NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Tuesday announced an ambitious initiative to produce 22,000 books in Indian languages over the next five years. The project, known as ASMITA (Augmenting Study Materials in Indian Languages through Translation and Academic Writing), was inaugurated by Sanjay Murthy, Secretary of Higher Education. This collaborative effort between the UGC and the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, a high-level committee under the ministry, aims to enhance the presence of Indian languages in higher education.”This initiative seeks to establish a robust framework for both translation and original academic writing in Indian languages across diverse disciplines in higher education. Our objective is to create 1,000 books in each of 22 languages within five years, culminating in 22,000 books in Bharatiya bhasha,” stated UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar.The project will be spearheaded by thirteen nodal universities, supported by member universities from different regions.”The UGC has devised a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the book-writing process in each designated language. This SOP outlines the roles of nodal officers and authors, the allocation of titles, subjects, and programmes, as well as the steps for writing and editing, manuscript submission, review and plagiarism checks, finalisation, design, proofreading, and e-publication,” Kumar explained.Additionally, the ministry introduced the “Bahubhasha Shabdakosh,” a comprehensive reference for words in all Indian languages and their meanings.”This Shabdakosh, developed by the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) in partnership with the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, will facilitate the use of Bharatiya words, phrases, and sentences in various contemporary fields such as IT, industry, research, and education,” the UGC noted in a statement.
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