New Delhi, October 13: Meritorious Muslim girls who complete their graduation before marriage would get Rs 51,000 from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Centre under the Shaadi Shagun scheme. The Ministry of Minority Affairs approved the proposal put forward by Maulana Azad Education Foundation.
The scheme aims to encourage higher education, reported News 18. Those who have availed the Begum Hazrat Mahal scholarship (BHMS) which is funded by Maulana Azad Education Foundation are entitled to avail the benefits of this scheme that would be introduced as a top-up. In the BHMS, meritorious girls belong to minority communities like: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis.
Parents of girls earning Rs 2 lakh per year cannot avail benefits of Shaadi Shagun scheme.
Shakir Hussain Ansari, Treasurer of the Maulana Azad Education Foundation, said that families of Muslim girls and minority community are always puzzled about their daughter’s marriage and education and most of them save money to spend on daughter’s wedding, not for education purpose.
The foundation plans to explain the details about the scheme to all on its online portal.
Scholarships for the weaker section in minority communities was introduced in 2003 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Before this, the meritorious girls belonging to the minority community were given a stipend of Rs 12,000 on monthly basis until class 12.
