Karnataka's Congress government yet to release major funds for Minority Welfare Programs
Despite Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s announcement of a 33% increase in the 2025–26 budget allocation for minorities, many flagship programs and schemes launched with much fanfare remain unfulfilled due to inefficient fund utilization by the Minority Welfare Department and poor fund allocation by the Government of Karnataka.
Important welfare programmes for minorities promised in the Chief Minister's budget speech 2025-26?
● An action plan for Rs. 1,000 crore prepared under Chief Minister’s Minority Colony Development Programme with multiple works to be implemented in the year 2025-26.
● Construction of multi-purpose halls across the state for the minority communities to organize cultural and social activities.
● A PU college with hostel facility to be started in Ullal for girl students belonging to minority communities.
● 16 new women's colleges in vacant plots of Waqf institutions to support higher education of minority women.
Major programs announced, but minor funds released
As per the minority department's own report till October, major welfare programs are yet to receive a significant portion of the fund that was allocated to the minorities.
● Out of the 715 crores allocated for the Chief Minister's Special Development Programme for Minorities, only 178.75 crores has been released, which amounts to just 25% of the total fund released.
● Similarly, out of the 400 crores allocated for the minority slum and colony development programme in urban areas, only 100 crores has been released, which again amounts to just 25% of fund released.
● For the construction of additional rooms to Moulana Azad Schools 100 crores was allocated, out of which just 50 crores has been released to the minority department.
Minority welfare department's failure to utilize available funds, who is to blame?
The government has been dragging its feet in releasing the promised funds for minority welfare while the Minority Welfare Department has miserably failed to effectively utilize even the limited funds received.
Such bureaucratic neglect and inefficiency is becoming a major roadblock in the social and economic progress of Karnataka’s minority communities. Here are few examples:
● The Vidyasiri scholarship scheme that aims to provide food and accommodation assistance to minority students, offering a stipend of Rs. 1,500 per month for 10 months had 50% fund released by the Government amounting to 25 crore. Shockingly, the utilization has been 0% till October.
● Under the scheme for providing quality education in madrasas, the minority department received 50% funds amounting to 17.5 crore. The utilization again has been 0% here.
● Out of the 178.75 crore received under Chief Minister's Special Development Programme for Minorities only 103 crores has been spent, The utilization here is 57.6%.
The Need to Introspect and correct before its late
With half the year already gone, the government is lagging behind in ensuring that the intended programmes for the upliftment of minorities get completed in the current year. Is this delay the result of poor planning, lack of accountability or deliberate inefficiency?
To set things right, there is a strong need for the government to introspect on what's going wrong, immediately release the complete fund and ensure 100% utilization.
It is also the duty of Karnataka State Minority Commission to monitor, study and ensure that all welfare programs for minorities are executed efficiently and achieve the desired outcomes.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
