On 30th September 2023, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the Ministry of Education(MoE) and the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), launched the Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav and inaugurated the two-day Technology & Bharatiya Bhasha summit in New Delhi, Delhi.
- The 2-day summit, held from 30th September to 1st October 2023, was organised as a part of the 75-day Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav that commenced on 28 September 2023 and will conclude on 11 December 2023.
- An exhibition was also set up to showcase Bharatiya Bhasha technology products, and their applications by the industries, government organizations, and start-ups.
Note: Significant book by various officials were presented to dignitaries symbolizing the rich literary heritage of Bharatiya languages and students of Kendriya Vidyalaya shared their experiences in 22 different languages.
Organisers:
The summit was organised by the MoE, MSDE, and their constituent institutions such as the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), University Grants Commission (UGC), National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Centre for Vocational & Technical Education (NCVTE), National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE), Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBS) and others.
About the Summit:
The Summit aims to enable a seamless transition from the current education ecosystem to one rooted in Bharatiya languages, in line with the National Education Policy(NEP) 2020 vision and paves the way for a technologically driven future in Bharatiya language education.
Thematic Sessions:
The Summit encompassed 3 thematic sessions:
- Technology FOR Bharatiya Languages;
- Technology IN Bharatiya Languages, and
- Technology THROUGH Bharatiya Languages.
These themes will emphasise the integration of technology in promoting Bharatiya Bhasha (according to NEP-2020).
Note: Technology’s role in teaching-learning of Bharatiya languages, the use of Machine Learning, and language modeling for speech recognition, and Unicode standardization for Bharatiya language scripts were also discussed under the theme of Technology FOR Bharatiya Languages.
Roadmap in the Summit:
During the two-day summit, a road map for achieving the vision of education in Bharatiya Languages was prepared for implementation by all stakeholders in the field of education.
- The active participation from stakeholders across various sectors, including academia, students, research scholars, edutech and infotech industry professionals, technical experts, media representatives, and freelancers.
Bharatiya Bhasha Divas:
i.The Government of India has proposed to celebrate the birthday of renowned Tamil poet and freedom fighter Mahakavi Subramania Bharati as Bharatiya Bhasha Divas on 11 December.
- 11th December (1882) commemorates the birth anniversary of Subramania Bharati.
Highlights of the Summit:
iThe integration of technology offers an opportunity to contextualize and preserve India’s knowledge system.
ii.The summit aims to promote discussions on language for technology, language in technology, and language through technology, paving the way for a robust ecosystem for Indian languages.
- One-third of the world’s coders hail from India. This underscores India’s prowess in technology and innovation on the global stage.
iii.NEP 2020’s inclusion of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) recognizes the fundamental significance of language development in education.
iv.Students were emphasised to grasp technology, particularly regenerative Artificial Intelligence (AI), as a powerful tool to break down language barriers and enhance learning experiences.
v.Discussions were held on agendas like “Leverage Technology for Bharatiya Languages”, “Operating Systems and Software Localization”, “Search Engine Localization” and more.
Recent related news:
On the occasion of World Youth Skills Day 2023 (15th July 2023), Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE) launched a free online training programme on Artificial Intelligence (AI), “AI for India 2.0“.
About Ministry of Education (MoE):
Union Minister– Dharmendra Pradhan (Rajya Sabha Madhya Pradesh)
Ministers of State– Annpurna Devi (Constituency- Kodarma,Jharkhand); Dr. Subhas Sarkar (Constituency- Bankura, West Bengal); Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (Constituency- Inner Manipur, Manipur)
