Parliament Monsoon Session: Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, said that the NDA-led Central government has taken several steps to promote the use of Hindi, the official language of the Union Government, in various ministries and departments and educational institutions.
While speaking in the Lower House, Rai said that the central government has conducted training for the Hindi language or translation and usage of Computer to personnel of various ministries, departments, and government institutions. Technical tools have been developed and implemented, he further stated.
The MoS Home stated that the Central Hindi Committee, Parliamentary Official Language Committee, Hindi Advisory Committees, and Town Official Language Implementation Committees have been formed to promote and monitor the use of the official language Hindi.
Besides this, the progressive use of Hindi is also monitored through eight regional implementation offices of the Official Language Department, he underlined.
The Ministry of Education is also committed to ensuring compliance with all the provisions of the Official Languages Act, 1963, and Official Languages Rules in all its institutions, commissions, universities, boards, organisations, and committees, Rai said.
The MoS mentioned that there are other incentive schemes, such as Rajbhasha Kirti, Rajbhasha Gaurav, and Regional Official Language Award Schemes, by the Department of Official Language to speed up the implementation of Hindi as the official language.
In his reply, Nityanand Rai said that as per the provisions of the Indian Constitution, Hindi is the official language of the Union Government, and for its promotion and implementation, the Official Languages Act, 1963, and Official Languages Rules, 1976 (as amended in 1987, 2007, and 2011) have been enacted. He added that the government has always been committed to following the constitutional provisions regarding the official language.
The Official Languages Act provides for the languages that may be used for the official purposes of the Union, for the transaction of business in Parliament, for Central and State Acts, and for certain purposes in High Courts.