New Delhi: The government on Friday proposed a hike of 50 per cent in plan allocation for the next fiscal for the welfare of minority communities in India.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his budget speech said "I also propose to raise the plan allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs from Rs 1,740 crore to Rs 2,600 crore for the year 2010-11."
"I am happy to inform the honourable members that we are close to achieving the target of 15 per cent priority sector lending to minorities in the current year. This will be maintained for the next three years," he said.
With more than 150 million Muslims, India has the world's second-largest Muslim population after Indonesia. They comprise only 14 per cent of India's 1.1 billion people followed by Christians 2.3 per cent, Sikhs 1.87, Buddhists 0.77 and Jains 0.41 per cent.
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