Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 20: Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has announced that simultaneous interpretation of parliamentary proceedings is now available in all 22 languages listed in the eighth schedule of the Constitution, marking a significant step in making the House more linguistically inclusive.

Until now, interpretation services were available in 18 languages — Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. With the addition of Kashmiri, Konkani, and Santhali, the list is now complete.

Following the announcement during the Monsoon Session, BJP MP Dr Sanjay Jaiswal requested that Bhojpuri be included in the Constitution, which would then allow its use in Parliament.

The initiative comes after reports in November that the Centre for Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence at IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation was working on technology to provide real-time translations of parliamentary debates in 22 Indian languages.

The eighth schedule originally listed 14 languages when the Constitution came into force. Successive amendments have expanded the list to 22, ensuring their promotion and representation on the official languages commission.

With MPs from across the country often preferring to speak in their mother tongues, the expanded interpretation facility is expected to strengthen communication and inclusivity in parliamentary proceedings, reflecting the nation’s rich linguistic diversity.