Archive · 1 Sep 2026
Maharashtra Appoints Sunetra Pawar to Minority Institute Amid Funding Concerns
Maharashtra created the Minority Research and Training Institute to help minority communities.
The government has now appointed Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar to lead it.
Madhuri Misal will be the vice-chairperson.
Several senior department secretaries will also serve on its governing board.
The institute was established in 2024.
Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh says it has not received enough money.
He says its training programmes have not yet started.
He wants MRTI to receive funding similar to other state institutes.
The government’s appointments are intended to help organize the institute’s work.
Maharashtra appointed Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar chairperson of the Minority Research and Training Institute.
Minister of State Madhuri Misal was named vice-chairperson of the institute’s governing board.
The board also includes secretaries from Social Justice, Other Backward Classes and Minority Development departments.
Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh criticized MRTI’s funding and alleged discriminatory treatment by the state government.
Shaikh said MRTI received Rs6 crore, while comparable institutes reportedly receive Rs300 crore each annually.
- Who
- Deputy Chief Minister and Minority Affairs Minister Sunetra Pawar was appointed chairperson; Madhuri Misal was appointed vice-chairperson. Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh raised funding concerns.
- What
- Maharashtra created the governing board of the Minority Research and Training Institute and appointed its leadership.
- When
- The board was announced on Monday, nearly one-and-a-half years after MRTI was established in 2024.
- Where
- Maharashtra, with the report datelined Mumbai.
- Why
- MRTI was established to support minority communities through research, competitive-examination preparation and skill-development programmes; Shaikh wants it adequately funded and operational.
Funding Critics
State Government Position
Adequacy of funding
Funding Critics
Rais Shaikh says MRTI is being treated discriminatorily because it received Rs6 crore, compared with Rs300 crore annually for BARTI, SARTHI and MAHAJYOTI.
State Government Position
The state government has established MRTI’s governing board and appointed its leadership, but the articles do not provide a response to Shaikh’s funding allegations.
Speed of implementation
Funding Critics
Shaikh says no significant progress has been made in nearly one-and-a-half years and that training programmes have yet to begin.
State Government Position
The government’s new appointments and governing board provide an administrative structure for MRTI, although the articles do not state when programmes will start.
- Institute
- Minority Research and Training Institute (MRTI)
- Chairperson
- Sunetra Pawar, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Minority Affairs Minister
- Vice-chairperson
- Madhuri Misal, Minister of State for Minority Development
- Establishment
- MRTI was established in 2024.
- Reported MRTI allocation
- Rs6 crore at the time of establishment, according to Rais Shaikh.
- Comparable institute funding
- BARTI, SARTHI and MAHAJYOTI reportedly receive Rs300 crore each annually, according to Shaikh.
- Operational status
- Shaikh said MRTI had not begun its training programmes and that registration under the Companies Act remained pending.