In India, if a religious sect/community is given the status of a national minority, what special advantages it is entitled to? 1. It can establish and administer exclusive educational institutions. 2. The President of India automatically nominates a representative of the community to Lok Sabha. 3. It can derive benefits from the Prime Minister's 15-Point Programme. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Statement 1 is correct. Article 30(1) of the Indian Constitution grants all minorities, whether based on religion or language, the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. This is a fundamental right enjoyed by communities designated as minorities.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The President of India used to nominate two members from the Anglo-Indian community to the Lok Sabha if they were not adequately represented (Article 331). However, this provision was discontinued by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019. There is no general provision for the President to automatically nominate representatives of any national minority community to the Lok Sabha.

Statement 3 is correct. The Prime Minister's New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities is a government initiative aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of the disadvantaged sections of the notified minority communities. If a community is given national minority status, it becomes eligible to derive benefits from such targeted welfare programmes.

Therefore, statements 1 and 3 are correct, making option C the right answer.