Telangana’s Minorities Welfare Department (MWD) saw an increase in budgetary allocations, a chunk of which was spent on education and educational schemes.
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According to data obtained by means of the Right to Information Act, at the time of the State’s formation, the MWD was allocated ₹1,030 crore. There was a steady increase through FY 2015-16, FY 2016-17, 2017-18, and FY 2018-19 with ₹1,160.40 crore, ₹1,200 crore, ₹1,226.11 crore, and finally, ₹1,973.41 crore.
However, there was a slight drop in allocations in FY 2019-2020, with ₹1,344 crore, but in the subsequent year, the allocation rose to ₹1,513.45 crore.
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FY 2016-17 marked the allocation towards the government’s flagship welfare scheme for minorities, the Telangana Minorities’ Residential Educational Institutions Society (TMREIS). Substantial allocations have been made for TMREIS since its inception. The society now runs 204 schools and an equal number of junior colleges. At present, over 1.36 lakh students study in these educational institutions spread across the State.
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Given that TMREIS began with about 71 schools, in its first year, the allocation was ₹350 crore, which consistently increased with each year. The subsequent year saw ₹425 crore being allotted. The allocation peaked in FY 2018-19 with ₹735 crore being given to TMREIS. But here, the release was only around ₹331 crore. Additional allocations for the construction of high quality school buildings were also made.
As of March last year, the Telangana government’s other education scheme to equip minorities with higher education saw 1,300 students traveling to foreign locales to pursue courses of their dreams. The Chief Minister’s Overseas Scholarship Scheme for Minorities however, saw a disproportionate representation of men compared to women, only 290. As much as ₹269.44 crore was spent during the corresponding period.
Another prominent scheme called ‘Shaadi Mubarak’ too, received handsome allocations. While nearly ₹1,900 crore was allocated since the formation of Telangana, the expenditure was made in full. Data shows that as of November last year, more than 2.2 lakh applicants had registered and funds were disbursed to 2.11 lakh beneficiaries. In FY 2021-22 alone, a sum of ₹298.20 crore was disbursed to a total of 29,887 beneficiaries.