Sachar Committee: Govt to create data base

New Delhi, Sep 1: A national Data Base about the social, economic and educational status of various communities will be set and an autonomous Assessment and Monitoring Authority will analyse the data so gathered to suggest appropriate policies to the Government.

The creation of the data base was one of the recommendations of the Sachar Committee set up by the Prime Minister to report on the state of Muslims.

The government yesterday informed Parliament about the measures being taken to implement the report.

As part of the effort to increase job opportunities for Muslims, the Government will come out with a rehabilitation package for innovative re-skilling and for upgrading the occupational structure in the wake of liberalisation.

Muslims had to bear the most the brunt of the economic reforms as they are by and large engaged in the unorganised sector of the economy.

The partcipation of the community in regular salaried jobs was much less than workers of other socio-religious categories.

While the participation of Muslim workers in production and sales related activities was higher, it was relatively low in professional, technical, clerical and to some extent managerial work.

Self-employment was the main source of income of Muslims, with most of them engaged in manufacturing and trade activities.

It is in this context that the rehabilitation package has been formulated.

Among other steps to address the problems of the comunity, the government said, a high-level committee had been constituted to review the Delimitation Act and the concerns expressed by the Sachar Committee regarding anomalies in the representation of Muslims had been considered by the committee.

Besides, civil rights centres will come up in universities beginning with central universities.

Also an Equal Opportunity Commission would be set up to look into the grievances regarding discrimination. An expert group will study and recommend the Commission's structure and functions.

UNI