1. What is 15 points program?
2. What are the 15 points?
3. What are the objectives of this program?
4. Who are the target groups?
5. What are the schemes?
6. Equitable availability of ICDS Services
7. Improving access to School Education
8. Modernizing Madarsa Education
9. Self-Employment and Wage Employment for the poor
10. Enhanced credit support for economic activities
11. Recruitment to State and Central Services
12. Equitable share in rural housing scheme
13. Prevention of communal incidents
14. Prosecution for communal offences
15. Rehabilitation of victims of communal riots

What is 15 points program?

• A programme by Indian government
• Started in 2006 for welfare of minorities.

What are the 15 points?

1. Equitable availability of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
2. Improving access to School Education
3. Greater resources for teaching Urdu
4. Modernizing Madarsa Education
5. Scholarships for meritorious students from minority communities
6. Improving educational infrastructure through the Maulana Azad Education Foundation.
7. Self-Employment and Wage Employment for the poor
8. Upgradation of skill through technical training
9. Enhanced credit support for economic activities
10. Recruitment to State and Central Services
11. Equitable share in rural housing scheme
12. Improvement in condition of slums inhabited by minority communities.
13. Prevention of communal incidents
14. Prosecution for communal offences
15. Rehabilitation of victims of communal riots.

What are the objectives of this program?

• Enhancing opportunities for education for minorities. 
• economic activities and employment, through existing and new schemes, enhanced credit support for self-employment, and recruitment to State and Central Government jobs.
• share for them in infrastructure development schemes
• Prevention and control of communal disharmony and violence.
• It also provides that, wherever possible, 15% of targets and outlays under various schemes should be earmarked for minorities.
• term ‘substantial minority population’ in the 15 Point Programme applies to such districts/sub-district units where at least 25% of the total population of that unit belongs to minority communities.

Who are the target groups?

• Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis)

What are the schemes?

Equitable availability of ICDS Services

• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme is aimed at holistic development of children and pregnant/lactating mothers from disadvantaged sections, by providing services through Anganwadi Centres
• supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-up, referral services, pre-school and non-formal education.

Improving access to School Education

• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme
• Greater resources for teaching Urdu
• Central assistance will be provided for recruitment and posting of Urdu language teachers in primary and upper primary schools

Modernizing Madarsa Education

• provides basic educational infrastructure in areas of concentration of educationally backward minorities
• Scholarships for meritorious students from minority communities
• pre-matric and post- matric

Self-Employment and Wage Employment for the poor

• Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY), the primary self-employment programme for rural areas, has the objective of bringing assisted poor rural families above the poverty line by providing them income generating assets through a mix of bank credit and Governmental subsidy.
• certain percentage of the physical and financial targets under the SGSY will be earmarked for beneficiaries
• Swarn Jayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojana (SJSRY) consists of two major components namely, the Urban Self-Employment Programme (USEP) and the Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP).
• certain percentage of the physical and financial targets under USEP and UWEP will be earmarked to benefit people below the poverty line from the minority communities.
• Sampurna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) is aimed at providing additional wage employment in rural areas alongside the creation of durable community, social and economic infrastructure.
• Since the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) has been launched in 200 districts, and SGRY has been merged with NREGP in these districts, in the remaining districts, a certain percentage of the allocation under SGRY will be earmarked for beneficiaries belonging to the minority communities living below the poverty line till these districts are taken up under NREGP
• Upgradation of skills through technical training
• ertain proportion of all new ITIs will be located in areas predominantly inhabited by minority communities

Enhanced credit support for economic activities

• National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC) was set up in 1994 with the objective of promoting economic development activities among the minority communities.
• It will be ensured that an appropriate percentage of the priority sector lending in all categories is targeted for the minority communities.

Recruitment to State and Central Services

• Large scale employment opportunities are provided by the Railways, nationalized banks and public sector enterprises. In these cases also, the concerned departments will ensure that special consideration is given to recruitment from minority communities.
• to provide coaching in government institutions as well as private coaching institutes with credibility.

Equitable share in rural housing scheme

•  
• certain percentage of the physical and financial targets under IAY will be earmarked for poor beneficiaries from minority communities living in rural
• slums inhabited by minority communities
• Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM),

Prevention of communal incidents

• In the areas, which have been identified as communally sensitive and riot prone, district and police officials of the highest known efficiency, impartiality and secular record must be posted.
• prevention of communal tension should be one of the primary duties of the district magistrate and superintendent of police.

Prosecution for communal offences

• Special court or courts specifically earmarked to try communal offences should be set up so that offenders are brought to book speedily. 

Rehabilitation of victims of communal riots

• Victims of communal riots should be given immediate relief and provided prompt and adequate financial assistance for their rehabilitation.