News Excerpt:

The Union Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission (UGC) launched a project ASMITA (Augmenting Study Materials in Indian Languages through Translation and Academic Writing) to produce 22,000 books in Indian languages over the next five years.

More detail about news:

• This initiative aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and is one of several efforts by the government to promote Indian languages in the education system.

About ASMITA:

• The project will be a collaborative endeavor between the UGC and the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, a high-powered committee under the Union Ministry of Education.
• The 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, totaling 22,000 books in Bharatiya Bhasha.
• UGC Chairperson mentioned that the commission plans to produce 1,800 textbooks covering Arts, Science, and Commerce streams by June 2025.
• Thirteen nodal universities have been identified to lead this project along with member universities from various regions.

Standard Operating Process (SOP)

• The UGC has developed a Standard Operating Process (SOP) for the book writing process in each assigned language.
• SOP includes identification of Nodal Officers, Authors, allocation of title, subject and program, writing and editing, submission of the manuscript, review and plagiarism check, finalization, designing, proof-reading, and e-publication.

Bahubhasha Shabdakosh:

• Additionally, the ministry launched Bahubhasha Shabdakosh, a multi-language dictionary of Indian languages.
• Developed by the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) in collaboration with the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, this dictionary will facilitate the use of Bharatiya words, phrases, and sentences for various modern domains such as IT, Industry, Research, and Education.