Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said his government will implement the Odisha Official Languages Act, 1954, by August 15."The Odisha Official Languages Rules are in an advanced stage of formulation for better adoption of the Odia language in transaction of official business in the state. The Act of 1954 is being suitably amended for the purpose. I am hopeful that by August 15, it will be implemented," the chief minister said. He was addressing his council of ministers on the second anniversary of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in the state. He said his government was committed to promote Odia language and the rich cultural heritage of Odisha. The chief minister said that a university to promote Odia language and literature will be set up for teaching and research at the postgraduate, doctoral and post-doctoral levels.
He said the 'Odia Virtual Academy' announced in the state budget this year will be a reality soon.Through this academy, the rich literary corpus of Odia language will be digitised and made available on the Internet. "The process of identifying Odia books for digitisation is already on. The priceless masterpieces of Odia literature will be preserved for times immemorial," he added. Maintaining that the faculty for Odia language in universities and colleges in the state will be filled up on priority, Patnaik said schools of languages will be set up in North Odisha University and Fakir Mohan University.