Budget doubles for Indian knowledge system; thrust on regional languages

Special provisions have been introduced in the Union Budget 2023-24 to promote indigenous languages and Indian Knowledge System (IKS) among the youth. An allocation of Rs 300.7 crore has been made in the budget for teaching, promoting and encouraging the youth in regional languages. It is 20 per cent higher than the previous year’s allocation. On the other hand, for the IKS, the allocation has been increased by 100 per cent. According to the Union Education Ministry, the Central government has taken several steps to promote regional languages in educational institutions. This includes starting technical and vocational courses in regional languages in educational institutions. According to the budget document, the grant for the promotion of Indian languages has been increased to Rs 300.7 crore in the year 2023-34 from Rs 250 crore in the year 2022-23. Compared to 2021-22, this time there has been a 70 per cent increase in the allocation for the promotion of Indian languages. The institutions through which regional languages are being promoted include Central Institute of Classical Tamil, Central Sanskrit University, Central Hindi Institute, National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language and National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language. In addition, the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, is an institute that works for the promotion of all Indian languages, including Telugu, Odia, Malayalam and Kannada. For IKS, the budget allocation has been increased from Rs 10 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 20 crore in 2023-24. Under the IKS, elements of ancient knowledge of the country and its contribution to modern India are being included in the school curriculum and at the university level. About the IKS, the Education Ministry has said that in ancient India, besides external dimensions of the discipline, emphasis was also laid on enriching the disciples’ personality internally while imparting education in various subjects like histor