Word cloud of Indian languages on Wikipedia. (Subhashish Panigrahi via Wikimedia Commons)Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu has announced that the house now has a facility to translate 22 Indian languages simultaneously, Times of India has reported.
Five new languages - Dogri, Kashmiri, Konkani, Santhali and Sindhi - were added to the list of languages for which interpretation services are available. Earlier, 17 out of the 22 scheduled languages were available for simultaneous interpretations.
Naidu added that there may be some challenges initially as interpreters are not accustomed to the speed of the speaker. Members who wish to avail the facility have to provide a prior notice to the interpreter in the secretariat.
Hailing the facility, BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has described it as a wonderful gesture. He also said Sanskrit words should be included in the vocabulary.
Apart from this, Naidu also said that the Upper House has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Senate of Rawanda. This is the first time in 66 years where the Upper House has entered into an MoU with a foreign institution.
The MoU will facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue and parliamentary exchange visits. Until now only Lok Sabha had signed MoUs with foreign institutions.
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