Indian Partition Refugee Assistance Scheme: UPSC Daily Important Topic | 14 April 2023

Indian Partition Refugee Assistance Scheme

✓The Central government scheme to provide financial assistance to over 5,000 Hindu and Sikh families who migrated to India from Pakistan’s West Punjab after the 1947 partition has faced several challenges.

✓Out of 5,764 eligible families, only 903 families have received the grant so far, with several claims being unable to process due to the lack of original documents such as refugee cards.

✓The scheme has also been affected by corruption allegations and demands for bribes from revenue officials.

✓Additionally, the division of the grant amount among several members of the family has resulted in a low payout for some families.

✓The J&K administration conducted special camps to help families apply for the grant, but many have not been able to produce the required documents.

✓The Ministry of Home Affairs reimburses the funds to the J&K administration based on the verification of records done by them, and the scheme has been extended till March 31, 2024, with ₹25 crore allotted for the scheme in the 2023-24 budget.