MoS Education Majumdar inaugurates UGC workshop on writing textbooks in Bharatiya Bhasha for higher education

New Delhi [India], July 16 : The Ministry of Education, the University Grants Commission and Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti launched three new initiatives to promote Bharatiya Bhasha in higher education. The launch took place during the workshop on "Writing of Textbooks in Bharatiya Bhasha for Higher Education." The workshop, organised by the University Grants Commission and Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, brought together vice-chancellors of nodal universities from across the country.
The Secretary, Higher Education, K. Sanjay Murthy, launched the "ASMITA" (Augmenting Study Materials in Indian Languages through Translation and Academic Writing) initiative, a UGC and Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti collaboration. This project aims to create a robust ecosystem for translation and original book writing in Indian languages across various disciplines within higher education. The goal is to produce 1,000 books in 22 languages within five years, resulting in 22,000 books in Bharatiya Bhasha.
The Secretary also launched "Bahubhasha Shabdakosh," which is a single point of reference for all the words in all Bharatiya languages and their meanings in Indian languages. This initiative will be developed by the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) in collaboration with Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti. This Shabdakosh will help in using Bharatiya words, phrases and sentences for various new-age domains like IT, industry, research, and education, he stated.
He expressed his appreciation for the National Education Technology Forum (NETF) that has been leading the initiative "Bharatiya Bhasha Ecosystem for Real Time Translation Architecture," which was also launched today in the workshop.
He commended the active participation of vice chancellors from nodal universities and their collaborating institutions in promoting book writing in Bharatiya Bhasha. He expressed confidence that these initiatives will significantly transform India's education system within the next five years.
He discussed the growing global interest in Bharatiya Bhasha. He outlined a vision with specialised centres, public awareness campaigns, and long-term policy frameworks. He emphasised the importance of effective use of technology to amplify the work of translation.
The Minister of State for Education, Dr Sukanta Majumdar, inaugurated this one-day workshop for Vice-Chancellors today held at the Indian National Science Academy, Delhi. The Minister emphasised the importance of languages in preserving cultural heritage, stating, "Languages are the carriers of our culture, heritage, and knowledge."
He highlighted India's rich linguistic diversity and the need for the education system to reflect it. He acknowledged the crucial role of Vice-Chancellors in driving this initiative by integrating Bharatiya Bhasha into curricula and encouraging academic writing and translation.
The Minister urged the Vice-Chancellors to work collaboratively and expressed hope that the workshop will pave the way for a future where Bharatiya languages and cultural heritage are celebrated through education.
Chairman, UGC, Prof M Jagadesh Kumar shed light on the initiative in detail. He said that the UGC, in collaboration with Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, will develop undergraduate textbooks in 12 Indian languages. This initiative aims to produce 1,800 textbooks covering Arts, Science and Commerce streams by June 2025.
He said that 13 nodal universities have been identified to lead this project, along with member universities from various regions. He highlighted that UGC has also created a standard operating process (SOP) for the book writing process in each assigned language. This SOP includes identification of nodal officers and authors, allocation of title, subject and programme, writing and editing, submission of the manuscript, review and plagiarism check, finalisation, designing, proof-reading and e-publication.
He said that "UGC is confident that this one-day workshop will pave the way to a historic day to begin this initiative.". Chairman, Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, Prof. Chamu Krishna Shastry, expressed his confidence in the nodal universities and the vice chancellors to take on this task of translating textbooks in Bharatiya Bhasha across all higher educational institutions.
The workshop was a resounding success in moving forward the initiative. The workshop brought together representatives from 13 nodal universities, each leading a dedicated group focused on a specific Bharatiya Bhasha--Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
Chaired by the respective vice chancellors of the nodal universities, these 12 groups engaged in brainstorming sessions and future planning for their assigned languages. The discussions resulted in the creation of detailed reports outlining the current status and future targets for textbook development in each language.
Following the Manthan Satra, the VCs presented their reports in a clear and concise manner using slides, providing valuable insights to the UGC and BBS. A final comprehensive report was compiled and submitted to the UGC, solidifying the workshop's achievements. The positive and productive atmosphere of the one-day lays the groundwork for the successful development of these critical educational resources.
A special question-and-answer session was also conducted, where participants asked their questions. Officials from the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), the Commission for Scientific & Technical Terminology (CSTT), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Kendriya Hindi Sansthan (KHS), Central Sanskrit University (CSU), and the Anuvadini Foundation were present to answer the queries.
Vice Chairman, UGC, Prof. Deepak Kumar Srivastava, and Secretary, UGC, Prof. Manish Joshi, expressed their appreciation to all the vice chancellors, nodal officers, participants, and officials who contributed to the success of the workshop. They reiterated the commitment of the UGC to providing all necessary support in this endeavour, ensuring the continued momentum of these initiatives.