Jains become sixth minority community

Keeping the general elections in mind, the UPA government has accorded minority status to the Jain community. The decision taken by the Union cabinet will benefit about 50 lakh people belonging to the Jain community who would be able to avail benefits in government schemes and programmes.

The Jains have become the sixth community to have minority status after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis.

Incidentally, the cabinet once again took the decision a day after the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi took up this issue with prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Keen to give Rahul Gandhi the credit for the decision, an eager Congress sent messages to media persons through SMSes.

Usually, cabinet decisions are disseminated either in a press briefing or through press releases on government websites. A group of Jains had met Rahul on Sunday to press for their long-standing demand for minority status and Rahul then spoke to Singh in their support.

Rail Tariff Authority

The cabinet also approved a proposal to constitute a Rail Tariff Authority (RTA) which will advise the Railway Ministry on fares.

The RTA is crucial for railways as it will recommend fare revision from time to time taking into account input cost and volatile market condition. However, the RTA’s recommendation will not be mandatory for railways.

—With input from agencies