CHENNAI: The state government has set up the Tamil Nadu Linguistic Minorities Social and Economic Development Corporation to facilitate access to various government services. The corporation will also take steps for preservation and promotion of the languages.
Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Urdu and Saurashtra speaking people are the major linguistic minorities in the state. Census 2011 shows the state has 83.84 lakh linguistic minorities, which is11.63% of the total population. “The chief minister announced formation of the corporation to give special focus to the requirements of the linguistic minorities in the state,” said BC, MBC and minorities welfare principal secretary B Chandra Mohan.
The corporation would lead the efforts towards protecting, promoting andimproving the socio-economic conditions of the linguistic minorities, said the officer, adding that it was a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country. The corporation would act as a nodal agency to implement and channelise government policies and programmes, carry out advocacy for protection of minority rights and ensure access to benefits.
To run the business, the government set up a 16-member board of directors for the corporation comprising representatives of various departments, including finance, industries and commerce and cooperative societies. One of the objectives of the corporation is to promote access to education, including promotion of establishment of educational institutions, focusing on the needs of the linguistic minorities.
Individuals or groups would be aided by way of loans and advances. The corporation will promote schemes, including micro finance, self-employment and other ventures like startups in sectors like IT and other technology-led interventions, an order said. The move follows a proposal by the director of minorities welfare in December, raising a range of issues concerning the linguistic minorities in the state.
Linguistic minorities face many problems including inability to access education in a languageof their choice,under representation in employment, business, and inadequate access to economic opportunities. The poor offtake of schemes among linguistic minorities is a matter of concern, said the order. It has therefore been proposed to set up a separate corporation that can mobilise loans from institutions, including commercial banks for onwardlending tothebeneficiaries. The revenue department will issue certificates for linguistic minorities to avail benefits under various schemes.
In 1999, the DMK had set up Tamil Nadu Minorities Economic Development Corporation by taking up interventions like employment generation schemes, skill and entrepreneurship development programmes, besides providing financial assistance to entrepreneurs.