Students & Scholarships
Are you eligible?
Jains are one of six notified minority communities. What that gets you, what it does not, and how to get the certificate.
- 6
- notified minority communities
- 4
- states we list the certificate route for
Jain minority status
The Central Government notified the Jain community as a minority community on 27 January 2014, under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, vide F.No.1-1/2009-NCM. It was the sixth community to be notified, after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis), who were notified together on 23 October 1993.
How to cite it
Cite it as “Notification dated 27 January 2014 under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, issued vide F.No.1-1/2009-NCM”. Do not quote a specific S.O. number — the press release shows it as a blank placeholder, and we could not verify one.
The National Commission for Minorities states on its own homepage that “vide notification dated 27th January 2014, Jains were also notified as another minority community”, and a government release as recent as December 2024 lists the six notified communities including Jains.
The reference chain
1992
National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 — Section 2(c) is the provision under which communities are notified.
Official source23.10.1993
Five communities notified by the Ministry of Welfare, S.O. 816(E).
20.01.2014
The Union Cabinet approves including Jains. The Attorney General had opined that it “would neither be illegal nor unconstitutional”.
Official source27.01.2014
The Central Government notifies Jains as the sixth minority community.
Official source
What minority status does and does not do
What it does
- It makes you eligible for schemes that are targeted at notified minority communities — where such schemes are running.
- It is the basis for minority-quota admissions at institutions that hold minority status under Article 30(1).
- It gives you standing with the National Commission for Minorities and with your state minorities commission.
What it does not do
- It does not make you eligible for OBC, EBC, SEBC, EWS, SC or ST schemes. Those are separate categories with separate criteria — PM YASASVI and the Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj scholarship are the two most commonly confused.
- It does not guarantee that a minority-targeted scheme is currently accepting applications. See the finding at the top of this section.
- It does not by itself reduce your fees anywhere. A scheme has to exist, be open, and have you within its income ceiling.
Do you need a minority certificate?
For the central minority scholarship schemes: no. This is the single most-asked practical question and the answer removes a barrier most families assume exists.
“A self certified Community Certificate from the applicant who has attained 18 years of age and for others the Community Certificate certified by parent/guardian is required.”
Official Ministry of Minority Affairs FAQ, and the Post-Matric scheme guidelines at paragraph 11(iii)
Note the asymmetry that catches families out: your community declaration is self-certified, but your income certificate is not. That one has to come from a Competent Authority in your State or Union Territory government — in practice the Tehsildar, SDM or Revenue Department, through your state's e-district portal.
State minority schemes and institutional admission quotas set their own rules, and some of them do ask for a government-issued minority certificate. Check per scheme.
How to get one, if you are asked for one
There is no single national minority certificate. It is a state Revenue Department instrument, issued by a revenue officer — typically the Tehsildar, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, or the District Magistrate's office — and delivered through your state's e-district or single-window portal. Some states offer it as a named citizen service; several do not offer one at all.
States where a citizen minority certificate service is confirmed to exist
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Gujarat
- Karnataka
We could not confirm, from an official page, that a citizen minority certificate service exists in Maharashtra, Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh, nor the documents, fee or turnaround time in any state. On Maharashtra's Aaple Sarkar we found a minority service, but it is the Article 30(1) certificate for educational institutions — not for individual students. Search your state's e-district portal for “minority certificate”, and if nothing comes up, your Tehsildar or SDM office is the right place to ask.
State service portals
- MaharashtraAaple Sarkar
- MaharashtraMahaDBT
- GujaratDigital Gujarat
- Rajasthane-Mitra
- KarnatakaSeva Sindhu
- Madhya PradeshMP e-District
- —National services directory
Income ceilings, at a glance
The one document that is never self-certifiable is the income certificate, so it is worth knowing which ceiling applies before you queue for one.
| Scheme | Ceiling | Verified? |
|---|---|---|
| MoMA Post-Matric | ₹2,00,000 | From official guidelines |
| MoMA Pre-Matric | ₹1,00,000 | Commonly quoted, not verified — we are not asserting it |
| MoMA Merit-cum-Means | ₹2,50,000 | Commonly quoted, not verified — we are not asserting it |
| NMMSS | ₹3,50,000 | From official guidelines |
| PM-USP CSSS | ₹4,50,000 | From official guidelines |
| AICTE Pragati / Saksham | ₹8,00,000 | From official guidelines |
| Maharashtra minority scholarships | ₹8,00,000 | From official guidelines |
| MAMFDC education loan (Maharashtra) | ₹2,50,000 | From official guidelines |
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