New Delhi: ‘Khidmat’, a toll free Helpline for members of the minority communities to access the Government welfare programmes was launched by K. Rahman Khan, Union Minister for Minority Affairs on August 8. The toll free helpline can be accessed by dialing 1800-11-2001 and will be operational 9 am to 6 pm on all working days. Mr. Khan assured that the helpline would soon be made a 24×7 facility. The public can get information about several welfare programmes and lodge their complains. He hoped that the Helpline would enable the nation to realise the dream of inclusive growth of the father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. He said, that lack of information about the programmes/schemes among target population was one of the most important bottlenecks. Though for the last few years, the ministry regularly launched multi-media campaigns through print, electronic and new media, yet due to limited shelf life of such mediums, the reach of the programmes could not be maximized. The ministry came up with this dedicated Toll Free Helpline as it felt that the target population requires a platform where they can get up to date information in easy language through dialogue, and where most of the queries may be answered. It was also felt that people either do not have access to information available on website or find it difficult and tedious to surf the information on the website. Without adequate information about the ministry’s programmes among minorities, it would be very difficult for the ministry to achieve its goals and mission, he said.
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