The estimates of all-India labour force participation rate – defined as the percentage of persons in labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population – for females among major religious groups as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation during 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 are as under showing gradual increase of the same for the minoritiy communities:
| Religious group | PLFS 2021-22 | PLFS 2022-23 | PLFS 2023-24 |
| Hinduism | 26.1 | 30.5 | 33.3 |
| Islam | 15.0 | 14.2 | 21.4 |
| Christianity | 34.2 | 35.1 | 38.3 |
| Sikhism | 19.8 | 23.5 | 26.7 |
| All | 24.8 | 27.8 | 31.7 |
The Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) is a flagship Scheme of the Ministry which focuses on upliftment of six notified minorities through skill development; education support for school dropouts along with targeted focus on women through the entrepreneurship and leadership component. The scheme converges the five erstwhile schemes of the Ministry viz. Seekho aur Kamao, Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts Crafts for Development (USTTAD), Hamari Dharohar, Nai Roshni, and Nai Manzil.
Seekho aur Kamao scheme, started in 2014-15, targeted to upgrade the skills of minority youth (14-45 years) in various modern / traditional skills depending upon their qualification, prevailing economic trends, and market potential, that could earn them suitable employment or make them suitably skilled to take up self-employment. Under the scheme, over 2.69 lakh women were trained, which is 57.64% of the total beneficiaries.
USTTAD scheme started in 2015 and targeted capacity building and upgrading of the traditional skills of master craftsmen / artisans. Under the scheme, 19,255 women were trained, which is 89.10% of the total beneficiaries.
Nai Manzil scheme was under implementation from 2014-15 to 2020-21 with an objective to benefit the minority youth who do not have formal school leaving certificate. The scheme provided a combination of formal education (Class VIII or X) and skills and enabled the beneficiaries to seek better employment and livelihoods. Under the scheme, 54,233 women were trained, which is 54.94% of the total beneficiaries.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Minority & Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today
