Karnataka Assembly Tables Bill Requiring 60% Kannada Usage In Business Signboards

The bill, titled the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to amend the existing 2022 Act.

Earlier, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot returned the ordinance to the state government late last month, advising it to present the amendment as a bill before both houses of the State Legislature for approval.

Source : X/@ThaawarchandGehlot

A bill was introduced in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, proposing a requirement for businesses and establishments to use Kannada in 60 percent of their signboards on Tuesday. The bill, titled the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to amend the existing 2022 Act.

An amendment is proposed to ensure that commercial, industrial, and business establishments, as well as trusts, counseling centers, hospitals, laboratories, amusement centers, and hotels, among others, operating with government or local authority approval and sanction, prominently display 60 percent of their signage in the Kannada language. The bill specifies that Kannada must occupy the upper half of the name board.

Additionally, the bill seeks to amend the Act to designate the Director of the Directorate of Kannada and Culture as a Member, and the Secretary of the Kannada Development Authority as the Convener of the "State Level Committee." This committee will serve as an enforcement authority for the implementation of the official language.

On January 5, Karnataka Cabinet approved an ordinance to amend the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act, which mandates the increased use of the state's language in signage.

Presently, the law mandates the use of Kannada language in the upper half of signboards displaying business names.

In response to violent protests by pro-Kannada organizations targeting certain businesses and establishments in Bengaluru for not giving sufficient prominence to Kannada, the government opted for the ordinance route.

However, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot returned the ordinance to the state government late last month, advising it to present the amendment as a bill before both houses of the State Legislature for approval. This decision was made because the notification for convening the legislative session had already been issued.

The Budget session of the Karnataka Legislature commenced on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on February 23.