Translation of key sessions in Indian languages for MPs in the new Parliament
Soon, Tamil and other South Indian languages will be introduced for the new digital system in the new Parliament building.
Om Birla, Speaker of Lok Sabha, has approved a plan to have a simultaneous translation of 22 Indian languages, therefore there is no problem with MPs complaining of translation from Hindi to their mother tongue.
“Members of some states, especially from South India, like to speak in their own language. It’s not that they don’t know Hindi or English, but speaking in their mother tongue helps them connect better with their constituency back home. It might be especially useful as the Lok Sabha distributes video clippings of the speeches to the MPs,”
Members of Parliament will no longer have to depend on English or Hindi translations in Parliament and can listen to proceedings in their own languages in the new Parliament building if a plan mooted by the Lok Sabha secretariat is implemented.
The idea, pitched by the Lok Sabha speaker, Om Birla, will not only lead to the promotion of Indian languages in Parliament but also make it convenient for MPs.
On June 28, the Lok Sabha secretariat issued a circular on real-time two-way interpretation facility (simultaneous interpretation) in all 22 languages in Schedule 8 of the Constitution of India” and invited employees of the Lok Sabha secretariat to test out the plan in regional languages, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu.
A senior Lok Sabha official said: “The Lok Sabha speaker’s plan will bring a major shift in the way regional languages are used in Parliament.” In the existing system, any member who wants to speak in a language, other than Hindi and English, is encouraged to give prior notice to the Presiding officer of the House to help the secretariat arrange an interpreter in advance.
“In the new system, translators will in real time, interpret all important proceedings such as the budget announcements, debate on bills, or the discussion on the President’s speech in 22 languages. This service will be available to all MPs in the chamber as well as visitors and journalists in the gallery,” said another official. Neither official wished to be identified. But the former top bureaucrat of the Lok Sabha also underlines that “finding a suitable interpreter is usually difficult. In my time, I remember taking seven auditions for filling up an interpreter’s post.”
A third senior official said that 43 officers have been selected for the interpreters’ pool and they have shifted to the estate management branch “for testing interpretation facilities” in the new building.
The new Parliament building, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28 amidst a boycott by many Opposition parties, will have a modern information and technology system and MPs will get a personal tablet at their desk to browse important data or documents for quick reference.
A large space spread over two floors for the Prime Minister’s Office, a separate office for the Special Protection Group and room for all central ministers are also being prepared in the new building.
Officials added that only a handful of essential parliamentary departments such as the Table Office, Legislation branch,
Notice office and the parliamentary reporters’ branch will shift to the new building right now. “The bulk of the current workforce will continue to operate from its existing offices in the upper floors of the old building, library building, and Parliament annex.”
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