The National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC) was incorporated on 30th September 1994, as a company not for profit, under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 (now Section-8 of Companies Act,2013). It is a National Level Apex Body for the benefit of Minorities as defined under the National Commission for Minorities Act 1992.The prime mandate of NMDFC is to provide concessional finance to the Minorities for self employment/ income generation activities. As per the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, the notified Minorities are Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists & Parsis. Subsequently, Jain community was also added into the list of notified Minority Communities in January 2014. Under NMDFC programe, preference is given to Artisans & Women.