Context: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah addressed the inaugural session of Hindi Diwas 2026 and the 6th All India Official Language Conference in Mumbai.
- During the event, the prestigious Rajbhasha Gaurav and Rajbhasha Kirti Awards for 2025–26 were conferred on institutions and individuals.
About 6th All India Official Language Conference:
What it is?
- The flagship annual national convention organized by the Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Initiated in 2021, the conference rotates across Indian cities annually (previously held in Varanasi, Surat, Pune, New Delhi, and Gandhinagar, reaching Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra for its 6th edition).
Constitutional Articles:
- Article 343: Declares Hindi in the Devanagari script as the Official Language of the Union, with the international form of Indian numerals.
- Article 351: Places a constitutional duty on the Union Government to promote the spread, enrichment, and development of Hindi so that it serves as a medium of expression for all elements of India’s composite culture.
Aim: To advance the progressive use of Hindi as an administrative, functional, and public link language, while fostering synergy, mutual respect, and co-existence between Hindi and all scheduled Indian regional languages without linguistic friction.
Key Features:
- Vande Mataram Thematic Sessions: Featured specialized commemorative deliberations on the national song ‘Vande Mataram’.
- Grassroots Evaluation of NARAKAS: Held focused sessions to evaluate and strengthen Town Official Language Implementation Committees (TOLICs / NARAKAS), which execute official language policies across central offices, PSUs, and nationalized banks at the municipal level.
- Multilingual Exhibition Stalls: Set up a dedicated 32-stall public exhibition featuring publications, AI-driven translation tools, and linguistic research from the Publications Division, central ministries, public sector undertakings, and the Government of Maharashtra.
- Commemorative Literary Releases: Launched key publications, including a special Vande Mataram volume of the journal ‘Rajbhasha Bharati’, ‘Bharatiya Gyan Tantra: Srot aur Swaroop’, and ‘Andheron Se Ujalon Tak’ (a creative compilation penned by prison inmates).
Winners of Awards (2025–26):
- Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar: The highest national award presented to central government ministries, departments, public sector undertakings, and banks for exceptional administrative compliance and official correspondence in Hindi.
- Top Recipient: The Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, was awarded the First Prize under the Rajbhasha Kirti category for 2025–26.
- Special Recognition: The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) was conferred the Rajbhasha Utkrishtata Sammaan.
- Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar: Conferred upon citizen authors, scholars, and central government employees for publishing original, high-quality non-fiction, scientific, and technical literature written in Hindi.
