Digital India must speak Indian languages: NARAKAS Digboi

OUR CORRESPONDENT

DIGBOI: Reinforcing the need to align India's rapid technological transformation with the promotion of its official language, the Town Official Language Implementation Committee (NARAKAS), Digboi, on Wednesday stressed the wider adoption of Hindi in digital governance and emerging technologies, asserting that linguistic empowerment must go hand in hand with the nation's digital progress.

The half-yearly meeting of NARAKAS Digboi was held at the CTA Conference Hall of Digboi Refinery under the chairmanship of Rahul Prashant, Executive Director and Refinery Head, Digboi Refinery.

The programme commenced with an introductory session, following which member organisations presented comprehensive reports on the progress achieved during the last six months in implementing the Official Language Policy.

The presentations highlighted innovative initiatives, increased usage of Hindi in official correspondence, administrative functioning, capacity-building programmes, and best practices adopted by individual offices to strengthen the use of the official language.

Delivering the presidential address, Rahul Prashant described the effective implementation of Hindi as a shared institutional responsibility and called for intensified efforts under the Government's '12 Pra' campaign to further expand the language's official usage.

Referring to India's emergence as one of the world's leading economies, he said that the country is rapidly advancing in fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Digital Governance, Data Analytics, and e-Office systems, making it imperative that technological progress is not restricted to English alone but becomes accessible through Indian languages, particularly Hindi.

He observed, "Digital India will attain its true strength only when its language is also Indian."

One of the major highlights of the meeting was the formal release of the 14th edition of NARAKAS Digboi's house journal, Purwai, reflecting the literary and administrative contributions of member organisations towards the promotion of the Official Language.

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