Bhubaneswar: In a significant step for the promotion of Odia language and culture, the Odisha Government has decided to take a slew of proactive measures, including setting up a research grant for international and National Research in Odia with a corpus of Rs 10 crore.
Several proposals came out from the discussions in the seminars that happened during the first World Odia Language Conference and also from the 5T Chairman in his discussions with the Odia diaspora. These proposals will all be taken up under the 5T initiative of the Chief Minister to be executed in a transparent and time-bound manner.
A Research grant for international and National Research in Odia shall be set up with a corpus of 10 crore. This grant shall be housed in the Odia University at Satyabadi.
An International Digital Odia conference shall take place annually to bring together experts to promote the Odia language in the digital space.
An expert committee will be formed for the standardisation of the script for the keyboard and font. This Committee will work within a fixed time frame- and put up suggestions for implementation.
The Government will post Exclusive Odia teachers in 1500 high schools to start with and then cover all high schools in a time-bound manner. A syllabus revision committee will be constituted for Odia teaching in schools which will give suggestions in a regular manner for updating the syllabus as per the need.
A Heritage grant of Rs 1 Cr shall be provided in two phases for all schools and colleges that are more than 100 years old and a grant of 2 Cr to such universities established before independence. Similarly, a grant of Rs 2 crores shall be given to pre-independence Universities. This is to protect and promote our heritage in Odia education.
The Government 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.
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 shall be framed for the promotion of science, Technical and Medical Education in the Odia language.
The Government shall come out with an incentive for the publication of need-based relevant publications in Odia keeping current and future requirements.
Specific initiatives are to be taken up within a particular time frame for the promotion of the Odia language among the next generation. This will include 100 budding talents of the Odia language to be identified and honoured by the Chief Minister annually. The Bhasa Brudhi scholarships shall 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 in setting up Odia libraries.
Steps shall be taken to promote volunteerism in the promotion of the Odia language across the state and outside the state.
The printing museum in Cuttack is to 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 shall be developed into a Centre of Excellence with an annual grant of 2 crores.
Children’s literature in Odia is to 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 from 5 universities are in process. An International Journal of Odia studies will be published by Odia University.
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 conservation and dissemination.
