COMMITTEE ON OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Indian Society)

Context: Union Home Minister said that Hindi must be finally accepted without opposition, even if the pace of acceptance is slow.

• He chaired the 38th meeting of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language.

Key Points

• During the meeting, the 12th volume of the report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language was also approved which will be presented to the President.
• Since Independence till 2014, nine volumes of report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language have been submitted, and since 2019 three volumes have been approved. 
• These volumes have been prepared subject wise and the theme of 12th volume is ‘Simplification’.

Committee of Parliament on Official Language 

• It was set up in 1976 under Section 4 of The Official Languages Act, 1963.

• Section 4 of the Act says “there shall be constituted a Committee on Official language, on a resolution to that effect being moved in either House of Parliament with the previous sanction of the President and passed by both Houses”.

• Under the provisions of the 1963 Act, the panel submits its report to the President, who “shall [then] cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament, and sent to all the State Governments”.
• The Committee is chaired by the Union Home Minister, and has, in accordance with the provisions of the 1963 Act, 30 members - 20 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 MPs from Rajya Sabha.
• The mandate of the Committee is to review the progress made in the use of Hindi for official purposes, and to make recommendations to increase the use of Hindi in official communications.
• The first Report of the Committee was submitted in 1987.