PROGRESSIVE USE OF HINDI
The Ministry regularly circulates to its officers and the various sections within its control, in addition to its attached and subordi- nate offices, the administrative instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, regarding the full implementation of the official language policy and the statutory reuirements relating to it. The Ministry keeps a regular watch on the progress of all the programmes in this regard.
Quarterly Progress Report The progress is watched and reviewed inter-alia through quarterly progress reports furnished by the various Divisions and the attached and subordinate offices in the Ministry. During the year 1972-73, reports were received for the quarters ending June, September and December 1972. These reports were scrutinised and consolidated and sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Correspondence in Hindi Under the administrative instructions, all letters received in Hindi from individuals as well as from State Governments should be replied in Hindi.
Noting and Drafting in Hindi According to the bilingual policy, every Central Government employee is free to use Hindi or English for his official work- However, all the officers and staff in the Ministry and attached and subordinate offices are requested from time to time to encourage their Hindi knowing staff to use Hindi for their notes
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and simple drafts. The number of Sections where more than 80 per cent of the staff has working knowledge of Hindi is 25,and the number of sections where Hindi is partially used in noting and drafting is 17.
Hindi knowing senior officers have also been requested from time to time to use Hindi at least for their short notes and simple drafts. Two Hindi Stenographers have been especially provided to assist senior officers in putting up notes and drafts in Hindi.
Provision of Additional Hindi Typewriters At present 43 Hindi typewriters are available in the Ministry. Efforts are being made to obtain more typewriters as the quantum of Hindi work is on the increase from day to day.
Translation of Statutory Manuals, Forms and other Procedural
Literature So, far, 114 forms and manuals of this Ministry have been
translated into Hindi. The translation work of another 24 forms and 2 sets of rules is in progress.
Translation of Acts and Statutes So far as the Acts concerning this Ministry are concerned Hindi translation of 3 Acts, namely the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, the Copyright Act and the Jawaharlal Nehru University Act have already been published. Hindi translation of the, Aligarh Muslim University Act is in the process of printing, while three other Acts, namely, the University Grants Commission Act, the Banaras Hindu University Act and the Visva Bharati Act, are in the process of translation.
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Maintenance of Separate Registers for letters Received in Hindi All the Sections in the Ministry are maintaining separate diary registers for letters received in Hindi and specific entries are made about the replies sent in Hindi. Where replies are not sent in Hindi or are not considered necessary, a suitable explanation is given by the section concerned.
Official Language Implementation Committee Official Language Implementation Committees have been set up both in the Ministry and in attached and subordinate offices. These Com- mittees hold quarterly meetings and review the progress of use of Hindi for official purposes at those meetings. The minutes of the meetings are sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs for information.
Issue of Bilingual Circulars in Hindi Special care is being taken to see that letters received from Hindi-Speaking States are invariably replied to in Hindi. Similarly, circulars meant for general information are also issued bilingually. The Central Registry of the Ministry does not accept circulars for despatch unless they are accompanied by Hindi versions.
Training of Employees in Hindi On a review made recently about the officers and members of the staff who either had Hindi as a subject in their higher secondary examination or have passed Pragya examination conducted by the Minis- try of Home Affairs, it has been found that 553 officers and staff belong to these two categories and that they have a working knowledge of Hindi. 63 persons were deputed for the various Hindi Teaching classes commencing in January 1973. Special care is being taken to see that the persons so nominated attend the classes regularly.
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Special attention is also being paid for the training of employ- ees in Hindi typewriting and Hindi stenography.
Workshops are proposed to be organised in the Ministry as soon as syllabus and guidelines are made available by the Ministry of Home Affairs with a view to encouraging officers and members of staff knowledgeable in Hindi to use Hindi more frequently.
Meetings of branch officers in the various Divisions are held from time to time to review the progressive use of Hindi for official. purposes and proposals for additional staff for Hindi work have been submitted to the Staff Inspection Unit.