Union Cabinet has decided to grant minority status to Jain community.
The status would help confer constitutional safeguards to Jains and make them eligible for welfare programmes of the minority affairs ministry.
The decision to this effect was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in New Delhi today.
The Jains will be the sixth community to have minority status after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi yesterday met the Prime Minister urging him to consider granting national minority status to Jains.