Context: Recently, the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission launched the ASMITA Project to enhance the availability of educational resources in Indian languages.

ASMITA Project

• ASMITA (Augmenting Study Materials in Indian Languages through Translation and Academic Writing) aims to produce 22,000 books in Indian languages over the next five years.

• Collaboration: It is a joint initiative by the UGC and the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, a high-level committee within the Ministry of Education.

• Objective: To more deeply integrate Indian languages into the education system, enriching the learning experience and making it more inclusive.

• This project is part of a broader strategy to improve the accessibility and quality of educational materials in various Indian languages.

• Identification: Thirteen nodal universities have been selected to spearhead the project, supported by member universities from different regions.

• SOP: The UGC has developed a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the book-writing process in each designated language. 

• The SOP covers the identification of nodal officers and authors, allocation of titles, subjects, and programs, as well as writing, editing, manuscript submission, review and plagiarism checks, finalisation, design, proofreading, and e-publication.

Other Initiatives Launched:

• The Ministry of Education also launched the "Bahubhasha Shabdakosh", a single-pointreference for all the words in all Indian languages and their meanings.

• This initiative will be developed by the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) in collaboration with the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti.

• This Shabdakosh will help in using Bharatiya words, phrases, and sentences for various new-age domains like IT, industry, research, and education.