like Madrasas.
Funding
The scheme has received 50% funding from the World Bank. The grants for the scheme are not released to State Governments but to the Project Implementing Agencies.
Beneficiaries
Education
The scheme provides a combination of formal education (Class VIII or X) and skills to enable beneficiaries seek better employment and livelihood. The Scheme is implemented through selected Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) which are empanelled through an open transparent process by inviting Expression of Interest (EOIs) for organizations.
As of now, 98,712 beneficiaries have been trained under the Nai Manzil scheme, with over 50% being women. 30% of the beneficiary seats are earmarked for girl/women candidates and 5% of the beneficiary seats for persons with disability belonging to the minority community under the scheme.
Statement from Union Minister of Minority Affairs
The Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, gave a written reply in the Lok Sabha regarding the progress of the scheme.
The number of beneficiaries of non-residential programme of 9-12 months duration involving a Basic Bridge Programme for their education and beneficiaries, who are provided placement and post placement support under Nai Manzil scheme since inception of the scheme till date, State-wise are attached as Annexure:
Nai Manzil Scheme – Number of beneficiaries and beneficiaries provided Placement support and post placement:
| S. No. | State name | No. of beneficiaries allocated | No. of beneficiaries provided placement and post placement support |
| 1 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 413 | 337 |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | 826 | 525 |
| 3 | Arunachal Pradesh | 826 | 413 |
| 4 | Assam | 5504 | 2114 |
| 5 | Bihar | 9700 | 3126 |
| 6 | Chhattisgarh | 1940 | 575 |
| 7 | Delhi | 3880 | 547 |
| 8 | Goa | 413 | 306 |
| 9 | Gujarat | 2910 | 1399 |
| 10 | Haryana | 3323 | 1001 |
| 11 | Himachal Pradesh | 970 | 959 |
| 12 | Jammu and Kashmir | 7760 | 1930 |
| 13 | Jharkhand | 6915 | 1263 |
| 14 | Karnataka | 2353 | 415 |
| 15 | Kerala | 2065 | 1355 |
| 16 | Madhya Pradesh | 3736 | 908 |
| 17 | Maharashtra | 2622 | 829 |
| 18 | Manipur | 1383 | 360 |
| 19 | Meghalaya | 2766 | 118 |
| 20 | Nagaland | 826 | 18 |
| 21 | Odisha | 1239 | 413 |
| 22 | Punjab | 7184 | 2397 |
| 23 | Rajasthan | 2766 | 204 |
| 24 | Tamil Nadu | 2910 | 772 |
| 25 | Telangana | 5945 | 2918 |
| 26 | Tripura | 970 | – |
| 27 | Uttar Pradesh | 10920 | 5011 |
| 28 | Uttarakhand | 970 | 790 |
| 29 | West Bengal | 5945 | 3029 |
This information was given by the Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Conclusion
The Nai Manzil scheme is a step towards empowering the minority youth in India and providing them with the necessary tools to lead successful lives. The scheme has already had a positive impact on the lives of many beneficiaries and is expected to continue to do so in the future.
