Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK)

The Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, launched the Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) called Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK). The centrally sponsored scheme was implemented in 90 Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs) in India to resolve the issues in the development of socio-economic status of the Minority Concentration Areas (MCAs) by building better infrastructure such as school buildings, polytechnics, hospitals, primary health centers, laboratories, toilets, drinking water facilities, Anganwadi centers, roads, Pucca houses, etc. In order to intensify its goals on the targeted communities, it was restructured during 2013-2014. An analytical study was conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) with all the stakeholders to extend the MCDs and heighten the benefits of the targeted communities under the program. The program was revised, renamed and implemented as Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) during the 14^th Finance Commission Period.

Objective of PMJVK

The program which is put into operation in the selected Minority Concentration District Headquarters (MCD Hq), Minority Concentration Blocks (MCB), Minority Concentration Towns (MCT) and Clusters of Minority Concentration Villages (COV) aims at achieving the following objectives,

To enhance the social and economic status of the minority community by providing basic amenities to them.
To support the projects sanctioned under the MsDP program.
To generate employment opportunities to them and improve their standard of life.
To address the issue of gender imbalance in the MCDs and providing assistance to girls and women in obtaining better education and employment.
To provide additional assistance to the schemes implemented by the government by taking up the inventive projects for the development of the minorities.
To guarantee holistic development of the Minority Communities by utilising the 80% of the funds for the development of the projects related to education, health and skill and 30% - 40% of the funds to set up facilities for the women and girls belonging to the minority category.

Beneficiaries

As per the notifications mentioned under Section 2(c) of the National Commission of Minority Act, 1992, the minority people belonging to the following communities are eligible to claim assistance under the program:

Muslims
Sikhs
Buddhists
Zoroastrians and
Jains

Criteria for the Selection of Minority Concentration Areas (MCA)

The PMJVK program is being implemented in the Backward Minority Concentration Blocks (MCBs), Backward Minority Concentration Towns, Backward Minority Concentration Districts Headquarters (MCD HQs) and Backward Clusters of Minority Concentration Villages (CoV) where the minimum population of the minority communities must be 25% and the national revenue should be below-average level. The total population of the minorities should be above 25,000 and below 2 lakhs. As per the 2011 Census report from the 308 Districts of 32 States/UTs,

870 Minority Concentration Blocks (MCBs)
321 Minority Concentration Towns (MCTs)
The Government has shortlisted 109 Minority Concentration Districts HQs (MCD HQs) for the development activities under the program

Projects Covered

The projects under the PMJVK program are launched and executed by the State or Central Agencies through the well-established NGOs under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The Ministry encourages proposals from the below-listed categories to implement the Program in the Minority Concentration Areas (MCAs)
The State PSUs/State Govt. construction agencies, DRDA, CPSEs
Central Government Departments or organisations such as Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), National Waqf Development Corporation Limited (NAWADCO) etc.
Central Public Sector Enterprises
Central/State Universities such as General of Trainings (DGT), Maulana Azad Educational Foundation (MAEF) and
Armed Police Forces

The projects that are approved by the Ministry under the PMJVK are as follows:

Gap-filling projects from the already existing centrally sponsored schemes
Non-gap filling/innovative projects such as sadbhav mandap, residential school, smart class facility, hunar hub, market shed etc., are also taken into consideration under the PMJVK
Projects that promote skill development among the minority communities such as the establishment of extra classrooms, workshops, ITIs, polytechnics, working women hostels, colleges etc.
Constructing residential coaching academies in the State and Central Universities to strengthen their knowledge in appearing for competitive exams for different posts in the Government and Public Sector exams
Construction of IT firms to introduce Interactive White Board with Integrated Systems and Software for facilitating the teaching of modern subjects using modern technology
Establishment of Hunar Hubs to support the entrepreneurs to carry out the marketing promotional activities
Building market sheds to store agricultural products

Implementation

The Ministry has formulated separate committees at Block, Districts and State levels to plan, screen and sanction the projects under the PMJVK program.

Planning Committee
Block-level Committee (BLC)

A committee in all villages/blocks is established and clustered by the District Magistrate to formulate the plan of the MCB/CoV and monitor the implementation of the program at block levels. The Block Level Committee in liaison with the Panchayat Raj institutions analyses and creates a report to be submitted to the District Level Committee for evaluation.

District Level Committee (DLC)

DLC is formed at minority identified Districts by the Deputy Commissioner or Collector or District Mission Director to evaluate the proposals submitted by the Block Level Committee and channelise the funds allocated to the MCD HQ/MCBs/MCTs/COVs. The committee is responsible for identifying the locations in the districts for the implementation of the program and send in its recommendations.

State/UTs Level Committee (SLC)

The State Level Committee (SLC) is constituted by the Ministry in the identified States/UTs, to evaluate the projects submitted by the DLC are as per the guidelines of the PMJVK. SLC is responsible for submitting the socio-economic feasibility report including the details such as the drawbacks, program goals, strategies, outcomes and benefits, milestones, rough estimation of the project, location selected for the project, availability of land, estimated duration for the completion of the project, and monitor the assets created under the program. The proposed projects with the value of Rs.10 Crores and above are sent to the Implementation Committee.

Screening Committee

The screening committee formed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs screens the projects submitted by the SLC for any duplications and forwards it to the Empowering Committee for the implementation.

Empowering Committee

The Empowering Committee evaluates and approves the projects recommended by the SLC. It approves the implementing agencies, frame guidelines for the program and promotes policy changes for the smooth functioning of the program.

Funding Pattern

The funding pattern for the gap-filling projects would as per Centrally Sponsored Scheme guidelines, and it would be disbursed in two instalments of 50% each. On the utilisation of 60% of the first instalment or within the 12 months from the end of the financial year, the second instalment is released.
The funding pattern for the gap-filling innovative projects is shared between the Central and State Government with the 60:40 ratio, in case of non-hilly areas and 90:10 for North-Eastern and hilly States. The fund is released in three instalments of 30%, 30% and 40%. The second instalment is released after the utilisation of 50% of the State share and 50% of the Central share. After the complete disbursement of the State share and exploitation of the 50% of the Central share, the third instalment is disbursed.