The Government of India has directed all schools and higher educational institutions to provide digital study material in Indian languages within the next three years. The decision is announced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) that promotes multilingualism in education at every level.
An official notification by the Ministry of Education has noted that all school and higher education regulators like UGC, AICTE, NCERT, NIOS, IGNOU and heads of INIs like IITs, CUs and NITs must make study material in Indian languages available for all courses in the next three years. UGC, AICTE and the Department of School Education have also been asked to take up the issue with regard to state schools and universities.
The move is introduced with an aim to break language barrier across the country, the Ministry of Education said. This will allow students to study in their native languages and encourage innovative thinking for improved learning outcomes.
Over the past two years, the government has actively worked on this initiative, utilising the Anuvadini AI-based App to translate diverse educational materials. The material is available on the ekumbh portal and covers resources around Engineering, Medical, Law, UG, PG, and Skill books. The school education ecosystem offers study materials in over 30 Indian languages on DIKSHA. Also, competitive exams such as JEE, NEET, and CUET are now conducted in 13 Indian languages.