Amid a clamour for classical status for many languages, the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal conferring status of Classical Language to Marathi (Maharashtra), Pali and Prakrit (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh) Assamese (Assam) and Bengali languages (Bengal) involving six states.

The Union Cabinet has also approved the proposal of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs for Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase-II comprising three corridors.  The total length of the approved lines will be 118.9 km with 128 stations. The project completion cost is Rs.63,246 crore and is planned to be completed by 2027.  Once Phase-II is fully operational, the Chennai city will have a total Metro Rail network of 173 Km.

According to the cabinet decision, the six languages which presently enjoy classical language status are Tamil ( 2004), Sanskrit ( 2005), Malayalam ( 2013), Kannada ( 2008), Telugu  ( 2008) and Odia ( 2014). The Classical Languages serve as a custodian of Bharat’s profound and ancient cultural heritage, embodying the essence of each community’s historical and cultural milestone.

The inclusion of languages as Classical Language will create significant employment opportunities, particularly in academic and research fields. Additionally, the preservation, documentation, and digitization of ancient texts of these languages will generate jobs in archiving, translation, publishing, and digital media. According to a statement, a proposal from the Maharashtra Government in 2013 was received in the Ministry requesting Classical Language status to Marathi, which was forwarded to the LEC. The LEC recommended Marathi for Classical Language. During the inter-ministerial consultations on the draft note for cabinet in 2017 for conferring classical status to the Marathi language, MHA advised to revise the criteria and make it stricter. PMO vide its comment stated that the Ministry may conduct an exercise to find out how many other languages are likely to become eligible.

In the meantime, proposal from Bihar, Assam, West Bengal was also received for conferring status of Classical Language to Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali.

The Ministry of Education has taken various steps to promote Classical Languages. Three Central Universities were established in 2020 through an Act of Parliament for promotion of Sanskrit language. The Central Institute of Classical Tamil was set up to facilitate the translation of ancient Tamil texts, promote research and offer courses for University students and language scholars of Tamil. To further enhance the study and preservation of Classical Languages, the Centres for Excellence for studies in Classical Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia were established under the auspices of the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysuru. In addition to these initiatives, several national and internation awards have been instituted to recognize and encourage achievements in the field of Classical Languages. Benefits extended to Classical Languages by the Ministry of Education include National Awards for Classical Languages, Chairs in Universities, and Centers for promotion of Classical Languages.

The Cabinet has also approved two major schemes -- PM Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and Krishonnati Yojana -- with an expenditure of over Rs 1 lakh crore to promote sustainable agriculture and ensure food security.  The Cabinet approved the PM Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) to promote sustainable agriculture and Krishonnati Yojana (KY) to achieve food security for self-sufficiency.  The combined total expenditure will be Rs 1,01,321.61 crore, the government said in a post on social media platform X. “Cabinet approved rationalisation of all centrally sponsored schemes operating under Ministry of Agriculture into two umbrella scheme,” it added. The government on Thursday approved National Mission on Edible Oils-Oilseeds with an outlay of Rs 10,103 crore to make India self-sufficient in cooking oils.  India imports more than 50 per cent of its annual edible oil requirement.

 “With an aim to make India self reliant in oilseed production in next 7 years, Cabinet approves National Mission on Edible Oils ‘? Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds) for 2024-25 to 2030-31 with outlay of Rs 10,103 crore,” the government said on social media platform X. The mission aims to increase primary oilseed production from 39 million tonnes in 2022-23 to 69.7 million tonnes by 2030-31, the government said.   “It seeks to extend oilseed cultivation by an additional 40 lakh hectares,” it added.