Ahead of India’s Maharashtra parliamentary elections, the Mahayuti government recently increased subsidies to the Maulana Azad Minorities Financial Corporation (MAMFC) by ₹300 crore.

The company, an enterprise of the state government which works for the welfare of the economically disadvantaged minority sections of the state, offers loans for higher education and self-employment. The government has also doubled the remuneration of teachers providing their services to madrasas for the formal academic program under the Dr Zakir Hussain Madrasa Modernization Program.

“The state cabinet has decided to increase the capital of Maulana Azad Minorities Financial Corporation to ₹1,000 crore,” according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). Currently, MAMFC’s corpus stands at ₹700 crore. “We welcome the decision. The amount will be used to improve the lives of minority students,” said Mushtaq Antulay, president of MAMFC.

In a separate decision, the state increased the honoraria of D Ed and B Ed teachers who provide their services to madrasas. “For D Ed teachers, the remuneration has been increased to ₹16,000 per month from the current ₹6,000 per month. The fees of BA, B Ed, B Sc and B Ed teachers, who teach secondary subjects, will increase to ₹18,000 per month from the current ₹8,000 per month,” said a senior official of the state’s minority development department.

Under the modernization program of Dr Zakir Hussain Madrasa, teachers are appointed on contractual basis to provide formal education in subjects such as mathematics, science, sociology, Hindi, Marathi, English and Urdu, apart from the religious program. Formal education was introduced by the state government to modernize the madrasa education system.

The state minority development department has also decided to introduce a series of programs under the MAMFC. They include a 25% equity investment scheme, under which the company will provide up to 25% equity for a ₹5 lakh business, while the remaining sum will have to be provided by nationalized banks or others. The interest rate on the five-year loan is 4%.