Approval Accorded for Infrastructure Development in Uttarakhand

• 20 Mar 2024

Why in News?

Recently, the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) has allocated Rs. 101.27 Crore to Uttarakhand government for the development of Educational Infrastructure.

Key Points

• The Educational institutes would cater to 1,05,818 Lakh population out of which more than 25% belongs to the minority communities.
• Acknowledging the importance of inclusive and holistic infrastructure during the complete educational journey of students, MoMA has approved these projects for the Educational infrastructure development in colleges.
• These facilities signify the importance of higher education, thereby reverberating the contribution of higher education in development of analytical mindset, skill development, career advancement etc., leading to academic and professional growth of youth of the state.

Constitutional Provisions for Minority

• Article 29:
  • It provides that any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same.
  • It grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities.
  • However, the SC held that the scope of this article is not necessarily restricted to minorities only, as use of the word ‘section of citizens’ in the Article includes minorities as well as the majority.
• Article 30:
  • All minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
  • The protection under Article 30 is confined only to minorities (religious or linguistic) and does not extend to any section of citizens (as under Article 29).
• Article 350-B:
  • The 7th Constitutional (Amendment) Act 1956 inserted this article which provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President of India.
  • It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the Constitution.