Maharashtra Assembly Election: Mahayuti Govt Announces Welfare Schemes For Minorities

In a bid to woo the Muslim minority and backward communities ahead of the high-stakes Assembly elections, the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra announced several key initiatives during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday.

One of the major decisions was to increase the salaries of madrasa teachers under the Zakir Hussain Madrasa Modernisation Scheme.

Photo Credit: PTI

Primary madrasa teachers with D.Ed qualifications will now receive Rs 16,000 per month, up from Rs 6,000, while secondary teachers holding B.Ed degrees will see their salaries rise from Rs 8,000 to Rs 18,000.

This scheme promotes the inclusion of modern subjects such as Science, Mathematics, Sociology, English, Marathi, Hindi, and Urdu alongside traditional religious studies.

Besides this, the state government also approved a proposal to raise the working capital of the Maulana Azad Financial Corporation from Rs 600 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. This increase is aimed at providing more financial assistance to the minority community for various purposes.

In another crucial decision, the cabinet gave the green light to the formation of welfare cooperative boards for several communities, including Shimpi, Gavali, Lad Shakiya-Wani, Lohar, and Nam Panth.

Each board will be allocated Rs 50 crore in investment capital to support social and community activities.

The government also passed a resolution requesting the Union government to raise the income ceiling for the 'non-creamy layer' category from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 15 lakh per year, enabling a greater number of individuals to benefit from reservation policies under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.

In a noteworthy move for the Scheduled Caste community, the Maharashtra cabinet approved a draft ordinance granting constitutional status to the Maharashtra State Scheduled Caste Commission.

The ordinance, which will be tabled during the next legislative session, includes the creation of 27 new positions within the commission.