Conditions are changing in 90 districts of India because of the developmental plans in the minority-majority districts.
These 90 districts were classified as MCD in 2008. It is a regional developmental initiative to remove the developmental deficiencies of minority concentrated areas by building and developing social infrastructure and providing basic amenities.
Muslims, Sikhs, Christ, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains have been identified as minority communities under section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minority Act, 1992. The actual name of this scheme is 'Multi-Sectoral Development Program for Minorities'.
The significance of this scheme, overseen by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, in the context of Muslims is heightened because of the high poverty rate among Indian Muslims.
While 53 per cent of Dalit men have jobs, only 48 per cent of Muslims have jobs. Similarly, 23 per cent of Dalit women are employed while the percentage of Muslim women is only 9.6 per cent.
According to the 2001 census, the literacy rate of the country is 64.80 per cent, while among Muslims it is only 59.10 per cent. Muslims are also becoming more ill on average because only 19 per cent of their homes have plumbing for clean drinking water. Now that the situation is extremely serious, it is clear that the Centre will also work to improve their situation.
Today, the multi-sectoral development program has completed 14 years and is beginning to show good consequences in lots of districts.
The 90 districts identified are mostly in Uttar Pradesh. In this plan, 21 districts have been identified here. Assam 13, West Bengal 12, Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh 7-7, Manipur 6, Jharkhand and Maharashtra 4-4, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Mizoram 2-2, Delhi, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar, Orissa 1-1 Districts. The scheme covers Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Sikkim and Ladakh. Along with this, 338 towns and 1228 blocks of class 1 are also listed in this scheme.