- Why in news
- On 28 February 2026, the Ministry of Minority Affairs held the 2nd meeting of the Jiyo Parsi Advisory Committee in Mumbai. It discussed the falling Parsi population, early marriage support and the scheme's progress.
- What it is
- Jiyo Parsi is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs. It aims to reverse the decline in the Parsi population, a small community that is shrinking. It gives help for fertility treatment and for childcare, and funds awareness work.
- Type of scheme
- It is a Central Sector Scheme, run by the Union government and funded by it.
- Ministry
- The scheme is run by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, whose Secretary chaired the meeting.
- What it funds
- It supports medical help for fertility treatment, childcare assistance, advocacy and awareness, and community outreach.
- Who attended
- State minority welfare departments of Maharashtra and Gujarat, the Bombay and Gujarat Parsi Panchayats, and NMDFC were represented.
- NMDFC role
- NMDFC offers concessional loans and entrepreneurship support for startups, self-employment and skill-based enterprises.
Don’t confuse with Central Sector Scheme vs Centrally Sponsored Scheme: A Central Sector Scheme is fully funded and run by the Centre. A Centrally Sponsored Scheme is shared with states and run by them.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- It protects a very small minority community with a steeply declining population.
- It combines medical help with awareness and social support, not only cash.
Problems
- Causes such as delayed marriage and changing social patterns are social, so money alone has limited effect.
- The community is small and concentrated in a few places, so impact is hard to measure.
Way forward
- Strengthen counselling and matchmaking support through Parsi Panchayats and institutions.
- Link the scheme with economic support such as NMDFC loans for youth and women.
- 2019Mains GS2 · Q18Discuss why welfare schemes fail without awareness and beneficiary involvement.
- 2024Mains GS1 · Q7Explain demographic winter and whether the world is heading toward it.
- 2024Prelims Q41Defines total fertility rate as average live births per woman.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Central Sector Scheme on Parsi population decline. Lasting scheme, but this meeting adds few testable facts. Schemes are 16% of news-linked Prelims questions.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.