Sri Vijaya Puram, May 21: The Andaman and Nicobar Administration on Tuesday reviewed the implementation of the Official Language Policy during a meeting held at the Secretariat Conference Hall in Sri Vijaya Puram.
The meeting was chaired by Richa, Secretary (Official Language), who assessed the present status of Hindi usage in official work across the Secretariat and various departments of the Administration.
Officials discussed implementation of the Official Language Policy, the extent of Hindi usage in government functioning and progress made by departments in achieving prescribed targets related to official language compliance.
During the meeting, the Secretary directed all nodal officers from departments and Secretariat branches to ensure full compliance with the Official Language Policy and emphasised adherence to directions issued by the Lieutenant Governor regarding the use of Hindi in official work.
Special emphasis was placed on improving the use of Hindi within the e-Office system through enabling Unicode support in official computers across departments.
Officials stated that departments were instructed to ensure that Unicode systems are activated to facilitate smooth typing and processing of official documents in Hindi.
The Secretary also directed departments to submit quarterly progress reports on time, organise Hindi workshops regularly and conduct meetings of Departmental Official Language Implementation Committees to monitor compliance and progress.
During the review, officials were informed that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands fall under Region “A” as per the Official Language Rules, 1976.
Under these rules, government offices functioning in Region “A” are required to carry out 100 per cent official work in Hindi.
The meeting further highlighted that the annual programme issued by the Department of Official Language under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has prescribed a target of complete use of Hindi in official work for Central Government offices functioning in Region “A”.
Officials stated that any shortfall in achieving these targets is viewed seriously by the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language.
The Secretary directed nodal officers to actively work towards effective implementation of the policy and ensure that official communication and administrative processes increasingly adopt Hindi usage in accordance with prescribed norms.
A detailed PowerPoint presentation on official work being carried out in Hindi across the Secretariat and departments was presented during the meeting by Rajendra Indwar, Deputy Secretary (Official Language).
The presentation reviewed departmental performance, implementation status and compliance levels related to Hindi usage in administrative work.
Deputy Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries of the Secretariat, along with Assistant Directors and nodal officers from various departments, attended the review meeting.
The Administration periodically conducts such reviews to monitor implementation of official language policies and ensure adherence to targets prescribed by the Government of India.
Officials indicated that efforts are also being made to improve digital compatibility and administrative convenience for carrying out official work in Hindi through technology-enabled systems within government offices.
