Govt to Grant Rs 10 Cr Corpus Fund for Research in Odia Language

Bhubaneswar: The State government today announced a research grant for international and national research in Odia with a corpus of Rs 10 crore. The grant will be housed in the Odia University at Satyabadi in Puri district. Such a decision has been taken by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik based on the proposals passed in the World Odia Language Conference. It was announced by Culture Minister Aswini Patra in the State Assembly today. A host of other proposals will be taken up under the 5T initiative of the Chief Minister in a transparent and time-bound manner. As per the decision, an International Digital Odia conference will be organised annually to bring together experts to promote Odia language in the digital space. An expert committee will be formed for standardization of script for the
keyboard and font. This Committee will work within fixed time frame- and put-up suggestions for implementation. The Government will appoint exclusive Odia teachers in 1500 high schools to start with and then cover all high schools in a timebound manner. A syllabus revision committee will be constituted for Odia teaching in schools which will give suggestions in a regular manner for updating syllabus as per the need. A Heritage grant of Rs 1 Cr will be provided in two phases for all schools and colleges that are more than 100 years old and grant of Rs 2 Cr to such universities established before independence. Similarly, grant of Rs 2 crores will be given for preindependence Universities.This is to protect and promote our heritage in Odia education. “We will come out with a translation policy which will have a translation grant for translating Odia books to other languages of India and the world,” the minister said. An Odia Lexicon committee shall be formed whose purpose will be to come out with a revised lexicon and glossary of Odia terms across disciplines. A medium-term policy will be framed for promotion of science, Technical and Medical Education in Odia language. The government will come out with an incentive for the publication of need-based relevant and publications in Odia keeping current and future requirements. Specific initiatives will be taken up within a particular time frame for promotion of Odia language among the next generation. This will include 100 budding talents of Odia language to be identified and honored by the Chief Minister annually. The Bhasa Brudhi scholarships will also be increased in numbers and amounts to make it more inclusive.

A Chief Ministers’ Cup shall be instituted for debating in Odia among students. A public library movement will be taken up across the State to promote the reading habit among youth. Odia Associations within India and abroad shall be supported for setting up Odia libraries.  Steps will be taken to promote volunteerism in promotion of Odia language across the state and outside the state. The printing museum in Cuttack will be expanded as the Indian Printing Museum showcasing our printing culture from across the world. The Odisha Institute of Maritime and South East Asian studies will be developed into a Centre of Excellence with an annual grant of 2 crores. Children’s literature in Odia will be encouraged with support and incentives from the State. ?Efforts will be made to set up Odia chairs in different Universities of India and abroad. To begin with proposals with 5 universities are in process. An international Journal of Odia studies will be published by Odia University, Patra informed. An Odia Learning Management System (LMS) will be developed for Odias living outside Odisha. With this, students living in Odisha and outside Odisha will be able to learn Odia language up to class eight online and also get certificates. All these facilities will be available on the website of Odia Virtual Academy. Museums and Archives will receive adequate support from the government for proper documentation and conservation and dissemination.

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