Mumbai, April 4 – Shyama Prasad Roy, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Minority Affairs, assured the Parsi community on Saturday that the government would continue to support their welfare, even as the "Jiyo Parsi" portal recorded 300 new registrations during a camp held here, an official said.
The "Universal Parsi Registration Drive" special facilitation camp, organized by the Ministry of Minority Affairs with the support of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat in Mumbai, received an overwhelming response, according to a statement.
The new registrations during the camp marked a significant step towards strengthening outreach within the community, it said.
Launched in 2013-14, "Jiyo Parsi" is a flagship Central Sector Scheme aimed at addressing the declining population of the Parsi community.
According to the Ministry, the scheme seeks to stabilize and increase the Parsi population through structured interventions and scientific support.
The scheme provides medical assistance for fertility treatment and pregnancy-related care; support for community health, including financial assistance for childcare and the care of dependent elderly; and advocacy initiatives such as counseling, awareness campaigns, and outreach programs, the official statement said.
The assistance under the scheme is being provided to beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode after biometric authentication and other verifications by the respective state governments.
During the camp, Roy encouraged eligible beneficiaries to come forward and avail themselves of the scheme and urged registered members to share feedback to further strengthen its implementation.
The population of Parsis (Zoroastrians), a notified minority community under the National Commission of Minorities Act, 1992, has declined from 1,14,000 in 1941 to 57,264 in 2011, according to census data.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, an expenditure of Rs 17.64 crore was incurred, and 232 babies were born under the scheme, according to the Ministry's data.
An evaluation study of the scheme was conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in 2025. According to the report submitted by IIPS, the scheme has been largely successful in reaching its intended population, and there was near-universal acknowledgement among the respondents about the usefulness of the scheme in increasing the Parsi population.