From correspondents in Delhi, India, 11:32 AM IST

The government is sincere in its resolve to improve the lot of its mammoth Muslim minority, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared Friday.

'I am happy to say that we are sincerely implementing most of the recommendations of the Justice (Rajinder) Sachar Committee Report on social, economic and educational empowerment of our Muslim community,' he said in his address from the Red Fort on the country's 62nd Independence Day.

With about 140 million Muslims, India is home to the world's third largest Islamic population after Indonesia and Pakistan. The Sachar committee studied in detail the areas where Muslims are backward vis-a-vis other communities.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)