Artisan clusters in Muslim-dominated areas to be developed

New Delhi, Nov 8 (UNI) The Government will develop a number of artisan clusters in Muslim-dominated areas in an integrated and focused manner, as recommended by the Sachar Committee, it was announced today.

The plans for the development of clusters were finalised at a meeting to review the progress made in the implementation of the Prime Minister's New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities and the follow-up action, approved by the Government, in response to the recommendation of the Sachar Committee, a PMO press release said.

The meeting was taken up by Mr T K A Nair, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, with the ministries concerned on the directions of Dr Singh.

It was felt that the pace of implementation, especially of decisions taken in education and extension of credit facilities, needed to be stepped up.

Some encouraging results were noted in the trend of the representation of minorities in Government, particularly in the para-military forces, the release said.

UNI