**Executive Summary:**
This document outlines the steps taken by the Indian government to promote Indian languages, including Bhojpuri, at the school and higher education levels, following the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It details various initiatives, including textbook translations, teacher training programs, and multilingual learning resources. The Bharatiya Bhasha Summer Camp (BBSC) 2025, launched on May 19, 2025, and concluding with the Bhartiya Bhasha Utsav, where schools showcase activities until December 11.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 Implementation:**
* Emphasizes using home/mother/local/regional language as the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, preferably Grade 8 and beyond.
* Children are learning three languages based on the choices of States, regions, and students.
* **School Education Initiatives:**
* NCERT textbooks translated into 22 Indian languages and English, available for use by states and school systems.
* CBSE allows schools to use a child's home language/mother tongue/regional language as a medium of instruction at the Foundational and Preparatory Stages.
* NCERT conducts NISHTHA teacher training program focusing on language education and pedagogy of Indian languages.
* Guidelines and advocacy materials for the Foundational Stage have been developed and disseminated to states and other national and state level agencies involved in school education
* Primers in all 117 mother tongues (as per the Census of India) jointly developed by CIIL, Mysuru, and NCERT.
* Bhasha Sangam promotes all Indian languages, with children learning 100 sentences in 22 scheduled languages.
* Multilingual Jaadui Pitara, a resource for the Foundational Stage, is available in 22 Indian languages in both physical and digital formats.
* Schools celebrating Indian languages through cultural, ethnic, social, and academic activities as part of Bhartiya Bhasha Utsav.
* The Bharatiya Bhasha Summer Camp (BBSC) 2025 encourages students to learn an additional Indian language.
* **Higher Education Initiatives:**
* University Grants Commission (UGC) and Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBS) conceptualized 'ASMITA' to promote academic writing and translation of textbooks in higher education.
* 23 nodal universities identified to oversee the creation of original textbooks in 22 Bharatiya Bhasha for undergraduate courses.
* Plan to produce 1000 textbooks each in 22 languages (22,000 books total).
* A Digital Dashboard has been developed for data management and coordination of the project.
* **State/UT Government Responsibilities:**
* State/UT Governments can develop suitable curricula in regional languages, including Bhojpuri, as per local needs, following NEP 2020.
**Impact Analysis:**
* **Students:**
* *Impact:* Enhanced learning in mother tongue/local language, increased exposure to multiple Indian languages and cultures.
* *Action Required:* Participate in language learning programs like Bhasha Sangam and BBSC.
* **Teachers:**
* *Impact:* Access to training programs (NISHTHA) focused on language pedagogy and teaching Indian languages.
* *Action Required:* Utilize translated textbooks and multilingual resources like Jaadui Pitara, participate in Bhartiya Bhasha Utsav.
* **Schools/Educational Institutions:**
* *Impact:* Freedom to use home language as medium of instruction, opportunities to showcase Indian languages through events, increased resources for multilingual education.
* *Action Required:* Implement NEP 2020 guidelines, utilize available resources, promote language learning activities, participate in Bhartiya Bhasha Utsav.
* **State/UT Governments:**
* *Impact:* Responsibility to develop curricula in regional languages according to local needs.
* *Action Required:* Develop and implement regional language curricula, support schools in implementing NEP 2020 guidelines.
* **Universities (Nodal and Member):**
* *Impact:* Play a central role in writing and translating textbooks into Bharatiya Bhashas.
* *Action Required:* Identify authors, oversee textbook creation, and use the Digital Dashboard.
Key Entities Referenced
Bhojpuri language: An Indian language being promoted at the school and higher education levels.
National Education Policy NEP, 2020: A policy document providing guidelines for education, including the use of home language/mother tongue in early education.
National Curriculum Framework for School Education NCFSE 2023: A framework that guides the development of curriculum and textbooks, promoting Indian languages.
NCERT: National Council of Educational Research and Training, an organization that develops textbooks and conducts teacher training programs.
Central Board of Secondary Education CBSE: A national level board of education that prescribes the use of home language/mother tongue as a medium of instruction.
NISHTHA National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement: A teacher training program that focuses on language education and pedagogy of Indian languages.
Central Institute of Indian Languages CIIL, Mysuru, Karnataka: An institute involved in developing primers in Indian languages.
Bhartiya Bhasha Samiti BBS: An organization collaborating with the University Grants Commission (UGC) to promote academic writing and translation of textbooks in higher education.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4123
ANSWERED ON 18.08.2025
Promotion of Bhojpuri Language at School Level
†4123. Shri Daroga Prasad Saroj:
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:
(a) the details of steps taken by the Government to promote Bhojpuri language at the school
level and Higher Education level in the country;
(b) the details of the students enrolled for studying Bhojpuri language in Secondary and
Higher Secondary level schools in various States of the country;
(c) whether any funds have been allocated for promotion of indigenous languages or
promoting education in mother tongue in the country; and
(d) if so, the details of the initiatives taken by the Government in this regard?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)
(a) to (d) The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, at para 4.11, inter-alia, provides that
wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade
8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.
As of now, under the existing policy, children are learning three languages based on the
choices of States, regions, and of course the students themselves.
As a follow up of NEP, 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education
(NCF-SE) 2023 following initiatives have been taken in the area of School Education to
promote Indian languages-
i. Textbooks of NCERT viz. Science, Mathematics, Social Science, Art Education,
Environmental Education, Health and Well-being, etc. developed have been translated into 22
Indian language and in English and are available for use by states and all school systems.
These books can be accessed at https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.phpii. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has prescribed using child’s home
language, mother tongue or a familiar regional language as a medium of instruction at the
Foundational Stage and also at the Preparatory Stage. Schools are free to use Bhojpuri as a
medium of instruction accordingly.
iii. NCERT conducts a special training programme for teachers from national level
school systems and teachers in the states known as NISHTHA (National Initiative for School
Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement) and this programme covers teachers from states
also. Language education and language pedagogy and teaching learning of Indian languages
is one of the major focuses of the programme.
iv. Guidelines and advocacy materials for Foundational Stage have been developed and
disseminated to states and other national and state level agencies involved in school
education. The materials are available on https://ncert.nic.in/ NCERT website.
v. Development of Primers in all Indian languages: Primer is the first book for
learners and for anyone in the language to learn and get familiarised with the language
through visual, text form and to notice and use language in contexts. Primers are available on
NCERT and Ministry of Education Website. https://ncert.nic.in/primers.php Central Institute
of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru and NCERT have jointly developed Primers in all 117
mother tongues listed in the Census of India. The Primers are aimed at documenting and
teaching the languages in school.
vi. Bhasha Sangam under Ek Bharat and Shrestha Bharat: Government of India
initiated a nationwide programme to promote all Indian language through the programme of
Bhasha Sangam. Children in school learn 100 sentences in the 22 scheduled languages with
audio and video support. The progarmme has been in implementation last seven years and
schools across the country are participating and learning the Indian languages. Both textual
and audio-video materials are available on DIKSHA portal at https://ncert.nic.in/bs-2021.php
vii. Multilingual Jadui Pitara: Jaadui Pitara has been developed as an exemplar of
content needed in any school for the Foundational Stage. It represents a wide range of useful
content and demonstrates the sensibilities (age-appropriate, sensory experience and local) to
be kept in mind while developing such content. The Pitara has toys, games, puzzles, puppets,
posters, flashcards, story cards, story books, playbooks for students, and teacher handbooks.
The core transformative aspect of NCFFS is ‘learn through play’. The NCF-FS describes how
children at this stage learn best through play – through activity and doing. Children enjoy
learning in several ways - talking, listening, using toys, working with material, painting,
drawing, singing, dancing, running, and jumping. Jaadui Pitara is available in 22 Indianlanguages and also on NCERT website https://diksha.gov.in/jadoo/explore.html Jaadui Pitara
has also been converted into digital form and available in 22 languages on
https://ejaaduipitara.ncert.gov.in/explorejaadu.html
viii. Bhartiya Bhasha Utsav: Schools, teacher education and other educational
institutions are celebrating Indian language through various cultural, ethnic and social and
academic activities. December 11 is the final day of the Utsav in which schools and other
institutions are showcasing their Indian languages activities in their schools.
ix. The Bharatiya Bhasha Summer Camp (BBSC) 2025, launched on 19th May 2025,
aims to encourage students to learn one more Indian language of their choice. It seeks to
promote multilingualism among school students in a joyful and engaging way, enabling them
to experience the linguistic and cultural unity of Indian languages. The camp helps students
acquire basic conversational skills in an Indian language other than their mother tongue and
fosters mutual respect, cultural appreciation, and national integration through language
learning. As on 13th August 2025, BBSC has recorded a total participation of 5.26 crore
across themes from 27 States/Union Territories (UTs)/Autonomous Bodies, with the
language basket comprising 74 languages, including 22 scheduled languages.
As per recommendations of NEP 2020, University Grants Commission (UGC) in
collaboration with Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBS) has conceptualized a project 'ASMITA' to
promote a culture of academic writing and translation of textbooks in Higher Education.
Under this project, 23 nodal universities were identified with their nominated member
universities from their respective states for identifying authors for writing/preparing original
text-books in 22 Bharatiya Bhasha for Undergraduate (UG) level courses. Till date, 759
books have been proposed by the Nodal Universities and more than 1089 potential authors
have been identified for writing/translation of text-books in 22 Bharatiya Bhasha for
Undergraduate (UG) level courses. The projected plan is to produce 1000 textbooks each in
22 languages, altogether 22,000 books.
A comprehensive Digital Dashboard has also been developed with extensive features for data
management and coordination of the project. The Dashboard has been designed to provide
real time status about the book writing process. It has log-in facilities for all the stakeholders.
Further, since Education is a subject under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, the
respective State/Union Territory (UT) Governments and its agencies may develop suitablecurriculum in regional languages including Bhojpuri as per the local needs and demands, in
accordance with the spirit and recommendations of the NEP, 2020.
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